Braided Irish Chain Quilt and Super Special Bonus!!!

Today I am am just so excited to share with you an all time favorite quilt design and I have a special bonus to share along with it!!! (more on that soon) I have made my Braided Irish Chain Quilt so many times because I just love the finish every time and it is just such a fun quilt to make!!! So when I decided to make a new King Size quilt for my own bed (yes, every once and a while I actually make a quilt for myself ) I of course, went back to this favorite!!! And I think this new Breath Expression Batik version might be my all time favorite!!!

You see, My husband absolutely loves the ocean!!! Hawaii is our favorite vacation and I think my sweetheart could snorkel all day :) So when I decided to make a quilt for our bed, I wanted to pick out fabrics that would remind us of the ocean. I instantly feel in love with the Breath Batik Collection. The prints have a "coral under water" vibe to them and I just love all of the soft colors on those beautiful "low volumes". So with all of my beautiful low volume prints, I needed an ocean inspired background!!! And this Expression Batiks Mountain High Delft was the perfect match!!! And doesn't it just bring out all of the colors in the print when it is in the sunshine, so pretty!!! And I am happy to say, my husband absolutely loves it as much as I do, yippee!!!

And while this might look a little complex, the Braided Irish Chain Pattern is truly is a beginner quilt with basic quilting techniques.   It uses Strip Piecing for a lot of the patchwork and then 3 basic patchwork blocks that come together to make the "big block" for the design. And depending on the size you choose to make, you can add some sashing around the blocks to add to the braided chain. And isn't that braided chain just so pretty!!!

And remember how I mentioned that special bonus . . . Well today, Jenny Doan from Missouri Star Quilt Company is sharing a step by step video tutorial of my Braided Irish Chain Quilt pattern!!! Isn't that just so great. So now if you are a little nervous about following patterns, you can also have Jenny walking you through the whole quilt ;) So get your Braided Irish Chain Pattern in my Etsy Shop and then watch Jenny's Braided Irish Chain Tutorial here at Missouri Star's You Tube Channel and make your own Braided Irish Chain Quilt :)

I have made the King Size Quilt, and Jenny is sharing the Picnic Size Quilt, but like all of my Happy Quilting patterns, the Braided Irish Chain Pattern has multiple size options, so you can make whatever size you like from a baby size all the way to a California King Size ;)  And that strip piecing and big blocks means it will come together super quick. But be careful, once you start, you can't make just one, trust me, I know ;) I have a baby size in the works right now as well :)

Oh, and a fun thing about a chain quilt, is you can make the chain pop!!!! When it came time to quilt mine, I opted for small swirls in the background and then to leave the chain unquilted. That super dense quilting in the background just makes each of those little "coral prints" just pop and I love it so much!! It took a little while for all of that dense quilting, but it is so worth the finish look :)

And that is my Braided Irish Chain Quilt featuring the Breath Expression Batik Collection! I hope you have enjoyed this post and make your own Braided Irish Chain Quilt!!! And if you do, I would love to see it! You can share your projects with me on social media with the hashtags #happyquiltingmc and #braidedirishchainquilt and tagging @happyquiltingmc or email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com. I can't wait to see your Braided Irish Chain Quilts!!

Thank you so much for sharing this finish with me!! I just love getting to Happy Quilt each and every day and I am so grateful to my wonderful friends at Riley Blake for having me here to share my love of quilting with you all!!! 

I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Day!!!

 

Christmas in July - Double Dutch Quilt!!!

 I just love Christmas in July!!!! You know I just love making Christmas Quilts and when I saw the new Up on the Housetop Collection  by Teresa Kogut I just knew it would make the cutest Vintage Christmas quilt ;) So I pulled out my Double Dutch Pattern and got to pressing, cutting, and stitching!! And didn't it just turn out so great!!!

Like I said, I just love making Christmas Quilts!!! And if you are wondering how many Christmas Quilts one person needs, the answer is "always one more!!" And that is because there is always another amazing Christmas Collection!!! I mean, how can you not want to create with these Vintage Santa's, Reindeer, and cherry cottages!! I just love the way Teresa Kogut designs and her colors are just so fabulous!! I love the pops of gold and navy with the traditional Christmas red and green :)

And while this might look a little complex, the Double Dutch Pattern is truly is a beginner quilt with one basic quilting techniques.   And that is No-Waste Flying Geese. And if you have never made No-Waste Flying Geese, trust me, you are going to love this method of Flying Geese!!! And as you can see, these Geese are rather on the large size, so you have a little more wiggle room as you learn the technique ;) Two geese paired together make a cute little "house" and 4 make a neighborhood ;)

And when it came time to quilt mine, I opted for all over loose feather.  I love how this gives the look of a twisting ivy weaving up the sides of the houses ;)  Doesn't it just add to the vintage vibe of this quilt.  And I just love how my favorite 402 So Fine blends on all of those happy colors!! 

 And like all of my Happy Quilting patterns, the the nice thing is, the Dutch Days Pattern has multiple size options, so you can make whatever size you like. This is the picnic size, (which is perfect for a Christmas throw) but you can make it from a baby size all the way to a queen/king size ;)   And big blocks means it will come together super quick, so you have more than enough time to make one before Christmas!!!

And that is my Double Dutch Quilt featuring the brand new Up on the Housetop Collection by Teresa Kogut ! I hope you have enjoyed this post and consider making your own Double Dutch Quilt!!! And if you do, I would love to see them! You can share your projects with me on social media with the hashtags #happyquiltingmc and #doubledutchquilt and tagging @happyquiltingmc or email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com. I can't wait to see your Double Dutch Quilts!!

Thank you so much for popping by and sharing this finish with me ;)  I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Day!!!

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!

 It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!   Let's have some fun :)

First we need to pick a winner from last week's TTGD ;) 

And the winner of the Blossom Lane 10" Stacker  from Green Fairy Quilts is . . .#29 . . .

Congrats Beth!!!  I have messaged you :)

   
      

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by  Thousands of Bolts .   Thousands of Bolts has incredible prices that will have you super excited!!!  There are thousands of bolts to choose from and all at amazing prices, staring as low as $5.39 a yard!!!   And they have just introduced dozens and dozens of new fabrics to the inventory!!  Be sure to check it out :)    

And for Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway,  Thousands of Bolts is giving one lucky winner at $25.00 Gift Certificate!!!  You can get just what you always wanted :)   And good luck picking because there are literally thousands of bolts to choose from!!!!   

You have two entry chances here on the blog, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.   Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment that tells me Have you ever ridden an animal other than a horse, if so, what animal?? 

 ENTRY 2 - Lets show Thousands of Bolts some Love!!!!   You can follow them on   Facebook or Instagram.  Or you can visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Thousand of Bolts Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, July 30th, when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

You can also pop over to my Instagram and/or Facebook to enter there as well :)  

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Playful Posies in Cottage Charm!!!

 Today I am super excited to be sharing this beautiful new Playful Posies quilt finish with you featuring the oh so cute Cottage Charm Collection by Kenzie Elston for Poppie Cotton!! And you know how I love adding a dark background to my new quilts to show how they pop . . .well, Playful Posies needed a dark background and how gorgeous are those flowers in Cottage Charm just popping off of the background ;)  

This Cottage Charm Quilt  is so much fun to make and it is Layer Cake Friendly so you can just grab a stack (or 2 for this size) and add your background fabric. I used Blue Ribbon Dark Blue Country Confetti for my background fabric and yes, I use it a lot!!! It is such a favorite background :)     I just love how it makes all of those charming prints just look so bright and happy!! 

And while this might look a little difficult, Playful Posies it truly is a great beginner quilt with basic quilting techniques.  Just a few different size Stitch and Flip corners to keep track of, and of course, I gave you pressing directions for nested angled seams, my favorite!!!   

 And my favorite thing about this pattern is how the flowers are offset so they look like they are dancing across the quilt.   There are actually two different flower block layouts that just add to all of the movement, but they are still simple to make. Oh so much fun!! 

And once again, I am so thankful to my amazing MIL Barbara.   Barbara did the quilting and piecing on this one for me :)  And her quilting is just oh so cute!!  She quilted echoed paisleys in the background and then all different flowers and vines on the petals.   She is just so creative in her quilting ;)  It just adds to the charm of the quilt!! 

 And like all of my Happy Quilting patterns, the the nice thing is, the  Playful Posies Pattern  has multiple size options, so you can make whatever size you like. This is the picnic size, but you can make it from a baby size all the way to a queen size ;)   The bigger the quilt, the more flowers dance across it!!  

And that is my Playful Posies Quilt! I hope you have enjoyed this post and consider making your own Playful Posies Quilt!!! And if you do, I would love to see them! You can share your projects with me on social media with the hashtags  #happyquiltingwithmc and #playfulposiesquilt and tagging @happyquiltingmc or email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com. I can't wait to see your Playful Posies Quilts!!

Thank you so much for popping by and sharing this finish with me and thank you to my wonderful friends at Poppie Cotton for always letting me play with their gorgeous fabrics!!! 

I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Day!!!

Happy Quilting Updates!!!

Today I am so excited to share some new updates to Happy Quilting!!!  I have been working on these in the background for some time and am thrilled to have them completed.  My hope is that it will be much easier to find exactly what you are looking for when you are searching over 14 years of blogging :)   So most everything stars with the new Navigation Bar that can be found directly under the title of my blog.  By clicking on any of these links, you are taken to a page with condescend information that links you to blog pages.    So let's have a little walk through of the updates so you can find what your looking for at Happy Quilting!! 

So let's start at the beginning with the Happy Quilting Patterns & Corrections link on the Navigation bar.   By clicking on the link, you will be brought to a page with all of my newly formatted Happy Quilting Patterns.   This is a great place to see all of the sizes, skill level, and precut friendly listing of patterns.    And if you are interested in particular pattern just click on the PDF or PAPER link of the pattern under the picture of it to be taken to my Etsy Shop listing of it ;) 

The Happy Quilting Patterns & Corrections link is also where you will find any corrections that have been made to my patterns.   The corrections will be shown after the listing of the pattern and will also have a link the the post that goes into greater detail of the correction.   I hope this helps when making your Happy Quilting quilts ;) 

The next section in the Navigation Bar is Free Downloadable PDF Patterns.   Did you know that I now have over 30 Free PDF Patterns that you can download??   And I am adding more just as quick as I can.    And at the beginning of the page, I have added jump links to make it easier to search all of the patterns.   Simply click on the type of PDF Pattern you are looking for to start.   So if I was looking for Free Fat Quarter PDF Patterns, I would click on that jump link.  (but not on this picture below, it is just to show you, you need to click on it in the  Free Downloadable PDF Patterns page at the top of the blog ;)   

That would take you to the listing of all the Free Fat Quarter PDF Patterns.   Then simply click on the picture of the Free PDF Pattern you would like.   So if I wanted to download Flora Bloom, I would click on the first picture and . . . 

That takes you to the Flora Bloom Quilt Blog Post.  From here you can click on any of the Free PDF Pattern links in the post to be taken directly to the pattern and download it for you free.  Super simple and oh so much fun ;)  

The next section in the Navigation Bar is Sew Many Quilt Tutorials.   And sew many is no exaggeration.  I have over 80 Quilt tutorials with step by step instructions and pictures that walk you through every step of making the quilt.  And once again, I have added jump links to help you search those 80 tutorials to find exactly the type of project you are looking for.   You just navigate the same way you did for the Free PDF Patterns, you just get tutorials instead :)  

And the last new section I want to talk about on the Navigation Bar is More Tutorials - Projects, Blocks & Techniques  And I am most excited about this page as it has been the hardest to find things in these categories and now it should be a snap ;)  As you can imagine, over 14 years of writting the blog added up to lots and lots of tutorials on quilt blocks, techniques, and other tutorials that aren't quilts.   This is the place to find them now!!  I hope you have fun surfing through these jump links and finding all of the past free stuff I have shared.   And again, just use the jump links to be taken to the areas you want to peruse.  

And the rest of the sections in the navigation bar have not changed much, but feel free to surf through them to see video tutorials, past quilt alongs, where I will be teaching, and so forth.  Oh, and if you find any broken links, tutorials, ect . . . please let me know.  I try to find all of them, but hey, with14 years of posts and things are gonna slip through ;)  

I hope you love these new updates as much as I do and that they will help you find all that Happy Quilting has to offer you in your quilting journey.  If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to put them in the comments or send me an email at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com.  I want this to be a place that is a joy to come and learn quilting!!  

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!

 It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!   Let's have some fun :)

First we need to pick a winner from last week's TTGD ;) 

And the winner of the $25.00 Gift Certificate from Lou Lou's Fabric Shop is . . .#98 . . .

Congrats ashleecorn!!!  I have messaged you :)

   

      

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by Green Fairy Quilts.  Green Fairy Quilts is your home for pre-cut goodness and they always have amazing sales going on every weekend on a selected pre-cut or notion!!!   And did you know that Green Fairy Quilts has a Deal of The Day, I just love these!!!    And Green Fairy Quilts is currently having an  Amazing Riley Blake Precut Sale with 50-70% off!!!    You so don't want to miss out on this, there are so many Precuts to choose from at amazing prices ;)  

And for today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway, Green Fairy Quilts will be giving one lucky reader a Blossom Lane 10" Stacker by Katherine Lenius for Riley Blake Designs!!!  This is the same fabric I used to make this Cherry Tree Lane Quilt with it's free PDF Pattern.  It is such a gorgeous line and makes a very pretty quilt!!! 

You have two entry chances here on the blog, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.   Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment that tells me what "old school" skill set do you have ??  (I learned 10 key when I was 8 and am still super fast at it!) 

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Green Fairy Quilts love.   You can Sign up for their Newsletter which I highly recommend as it will ensure you catch all of their amazing sales!!  You can follow them on Instagram or Facebook,  or you can visit the Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Green Fairy Quilt Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, July 23rd, when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

You can also pop over to my Instagram and/or Facebook to enter there as well :)  

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Piece and Quilt Sampler QAL - Month 4

 It's Month 4 of the  Piece and Quilt Sampler Quilt Along and I am just so excited to share my fourth set of blocks!!!  Thanks to Fat Quarter Shop for hosting this awesome quilt along from the Celebrate with Quilts book!! And here is the month 4 finishes, so fun :)   

I am making my Piece and Quilt Sampler in a diagonal Rainbow of Ombre goodness. (see plan here)  I love how it makes some of the blocks two color ways.   I just keep getting more and more excited to see this all come together!!    So this month we started with a 4 of the 9" Evening Hourglass blocks that were sewn together into this awesome 18" star block!!   Isn't it just so fun in all of it's scrappy patchwork goodness!!!   

And then, it was on to the Dandy Star Blocks and we made a 6" and a 9" block.   You know I always love making star blocks and these with the double print HST's blocks in the corners were a fun one to make.  I really love how much they are going to add to the scrappy goodness of this quilt!! 

So are you joining in the Piece and Quilt Fun???  It's going to be such a fun QAL!  Oh, and once you are done your blocks, Be sure to share your Piece and Quilt Sampler progress on social media with #PieceAndQuiltSamplerQAL.  There is oh so much Celebrate with Quilts Inspiration that can be found!!!   

And that's it for Month 4 - 4 9" Evening Hourglass Blocks and the 6" and 9: Dandy Star Blocks Star  in the Piece and Quilt Sampler Quilt Along!!!!      

Thanks for popping in today ;)  Have a Happy Quilting Day!!

Vintage Sunburst QAL - Month 7

 It's Month 7 of the  Vintage Sunburst Quilt Along hosted by Fat Quarter Shop and I am just loving this whole new chain piecing - paper piecing vibe I've got going!!      So here is this month's share for the Vintage Sunburst Quilt  

I added all of the borders to the  8" Vintage Sunburst Paper Piecing  blocks and then added a stitch and flip corner in the matching Blossom Basics warm tones :)   Didn't they turn out just so cute!!!  I can't wait to see the little diamonds they create when we sew the blocks together!!

This month I also got some chain stitching - paper piecing going with the  12" Paper Piecing Pads and the  Blossom Basics, in cool tones :)  I finished Step 1 for all of the rest of my large blocks, and even got the pieces pressed and trimmed so they are ready to add on the next background piece!!    My plan is to finish all of the paper piecing in August, then hopefully make the blocks in September.   October will be making the quilt top and November quilting it!!  And it will be all finished in time for Christmas ;) 

  The free pattern for this Quilt Along can be found right here ;)  And of course, along the way I need to get back to my  leaders and enders now that I have cool scraps as well.   I am thinking I might piece this into the backing of the quilt, what do you think???

So do you want to work on your paper piecing skills as well??  Pop over the the Vintage Sunburst Quilt Along page to get all of the details and join me in some paper piecing fun :)  

Growing Stars - Fons & Porter Magazine

Today I am so super excited to share some secret finishes that I made earlier this year!!  I had so much fun making these little baby quilts in their simple piecing goodness :)   These are Growing Stars and I hope they will be just perfect for a little growing one in your life!!!  

Growing Stars can be found in the Fons & Porter Quick + Easy Quilts Double Issue that is now available at all places quilt magazines are sold :)   The theme for this issue is "Training Camp".  When I read camp it just got me thinking about how many campouts we went on when our kids were just little.  We used to love cuddling up in blankets and looking up at the stars.   And my littles are no longer little, but we still like to look up at the stars and cuddle up :)  So ya, you can see where the Growing Star design inspiration came from!!!   

And you will still get lots of "training" making Easy No-Waste Flying Geese that just keep getting bigger and bigger!! Growing Stars finishes at 48" x 48" so it is a great size for baby, and yet will still be big enough to grow with them into toddler stage :)   You are going to love making this quilt!!     And of course, I had to make an "All-Boy version" using Moda Grunge . . .

As well as an All Girl version using Moda Flow.   Both are such great nuetrals for making your quilts just pop with lots of color variations while still keeping it monochromatic ;)  And this quilt would also make an excellent wall hanging over a crib in the nursery.   Talk about a Growing Star!!!!   

When it came time to quilt mine, I decided on all over echoed Paisleys on the All Girl version and an all over echoed Swirl on the All Boy version.  I don't know why, but to me, Swirls just seem more masculine while paisleys seem more feminine.  It just fit :)   And both add so much yummy texture!!   

 

And those are my Growing Stars Quilts!!!    I hope you like them as much as I do.   And if you make your own, I would love to see them!!!   You can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com or add it to social media with  #happyquiltingwithmc ;)  I can't wait to see your Growing Stars Quilts!!!

 

 Thanks for popping in and sharing these finishes with me!!

I hope that you have a very Happy Quilting Day :)