Aurora - Fast & Fun Lap Quilts

 It's Week 4 of my Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book Tour and today I am sharing a second version of the Aurora quilt! It's always fun to see how different a quilt can look by changing things up the fabrics, and wouldn't you know, Vanessa was my guest blogger this week, and she is also the fabric designer of this second version, to fun!!!    

 And doesn't it look just stunning in a dark background!!!  For this version of Aurora, I was really trying to highlight how much using a dark background can change up the look of the quilt.   Isn't it just incredible how the chain and the star centers just pop.   I love it so much!!!!    Using a dark background can really make your colors so vibrant, it is a great way to make the fabric stand out :)

This version of Aurora was made using Country Rose fabrics by Lella Boutique for Moda Fabrics.   This is the same fabric I used to make the Bloomers Quilt, and I loved it then, and I love it all the more with a dark background.   All the quilts in Fast and Fun Lap Quilts are made with 1 Layer Cake/10" Stacker and a background fabric.  And like I said, Country Rose was the perfect Layer Cake to just pop on this black polka dot background.  It is just so happy making ;)   The quilt finishes at 68" x 68".  

Since I custom quilted all the quilts in the Fast & Fun Lap Quilts  I thought it would be fun to do all over designs for these second versions.   For this Aurora quilt, I quilted all over swirls and paisleys.   These are two of my favorite designs to quilt all over, and I just love all the yummy added texture it gives the quilt.   And when doing an all over using a black background, with pretty print colors, I recommend a nice soft grey thread.  It will blend into the black, but not stand out as much on the prints :) 

And that is another Aurora quilt, the third lap quilt in my new Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book !  You can find the Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book in your local or online quilt shops,  C&T Publishing, or if you would like a personalized signed copy, you can order from my Etsy shop.  And if you make your own Aurora quilt, I would love to see it!!  You can share your quilts with me on social media using hashtag #happyquiltingwithmc and #fastandfunlapquilts and tag me @happyquiltingmc or you can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com.   

Thanks so much for popping in for another Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book day of fun.    And if you haven't had a chance to enter Vanessa's Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Giveaway for a beautiful Christmas Eve Layer Cake that you can use to make your own gorgeous Christmas Version of Aurora, be sure and pop on over and enter.  

I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Day! 

Aurora - Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book Tour

 It's Week 4 of my Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book Tour and today I am sharing the Aurora quilt! This quilt is made up of two blocks, that area actually pieced with the same units.  I love how you can create two totally different blocks with the same pieces, so cool!!!   Oh, and I always love adding a "chain" in one of my quilts from a book (see the reason here) and this chain is subtle, but it is the perfect finish for this Aurora quilt.  

Here is the introduction I wrote about Aurora in the Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book.  "I absolutly love designing Star blocks!  Truly, they are my go-to bread and butter of designing.  In Aurora, I added a pieced frame to a basic Ohio Star to create an amazing block.  Then a simple change n fabric placement and orientation made a wonderful new second block that forms a chain across the quilt top.  The two blocks combine to make a stunning quilt."

When writing this book, I tried to give you all of the tips and trick that I would share if I were teaching a quilting class.  This is my favorite tip from the Aurora quilt.  It is the same as the "pin trick" that I share here, and it a total game changer in lining up lots of points.  My pinwheels have never looked so great :)   And this quilt has lots and lots of points, and they come out so perfect with this little trick ;)  

Aurora was made using Beautiful Day fabrics by Corey Yoder for Moda Fabrics.  All the quilts in Fast and Fun Lap Quilts are made with 1 Layer Cake/10" Stacker and a background fabric.  You will use 33 of the 10" squares for this quilt, and the Plan Ahead tip will help you divide your fabrics, so you know exactly where each fabric will go in your quilt and can plan accordingly.  This quilt finishes at 68" x 68", making it a great square lap size.  

I had so much fun custom quilting each of the quilts in Fast & Fun Lap Quilts .  For this Aurora quilt, I quilted swirls in the background, and then straight lines and pebbles in the blocks.  I left the center stars unquilted so they pop :)   And you know, it's my favorite 402 So Fine thread that I used to blend perfectly into the white background and all of the prints.   I just love how it all came together. 

And that is Aurora quilt, the fourth lap quilt in my new Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book !  You can find the Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book in your local or online quilt shops,  C&T Publishing, or if you would like a personalized signed copy, you can order from my Etsy shop.  And if you make your own Aurora quilt, I would love to see it!!  You can share your quilts with me on social media using hashtag #happyquiltingwithmc and #fastandfunlapquilts and tag me @happyquiltingmc or you can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com.   

And speaking of making an Aurora Quilt, my good friend, Vanessa Goertzen has mocked up Aurora using her new Christmas Eve fabrics that will come out in May of next year!!!   Isn't that just so amazing!!!!  This design looks so amazing in Christmas and this has totally been added to my "to make" list.  You can see all the details at Vanessa's blog , Lella Boutique .

And while you are visiting Vanessa at Lella Boutique, be sure to enter her giveaway.  Christmas Eve isn't out until May of 2023, but Vanessa scored one Christmas Eve Layer Cake to giveaway!!  How awesome is that!!!  You can enter the giveaway at her blog.  

And that is it for today, thanks for popping in for Week 4 of the Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book!

I am just so happy to share this Aurora quilt and be sure to pop back in on Friday when I will share a second version of the quilt (and it just so happens to be made with more of Vanessa's fabrics, so fun :)  

I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Day!

A funny thing happened on the way to the Quilt Shop

I have a fun little story to share today with a totally awesome ending!!!

 Last week, I realized that my Artista (Abby) Sewing Machine was long overdue for it's annual  maintenance and it was making a  funny noise so I figured I best take it in.  So I packed it up (a little begrudgingly, because its hard to go back to Bernadette as she isn't quite as reliable or fast) and my husband and I headed down to St. George to take it in for service.  On the way there, my husband just casually remarked  "For all the sewing you do, you really should have a second machine that is just as reliable as the first."   And I, being a little surprised, just smiled and said, "That would be nice indeed".    And a couple hours later I was walking out of the Bernina Quilt Shop with this little lady :)

I figured my sweethearts comment would simmer and maybe something would happen for Christmas . . .  but it was just one of things where everything worked out.  We walked into the shop to drop off my machine for maintenance, and they just happened to have a traded in Aurora 440.  Which was the other machine I was totally looking at when I got my Artista, and of course, my husband remembered that.  He just smiled and said "Call it an Early Mother's Day Present ;)"  Yes indeed, I sure do love that man of mine and am so very blessed to have him!!!!!!

And I am absolutely loving this new machine!!!!  No surprise that is quickly become my main machine and my Abby is now my back-up machine :)  It is faster, and quieter, and all together just awesome!!!  I have been heads down sewing like a crazy person all weekend and loving every minute of it :)  And it comes with the embroidery unit and I can take classes at the shop on how to use it, so maybe I will finally figure out how to do that little awesome bonus on this machine!!

Oh, and in case you are wondering, I figure she already has a name so no need to come up with a new one.  I am just so excited to welcome Aurora to the family!!!!!

Hope you are having a very Happy Quilting Day!!!  I'm off for some more chain stitching goodness :)