Celebrate Mom with guest Angela Walters (and Giveaway)

It's Day 3 of Celebrate Mom here at Happy Quilting!!!  A fun filled week of  daily guest posts and daily fabric giveaway's for you !!!  Today, I am super excited to welcome my guest Angela Walters from Quilting is my Therapy!!!

I was so tickled to meet Angela Walter's at fall quilt market when I got to hold her quilts for her schoolhouse.  I instantly found her to be a wonderfully delightful person and now a friend!  Angela is a tremendously talented long arm quilter, author of 2 books, fabric designer for Art Gallery Fabrics, A teacher of countless quilting classes, including virtual Craftsy classes, and a Mom too!!!  That is quite the list!!! So without further ado, let's toss it over to Angela!!

Hi, I'm Angela,

A close friend in the industry, who happens to be a mom of young children   recently confided in me that she was feeling a little overwhelmed with trying to get everything done.  In her email, she quipped, “Feel free to share any pointers that you might have, Super Mom!”

That was a stab to my heart.....I hate for anyone to think that I have anything together. Sometimes, as a work-at-home mom, I feel like I am hanging on by my fingernails. 

You may think that my family looks like this....

but, in reality most days it's a little different version at our house. 

If I had any “secret” to share, it would be that I don’t believe in a the concept of “balance”. I used to always say that I just needed to find balance.....a way to get my work done and spend time with my kids. But then I realized that there is no such thing as balance. My life is constantly changing.....one day, I may be able to get a little more work done. The very next day may be all about the children. I try to take each day at a time and try to find the balance that works within that day, knowing full well that tomorrow may be completely different.

Before I go to sleep every night, I try to focus on the things that I have accomplished that day (even if it is just the fact that I took a shower!!) instead of focusing on what is left to do!

If I have spent too much time quilting and haven’t planned dinner, my go-to meal is to grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. I heat up some frozen veggies and apple slices. The kids love it and comes together super fast.

Speaking of dinner....I guess it’s time to tackle that stack of dishes!

   --Angela

Thank you so much to Angela Walters for being part of this Celebrate Mom event!  And have you heard about Angela's Make It Right Challenge.  The challenge uses the Right Angels panel  from Angela's Textures line to create a project.  Oh, and there are lots of cash prizes at stake!!!  Be sure to check it out :)

And let's finish up with today's Giveaway!!!

Today's Celebrate Mom Giveaway is sponsored by The Scarlet Thread Quilt Co. One lucky winner will have this Spring Fat Quarter Collection put together by Julie as their Mother's Day gift!!  Don't these beautiful prints just make you want to breath in Spring!!

So what do you have to do for your chance to win???

Leave a comment here of your favorite item in Julie's shop, The Scarlet Thread Quilt Co.

That's it.  Up to 1 entry per person.  Giveaway is open to international entries.  It will close on Friday, May 10th and a winner will be selected randomly and announced shortly after.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to come back tomorrow when Maureen Cracknell will be stopping by and Christa Quilts will be hosting another fabulous giveaway!!!

Linking up to Sew Mama Sew

Celebrate Mom with Guests Heather and Megan from Quilt Story

It's Day 2 of Celebrate Mom here at Happy Quilting!!!  A fun filled week of  daily guest posts and daily fabric giveaway's for you !!!  Today, I am super excited to welcome my guests, Heather and Megan from Quilt Story!!

Heather and Megan are quite the dynamic duo!!  They created Quilt Story as a place to share their passion for quilting with lots of fun filled tutorials, a weekly Fabric Tuesday linky,  and a fabulous block of the month program.  But Quilt Story is also a place for other quilters to show their fabulous finishes and share the stories behind their quilts.  Heather and Megan also keep up a wonderful Pattern Company all while still taking care of their families.  So let's here how they do it!!  Take it away ladies :)


Thank you so much for having us Melissa! My name is Megan, my sister Heather and I blog at Quilt Story!  Our blog features other quilters as well as our own patterns and projects. I think all of us quilting/creative/sewing/blogging Momma's find ourselves with the same problem...how to balance it all!  And I do not have the answer for you!! :)  My husband is graduating from medical school in 1 week (hooray!!) and we have three little kids, almost 6 years, 4 years and 6 months.  Here we all are at Easter:

I don't know if I have any pictures of my kids helping me create!! Here are a couple of little funny stories and ideas on how I try to stay balanced!

• When they were a little smaller we would play store with my fabric, they loved it.  They also love to find patterns and help me go through my scraps! When they were 2-3 it was such a fun game to "find the purple fabrics" or "find the hearts".
• My oldest son is very much a thinker and he likes puzzles. Last year he saw me working out of a quilt book with blocks that were in B&W.  He took my scraps and would re-create the blocks. I was amazed at how well he could do it!
• Every box we receive the kids think is fabric :)
• They get excited with me just to indulge me...which is so sweet.
• Once when my second son was soooo mad at me he thought of the meanest thing he could say to me and yelled, "Your fabric isn't cute!!!!!!"

My boy's don't get too excited about things I make.  They will indulge me, like I said, and say "yeah that's cute" and go back to what they're doing. I have started a tradition to make them a quilt when they turn 4.  (And when they're born).  Here is Sawyer with his quilt:

And they do like that. I have a their names and a message on the back.

Ollie turned 4 in January and his quilt is done, but I still need to post about it.  Stay tuned!

This isn't as much of a recipe as a super-fast dinner when you need one and you usually have the ingredients. I made this the other night and it had been a while!  We're in the process of moving so faster the better.

What you need:

French Bread

Ranch Dressing

Tomatoes

Shredded Cheese

Slice up the french bread and put a layer of ranch.  Take sliced tomatoes and add on top, with a little salt.  Next cover with cheese.  Broil on low until cheese is melted. Eat hot!

So in the end, I think at best I can say I try to limit my time creating and blogging when my kids are awake/home to a minimum. They just don't stay little forever!  I do a majority of blogging after they are in bed.  And sometimes when I'm in a panic I stop and think "okay, this blog post can honestly wait a few hours" or days. :)  Thank you so much for having us!!!  And stop by Quilt Story and say hi!

Thank you so much to Heather and Megan for being my guest today!!  

And let's finish up with today's Giveaway!!!

Today's Celebrate Mom Giveaway is sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop.    One lucky winner will have this beautiful Happy Go Lucky Jelly Roll by Bonnie and Camille  as their Mother's Day gift!!  I have worked with this line already and it is fantastic!!!

So what do you have to do for your chance to win???

Leave a comment here of your favorite Jelly Roll Fat Quarter Shop carries.  There's a whole lot to choose from, so good luck :)

That's it.  Up to 1 entry per person.  Giveaway is open to international entries.  It will close on Friday, May 10th and a winner will be selected randomly and announced shortly after.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to come back tomorrow when Angela Walters will be stopping by and The Scarlet Thread Quilt Co. will be hosting another fabulous giveaway!!!

Linking up to Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day :)

Celebrating Mom and Sew Mama Sew

It's Day 1 of Celebrate Mom here at Happy Quilting!!!  If you missed the intro post, Celebrate Mom is a week long event that will include daily guest posts from some of my good friends on their mom/quilty adventure and a fave dinner recipe as well as daily fabric giveaway's for you !!!  So be sure to pop in each day this week so you don't miss any of the celebration!!

Today, is also Sew Mama Sew Giveaway day!!! When I originally scheduled Celebrate Mom I didn't realize it was over Sew Mama Sew Giveaway day.  Now I haven't missed one of these in years, and I wasn't about to start.  So today's post is doing double duty!!  (*giveaway is at the end of the post :)

  

  

I am so excited to start the Celebrate Mom event off.  I have gotten so many email from you all letting me know how much you are anticipating this week, and I have to say that and I am too!!!  So, let's get going!!!

I am a wife of almost 13 years and a mom of 5 :)  Our children are Spencer (10), Jessica (7), Kristian (6), Kamryn (4), and Jocelyn (18 mo).  So ya, things are always hopping over at the Corry household.   I am often asked, "How do you manage all the quilting with so many little ones?"  We'll, today, I am going to tell you a bit about how we attempt to do that :)

I like structure.  I was an accountant before I was a mom so it's not surprising, lining things up is just in my nature.   I have a daily routine that I stick to pretty much every day.  (with the occasional bend for craziness ;)   So, here's a typical weekday to give you an idea of how it works. (sometimes :)  

6:00 - 8:00- exercise / computer time  (ie blogging, designing, emailing, ect.)

8:00 - 11:30 - tidy up, run errands, homework for K guy, and general play and silliness

11:30 - 12:30 - Lunch time  (the kids eat while I catch up on email, why does it take kids so long to eat??)

12:30 -  1:00 - Afternoon Transition. ( take to K, Wee ones lay down, and lunch break with husband ) 

1:00 - 2:30/4:00)  NAP TIME aka SEWING TIME

4:00 - 5:00 homework and prepare dinner

5:00 - 6:00 - dinner time

6:00 - 8:00 - family time - (aka yardwork, games, walks, chores, sports, run around real crazy like time :)

8:00 - 10:00 - Unwind - Press and Pin time

10:00 - Go to sleep to start it all over again :)       

I find that when I try to stick to this schedule, as much as possible, that I have lots of time for my sewing, but still make lots of time for my kids.  (but it should be noted, I have no spare time for anything else, I don't remember the last time I watched tv in the daytime, and I listen to books now instead of reading them)   For me, It comes down to making time for what I like to do :)  

Okay, so are looking at the schedule and wondering how Unwind - Press & Pin go together??  This is a great way I have found for maximizing my sewing time!!!  I guess you could say it is my little Time Tidbit :)  

You see, I have a limited nap time and didn't want to waste a second of it, and I have tried to work in the evening but honestly,  I am tired in the evenings and not very productive.  So now, during my nap time sewing, I rarely press or pin.  I will cut for one project and then set it aside.  I will chain stitch up a huge pile and then set it aside.  I will do this for as much time as I have sometimes working on 3-4 projects.

Then . . . in the evening, after the wee ones go to bed, I bring up my ironing board, set it over my bed, and remove pins, clip threads, and press the massive pile I stitched that day.  Once the pressing is done, I pin the pieces I want to sew the next day.  Both pressing and pinning take next to no brain power,  so while I prepare for the next day of sewing, my husband checks sports, while we both watch a movie or some tv, or just chat about life and so forth, all while spending time together and unwinding from the day. Fantastic!!!

Now . . .  just so you don't think everyday runs perfect, here is a little taste of what happens when we get off schedule a bit.  Deadline looming and I find sewing time is spilling into morning or evening . . .  Well then I have assistants who hand me pins, put away pins, or use my chair to make pin cusion designs.  (they have not poked me once . . . so far)

Or, if they are not in a helping mood and want to be artistic, out come the designated scraps for scrap collages.  (Yes, I have scraps for me and scraps for them.)

Or, the good old fall back, just turn my sewing room into a toy room ;)

And if I find I have to finish a blog post, or I just need a few more minutes to finish a design, I get a musical pot symphony around me, and/or a computer typing buddy.  

And of course, on those crazy days, you need a quick fixing meal.  Our family loves Chicken Kisses.  It's just like campfire tinfoil dinners but done on your bbq :)  And you can totally change it up for whatever you have on hand.  Any meat, potatoes, any veggie, a little sauce (everyone likes different, a few BBQ, a few Ranch, and one Fry Sauce) and 30 minutes on the grill to perfection!!!  A family favorite that is easy to cook and fun for the kids to eat :)  

Image courtsey of allrecipes.com

So in summary, what works for us is to try to be structured as much as possible, and really make the most of the good days, so that on those other's day we can be flexible and know that things will be back to normal soon :)

And with that, let's get to our first giveaway!!!

Today's Celebreate Mom/Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day is sponsored by Green Fairy Quilts.  And Judy has a fabulous giveaway for you indeed!!!  One lucky winner will have this beautiful Posy Fat Quarter Bundle by Aneela Hoey for Moda as their Mother's Day gift!!  The prints in this line are just adorable and the colors are swoon worthy!!! 

So what do you have to do for your chance to win???

Leave a comment here of your favorite Fat Quarter Bundle Judy carries in her shop, Green Fairy Quilts.

That's it.  Up to 1 entry per person.  Giveaway is open to international entries.  It will close on Friday, May 10th and a winner will be selected randomly and announced shortly after.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to come back tomorrow when Heather and Meagan from Quilt Story will be stopping by and Fat Quarter Shop will be hosting another fabulous giveaway!!!

Welcome Southern Fabric!!!!

Today I am so excited to welcome  Southern Fabric as  Happy Quilting's newest sponsor!!!   Aubrey Marshall, owner and operator, opened Southern Fabrics in 2004 and her shop has grown and grown to sell thousands of yards of fabric to thousands of customers worldwide!!

Southern Fabric carries is constantly stocking it's virtual shelves with all the best and newest from Moda, Freespirit, Riley Blake, and Westminster.  

Some of my new favorites on the virtual shelf include Julie and Eric Comstock's 2wenty Thr3e!!!  I just love the colors in this line and the fun retro prints!!

And who doesn't want to add more Chevron's from Riley Blake to their stash??

Not only does Southern Fabric carry all of the new, but you can still find some of your all time favorite collections there as well and at great sale prices.  Like Amy Butler's fabulous Lark 

Or, one of my all time favorites, Joel Dewberry's Aviary 2

Southern Fabric also carries a large line of patterns from all your favorite designers!!  So ya, pretty much, no matter what you are in looking for, Southern Fabric is sure to please!!

You can keep up with Southern Fabric at their blog, twitter, facebook, and pinterest :)

       

Thank you to Aubrey and Southern Fabric!!!   I am so excited to have you as part of the Happy Quilting Family!!! 

Aubrey will be hosting one of our Celebrate Mom Giveaways so be sure to pop in next week for a chance to win something fantastic at her shop!!!  And while you wait, you can always pop on over to Southern Fabric and see what you might want to snatch up for a little Mother's Day Present!!!  (Please say I am not the only one that buys fabric for myself for Mother's Day, it's the perfect excuse for some happy shopping :)  

Star Value Block and Quilt - A Tutorial

Happy Friday Everyone!!!    Today I am so happy to share my block and quilt tutorial, Star Value.  Star Value is a super fun block that is made with just squares and half square triangles.  And with 5 size options it is sure to work for any project you have in mind :)  Don't you just love the low volume scrappy background, and plenty of scrappy color pop!   Star Value will have you pulling out your scrap bins and getting your scrap busting groove on!!!

And to get an idea of how this block will look in a finished quilt . . . I drafted up a little EQ drawing.  So fun, huh!!!  My bee will be making this block for me this month and I can't wait to see all of those fabulous scrappy blocks.  It is going to be amazing, I just know it!!

Alright, I promised you a Star Value tutorial so let's get to it!!!

**To see a simplified PDF Printer Friendly Version of this Tutorial please go here  for The Star Value PDF it is available for Free Download!!

First, you will need to decide what size block you would like to make!! The block shown is a 20" block.

STEP 1 - CUTTING

Using the diagram above, go through your scraps and cut the total number of squares indicated for your chosen block size.  If you are making multiple blocks for a quilt top, multiply the quantity by the number of blocks you want to make.   Once you are done cutting you should have piles that look something like this.  As you can see, the scrappier the better!!

STEP 2 - MAKING HALF SQUARE TRIANGLES

The fun thing about this block is it only takes Half Square triangles and the squares you have already cut.  So let's start by making some Half Square Triangles.  Match your blocks cut for Half Square Triangles into the following sets - 8 matching color/white sets, 8 grey/white sets, and 4 any color/grey sets.

Hint - When making an entire quilt of blocks,  to save time be sure and repeat each of the sub-steps in an assembly line fashion.

On the wrong side of the darker fabric using your ruler, draw a pen line diagonally from the top left corner to the bottom right corner.

Lay your darker square on your lighter square with rights sides together.  Pin both sides adjacent to that drawn line.  Make sure to put them out far enough that your presser foot won't hit them as you sew on by :)  Stitch a 1/4" seam along both sides of the drawn line (the black lines represent your stitching lines :)

And remember, you are doing these assembly line so go ahead and chain stitch all the sets on the right hand side of the line, and then go back and do all the sets on the left hand side.

Clip your threads and then align your ruler along the drawn center line.  Cut your pieces apart along that drawn line.

Now press towards your darker fabric.

And now you are ready to trim up your HST.  The following are the trim sizes for each size block
       12" - 2" square     16" - 2 1/2" square     20" - 3" square     24" - 3 1/2" square   28" - 4" square
I will use the 3" trim for the example.  Start by aligning the 45 degree line on your square ruler with the seam line on your half square triangle.  Make sure that the raw edges of the half square triangle are over the 3" line's on your ruler.  Trim the 2 sides along the edge of the ruler.

Now spin your block 180 degrees.  Once again, align the 45 degree line on your ruler with the seam line on your half square triangle.  Align the raw edges of the half square triangle under the ruler on the 3" lines on your ruler.  Trim the 2 sides along the edge of the ruler.

And now you have Perfect Half Square Triangles.  They take a bit to trim but are totally worth it for perfect points!!

You should have 40 Half Square Triangles total.

STEP 3 - MAKING THE BLOCK CENTER STAR

And now you are ready to start assembling your block!!  Note - It's easy to get turned around with this block so I find it is always easiest to lay each step out so things don't get turned around.  (And even with that, I still unpicked a seam or 2 :)  Start by laying out 4 sets of color/white HST's with the matching color squares and 4 white color squares as follows.

I find the easiest way to piece this is to sew the squares into 4 quadrants of 4 first.  So start by placing the the first square in each row onto the second square and the third squares onto the fourth squares with right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along all the edges. (Shown in upper left corner).  Press the seams of each quadrant in opposite directions.  (Shown in upper right corner).  Now place the top row in each of the 4 quadrants onto the bottom row.  Nest the center seam and pin in place.  Sew a 1/4" seam along pinned edge of all 4 quadrants (Shown in bottom left corner.)  Press the seams open. (shown in bottom right corner.)

And now you should have 4 quadrants of 4 pieced squares.  And now you can sew those 4 quadrants together.

Place the left hand blocks onto the right hand blocks with right sides together.  Once again, nest the center seam and pin in place.  Sew a 1/4" seam along pinned edge.  Press your seams open.

**Note, when you are sewing this seam, if you make sure to cross your seam directly at the bottom of the little white triangle created in the seam you will get a perfect point every time :)

Now just place the top row onto the bottom, and be sure to align and pin each seam in place.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge and then press the seam open.

And your center star is complete!!  Set this aside for the moment.

STEP 4 - MAKING THE BLOCK DIAMOND POINTS

And now, you are ready to do the diamond points.  This is the exact same process as before of making quadrants into blocks.  And note - You will be making 4 of these so assembly line fashion again will save you time.  For each set gather up 4 grey/white HST's and 2 Grey/color HST's and lay them out as follows.

This time I placed the the second square in each row onto the first square and the fourth square onto the third squares with right sides together and sewed a 1/4" seam along all the edges. (it's fun to mix it up a bit).  Press the seams of each quadrant in opposite directions.  Then place the top row in each of the 2 quadrants onto the bottom row and nest and pin the center seam and sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge. Press the seams open.

Place the right hand blocks onto the left hand block with right sides together.  Once again, nest the center seam and pin in place.  Sew a 1/4" seam along pinned edge.  Press your seams open.  Remember to make a total of 4 of these units.

STEP 5 - MAKING THE BLOCK CORNERS

And all you have left is the corners.  And by now, you are a pro at sewing these little quadrants together!!  Gather your remaining 4 Colored Squares, 8 matching colored/white HST's and 4 white squares and lay them out into 4 sets as follows.

Sew the quadrants together just like before, sewing the squares into rows first, pressing in opposite directions, and then sewing the top and bottom row together and pressing the seam open.  As always, use a 1/4" seam and be sure to nest your seams.

And then you have 4 fantastic corner blocks!

STEP 6 - SEWING THE STAR VALUE BLOCK

Which means, you are ready to sew the entire block together!!!  Lay your pieces out as follows.

Place the right hand blocks in each row onto the center blocks with right sides together.  Align your seams and pin in place.  Repeat for the left hand blocks as well.  Sew a 1/4" seam along all the pinned edges.  Press the seams open.

And you should now have 3 fantastic rows. Only 2 more seams to go!!

Place the top row onto the center row with right sides together and once again align and pin each seam.  Repeat for the bottom row onto the center row as well.  Sew a 1/4" seam along each of the pinned edges.  Press the seams open.

Now just sit back and enjoy your fantastic Star Value block!!!

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial!!!  I really had so much fun designing and creating it and hope you will as well!!!  If you do create a Star Value block I would love to see it . . . You can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com or share on social media  with  #happyquiltingwithmc or add it to my  Flickr Group.  I can't wait to check it out!!

And now let's get a finished quilt shown!!!!  Here is my Star Value Quilt!!!!   And a huge thanks so my bee mate friends who each made a block ;)  It just added to the scrappy goodness!!!!

This is a 3 x 4 layout, so only 12 blocks of the 20" size which makes a great lap quilt at 60" x 80" ;)   Isn't that so much fun!!!

I quilted mine with an all over Swirl.  I love the movement it adds and how it softens all of those points from all the HST's ;)

And I finished the quilt with a scrappy binding.  I always save the leftovers from my bindings, and I just love getting to use up a bunch of them!!!  And I mean, what better way to finish a scrappy quilt than with a scrappy binding!!!

This really is such an awesome scrap buster quilt!!!  So whether you make one block at a time, or make all your blocks at once, you are going to have some happy scrap busting!!!

Thanks for popping in today and sharing this Star Value Block Tutorial and Quilt Finish with me!!!

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