Star Surround Quilt-A-Long - Schedule, Fabric Requirements, and Prizes!!!!

**Note - If you are Looking for the Rustic Rooster Giveaway you can find it here :)

It's here!!  The Star Surround Quilt-A-Long officially starts today!!!  Today's post is going over everything you need to know to Quilt-A-Long.   There will be a post each Monday from now until August 26th with weekly assignments and then there will be a Parade and Grand Prizes on September 16th.  So . . . onto a little rundown on how it's going to work!!

THE HOW TO

The Star Surround Quilt-A-Long is my own quilt design and I hope you enjoy putting it together.  The quilt-a-long will include 5 different sizes for the star surround block giving you mutliple layout options.  I have come up with two different fabric layouts, Same Layout or Scrappy Layout and have provided fabric requirements for 1 x 1 block layouts, 2 x 2 block layouts, 3 x 3 block layouts, and 4 x 4 block layouts.  This quilt will not be made by making one block at a time but rather a more assembly line process.  Once the units are done, then the blocks will be created.   I broke down the construction of the quilt into 6 weeks and then added an additional 2 weeks to get it basted, quilted, and bound.  The schedule will be as follows

July 15th - Intro, Fabric Requirements, and Prize Announcement

July 22 - Cutting

July 29 - Half Square Triangles

Aug 5 - Flying Geese

Aug 12 - Building Block Centers

Aug 19 - Building Block Surround

Aug 26 - Piecing Top and Grand Prize Linky

Sept 16 - Star Surround Parade and Grand Prize Winners

So count on checking back each Monday to see what the next week's assignment will be.  You will want to try to keep up weekly as there will be prizes along the way!!   Be sure to take a picture of your finished weekly assignment so that you can link it up for the weekly prizes :)  Oh, and if you are new to quilting, no worries, this will be super beginner friendly! I will go through each step in great detail in the Monday posts.

CHOOSING A SIZE BLOCK AND BLOCK LAYOUT

So to start, you need to make some choices.  What size project do you want to make and with what size blocks. Check out this chart below to help you decide what size project you want to make and with how many blocks in it.  A 1 x 1 layout is 1 block, a 2 x 2 layout is 4 blocks, a 3 x 3 layout is 9 blocks (Kits provided for this layout) , and a 4 x 4 layout is 16 blocks.

Alright, have you chosen a size project.  Great, let's see what fabrics you are going to need.

THE FABRIC REQUIREMENTS

Same or Scrappy Layout
As mentioned earlier, I will be providing cutting directions for 2 different fabric layouts.  They are Same or Scrappy.  Same layout uses 4 fabrics only, 2 star fabrics, 1 surround fabric, and a background fabric.  Scrappy layouts uses the number of block fabrics having each fabric in 2 stars and 1 surround.  Here's an image to give you a better idea of what I mean :)

                                          Same Layout                                           Scrappy Layout

  

Same Fabric Requirement
So, if you choose to do the same fabric layout with 4 different fabrics, you will need the following amounts of fabrics.  A and B refer to the Star fabrics in the center and Sur refers to the surround unit around the star.

Scrappy Fabric Requirement
If you choose to do the scrappy fabric layout you will need the total number of fabrics as there are blocks in your quilt.  The size of each fabric depends on the size of your project.

Background Fabric Requirement
Regardless of what type of layout you choose, (same or scrappy)  you will need the same amount of background fabric.  To see the amount of background fabric needed for your particular size project see the chart below.  ( I will be showing everything with a white background fabric, but you don't have to use white, feel free to choose any color you like for the background, but I would recommend a solid.)

Binding and Backing Requirement
Refer to the two charts below for the requirements you will need for binding and backing for your particular project :)

THE STAR SURROUND QUILT-A-LONG KITS

I have asked 2 of my wonderful sponsors, Christa from Christa Quilts and Julie from the Intrepid Thread, to put together some custom bundles together for Star Surround Quilt-A-Long kits.  And as always, they came up with some stunning options for you.   The Kits are made for the 3 x 3 layout and can be found in all 3 sizes (baby, picnic, and queen) in that layout.

Same Layout Kits

The kits for the Same Layout were made by Christa from Christa Quilts and are all in solids, for those of you that want a bit more modern flair to your quilt.  The kits are as follows and all three sizes of the 3 x 3 layout  can be found here at Christa Quilts.  I went ahead and put each bundle into the quilt layout so you could get an idea of how they will look in the quilt.  These bundles are at a special Quilt-A-Long discount price, but  Christa has more discounts for you.  Use the coupon code HQM10 at your checkout and receive and extra 10% off your order.  This means you can get an extra 10% off your already low priced bundle as well as getting 10% off  any other quilting supplies you might need.   Score!!  This code will be valid during the entire duration of the Quilt-A-Long.  Thanks Christa for this extra perk :)

Classic Tuxedo - Uses Kona Lipstick (#1194), Iron (#408), Black (#1010), White (#1387)

Dandelion Grey - Uses Kona Canary (#26), Ash (#1007), Charcoal (#1071), White (#1387)

Modern Patriotic - Uses Kona Rich Red (#1551), Robin Egg (#1514), Iron (#408), Snow (#1339)

All three are just stunning solid combinations and certainly have modern flair.  Thanks again Christa!!!

Scrappy Layout Kits

The kits for the Scrappy Layout were made by Julie from  the Intrepid Thread and are a beautiful arrangement of prints.  Julie has a wonderful eye for color!!  The kits are as follows and all three sizes of the 3 x 3 layout can be found here at The Intrepid Thread.  Julie even gives you the option of choosing your background color :)    I went ahead and put each bundle into the quilt layout so you could get an idea of how they will look in the quilt.   And as before, These bundles are at a special Quilt-A-Long discount price, but  Julie didn't stop there. Use the coupon code Happy10 at your checkout and receive and extra 10% off your order.  Yup, that's additional discounts on your purchase that you can use on your binding and backing as well as your already low priced kit, Yippee Skippee!!!    Thanks Julie!!

California Vintage  

  

 Cherry Chocolate Cheese Cake

  

Sea Breeze

     

Sodalite and Citrine 

  

Put An Umbrella In It

  

Aren't these just fabulous. Julie has impeccable taste in fabric!! Good Luck choosing a favorite!! It was a super hard choice for me, but in the end I decided I am going with Sea Breeze.  I am so excited!

THE PRIZES

I am so very excited about the Prizes for this Quilt-A-Long!!  I don't know about you, but I know that I am highly more motivated to keep up and finish when there are prizes at stake ;)  So how about this for a little motivation.

All those that finish their quilt top will be eligible for the Grand Prize.  The Grand Prize's are sponsored by The Intrepid Thread and Fat Quarter Shop and huge Thank You goes out to Julie and Kimberly for their generosity in these prizes.  Wan't to know what they are???

A $75.00 Gift Certificate that you can spend as you like!!  There will be 4 lucky Grand Prize winners, 2  winners will receive a Gift Certificate to The Intrepid Thread and 2 winners will receive a Gift Certificate to Fat Quarter Shop.  Talk about some fun Shopping Sprees!!!  And if that whopping amount of fabric goodness isn't motivation, then I don't know what is!!

    

But . . . Sometimes it is hard to keep motivated when the end is so far away.  So for that . . . We have a little Weekly Motivation.  Each week you will be able to link up (You don't have to have a blog to link up, you can link to a flickr picture :) your completed assignment for a chance to win the weekly prize.    These Weekly Prizes will be sponsored by several of my Sponsors and will be so fun!!!

 

So ya,  there is lots of wonderful fabric to be won!!!  So keep up and sew on!!!

THE BUTTONS AND FLICKR

 Now down to the last of the nitty gritty.  First, If you are Quilting-A-Long and have a blog, It would be wonderful if you added the button to your blog :)   It really helps to spread the word and  the more that Quilt-A-Long the better!!!  If you have already added the button, thank you!!!

 

  <a border="0" href="http://happyquiltingmelissa.blogspot.com/p/quilt-longs.html" target="_blank"><img src=" https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xN8H3ElAekYVkuJmxii0a7nlr2dQhHXgmthyphenhyphenKKvrBDpwPPq7OXylub0l4JON1gtW5QwQiK6Aghn7GfFtJBGZhFywS8gLporlp6OdceQiNZu7woJ0Sm3HGuBo5T0dM90or932nDP9YCQ/s1600/Button.jpg"/></a>

Second, I would love it if you joined the Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long Flickr group.  You can post your fabric here, your progress, ask questions, ect.   And it is a super fun place to get to chat along with everyone participating :)  

LET'S GET GOING!!

So that just about wraps it up!!!  This week's assignment, round up your fabric.  Next Monday you will be getting your cutting assignments.  (And you will have a whole week to cut your fabric so if you don't have it by next Monday, it's okay, you still have some time :)

Now I know that was a lot for one post, so if you have any questions at all regarding the Quilt-A-Long please do not hesitate to email me at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com.  I don't want anyone to not participate because they are confused by my rambling :)  And one last thing, please feel free to make your quilt your own.  If you want a different layout, great!  Want to add a border, perfect!!  What ever you envision, you make it, all will be eligible for prizes :)  Now . . .  Let's get Quilting-A-Long!!!

Linking up to Quilt Story :)

Thank You - David is Doing Well

I can not begin to express my overwhelming gratitude when I got on my computer this afternoon and found so many beautiful, kind, and sincere comments from all of you for my sweet little nephew, David.  I am moved to tears and am just so grateful for all of your heartfelt thoughts, comments, and prayers.  Thank you so very much!!

David's open heart surgery on Friday went very well.  It was more complicated than anticipated and yet, everything went smooth and he is recovering.  In fact, he is recovering so well, he had surgery again this morning to close everything up.  We are so very grateful to the wonderful surgeon and his team that has taken such amazing care of little David.  He will continue to be in their care for another week or so while he finishes up his recovery and then he will get to go home.  What a miraculous journey this little guys first few weeks of life have been.

Again, thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.  Each are felt and so very much appreciated.

David

So, I normally don't share a whole lot of personal stuff on this blog, but today I am. I love that this blog has created a whole new family for me.  I really do see you as my quilting family.  And well, right now, I need a little favor from ya all.

Some of you might recall from this post that I recently finished a baby boy quilt for my sweet little nephew that was soon to be expected.  Well, David arrived last Wednesday.  Here he is in his first few hours with his mommy.  That's my twin sister, Jen :)  Isn't he just adorable!!  Everything seemed to be perfect but the next day the family got some sad news.

During his routine check-up a heart murmur was detected.  Tests were run and showed that David has coarctation of the aorta and two holes in his heart, ASD, and VSD.  He was transferred to the Children's Hospital and has been awaiting his surgery day.  This morning he is undergoing open heart surgery to fix the above mentioned problems.

It has been a long hard week for David and his parents.  We are praying that everything goes well with his surgery and that his recovery will be smooth and hopefully no further surgeries will be needed.   So, the favor.   Could you please keep this little guy in your thoughts and prayers today.  Thank you and know that is is so greatly appreciated by me and his parents :)

P.S.  I am away from my computer this weekend and so I won't be able to respond to your comments right away but I will be sure to give an update on David Sunday evening.  Thank you again :)

Sewing with Grandma

**Note - If you are looking for the Rustic Rooster Giveaway you can find it here :)

So this summer, Barbara started a little summer sewing activity for some of the older grand-kids.  The kids named it Make It Monday :)  Each Monday afternoon, and then some other days in between, a few of the grandkids met with Grandma to work on their desired project.  This last week my 3 oldest finished their projects.

Jessi made this adorable owl purse.  Her bff (and cousin) has a matching one.  They are totally loving their matching purses and can be found sporting them all over town :)

Jessi did such a great job.  She cut out all her pieces, stitched her applique in place, and then put the bag together with the help from Grandma.  She really is staring to be quite the little seamstress.
 

Spencer and Kristian decided they wanted to make "Ranger" capes based off of the books "Rangers Apprentice" that Spencer is reading right now.  They loved cutting out all of their wonky camoflouge shapes to add to the capes.

They didn't however, love stitching all of those wonky shapes in place.  Spencer set himself a goal of so many a week to have it done by this weekend.  It was a great way to work through it I thought.  (Grandma helped a lot with Kristian's, he decided pretty early out of the gate that secure stitching really wasn't his thing :)  The boy's absolutely love their capes and can be found whipping around and hiding in corners every 2 minutes.

I want to shout out a  huge Thank You to Barbara!!!  She really is absolutely amazing.  She works with the kids so well and is so patient with them, even when they are getting a little crazy and antsy.  Mom, you really made the kids summer with Make it Monday!!  And just in case you are wondering,  yes, I know that I have the best Mother In Law in the world, and I am so very happy to have her in our lives!!!

Welcome Rustic Rooster & Giveaway

Today I am so excited to welcome  the Rustic Rooster Quilt Shop as Happy Quilting's newest sponsor!!!   Trina is a brand new shop owner who has always had the dream of opening a quilt shop.  In fact, it was that dream that helped her through her struggle of breast cancer.  She recently finished treatment and jumped into the world of fabric shop owner opening an brick and mortar store in Oregon as well as an online shop.  Congrats Trina on making your dream a reality!!

Rustic Rooster Quilt Shop carries mostly Moda fabrics with some Riley Blake sprinkled in there.  Of course, Trina plans on carrying more fabric lines in the near future and is adding stock each week.  

Trina carries both yardage and pre-cuts, including the newest Honeycomb precuts, so you are sure to find what you are looking for :)

Trina also has Pattern, Books, Threads, Gifts, Notions, and Batting.  It's so convenient to have it all in one place!!!!  I just love this Quilt Happy color dip mug in her gifts section.  Isn't it so cute and who doesn't want to be reminded to Quilt Happy :)

Trina focuses on having low prices and amazing customer service.  That way everyone can enjoy good quality fabrics.  Congrats again Trina, on making your dream come true!!  I am so excited to have you as part of the Happy Quilting Family!!! 

And as part of their welcome debut the Rustic Rooster Quilt Shop. is giving away a $30.00 Gift Card to one lucky winner!!!  

You have two chances to win, please leave a separate comment for each.  And since Trina has a brand new shop, I thought it might be nice for your entries to allow you to get acquainted :)

1 - Visit the Rustic Rooster Quilt Shop and leave a comment here of what you might want to use your $30.00 Gift Certificate on. 

2 - Like the Rustic Rooster Quilt Shop on Facebook and leave a comment that you did so.

So that's it :) The giveaway will close on Monday night July 17th and I will announce a winner shortly after.     
And one last thing . . . we can't all win the Gift Certificate but Trina has added a special little surprise so that everyone can be a winner!!!

Trina is offering 25% off your entire purchase at the Rustic Rooster Quilt Shop when you enter the  coupon code HQ13 at checkout.  The code will be valid from July 10th through July 16th!!!  So now we can all have some shopping fun :)

Thanks for popping in and have a Happy Quilting Day!!!