Posy Garden Hop And Quilt!!!

Note - If  you are looking for the Layer Cake Checkmate Quilt Post, you will find it here ;)

A little while back I was asked by the wonderfully talented Carina Gardner if I wanted to play with some of her beautiful Posy Garden prints as part of the Posy Garden Tour.  It took all of about two seconds to say absolutely yes!!!!  I love Carina's  beautiful style and use of rich colors.  And, the blog hop just happened to line up with my Riley Blake Design Team post, So . . . that means tutorial as well!!!!!  So, Today I am super excited to share my new Posies Quilt for the Posy Garden Blog Hop and a full tutorial for making your own Posies Quilt as well ;)

So can you see the Posies??  When I initially designed this quilt I didn't know that it would be for this fabric line, but as soon as I saw the fabric, I knew it was the perfect fit!!!!  I just love how they look like little flowers with the stems opening up to allow the blossoms to bloom ;)  Perfect !!!

So . . . Let's get right into that tutorial ;)

What you will Need:

(18) Fat Eighth's from Posy Garden

3 1/2 Yards of Snow Shades for Background

2/3 Yard of Asphalt Shades for Binding

4 1/2 Yards of Matching Print for Backing

STEP 1 - CUTTING

We will start with cutting all of our fabrics.

From each of the 18 Fat Eighth's cut (3) 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" squares, for a total of 54 Squares.

From your Black Yardage cut (8) 2 1/2" X Width of Fabric Strips to be used for Binding.

From your White Background yardage cut:
           (10) 3 1/2" x Width of Fabric Strips
           (8) 3 1/2" x Width of Fabric Strips subcut into (22) 3 1/2"x 12 1/2" Rectangles
           (5) 6 1/2" x Width of Fabric Strips subcut into (30) 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" Squares

Then from your remaining White Background yardage cut (1) 21 1/2"  x Width of Fabric Strip.    Subcut the strip into (2) 21 1/2" x  21 1/2" Squares (it is okay if there is a little bit of selvage in them as they will be trimmed at the end ;)   And finally, Subcut the (2) Squares in half diagonally twice to yield 4 triangles per square and a total of 8 Triangles.  

STEP 2 - SEWING THE POSY FOUR PATCHES

Before we can start sewing, we need to do a little fabric organizing.  We will by grouping our Print fabrics into two groups, a Group A and a Group B.  Group A represents the "posies" in the quilt and Group B represents the "stems " in the quilt.   Because of that, I used the more floral prints in Group A and the more basic prints in Group B, but you can divide them as you like.   Place 9 prints (3 of each) into a pile for Group A and 9 prints (3 of each) into a pile for Group B.

Now, we are going to group each of the 9 "posies" in the quilt.  Layout your Group A prints, keeping the 3 prints of each together.   Then, choose a print from Group B to compliment the Group A print.  Place 1 Group B print with each set of Group A prints to make a total of 4 squares in each set.   Set the remaining Group B prints aside for the moment.

And now, we are ready to start sewing Four Patches.   Layout a set of 4 squares that you have just created as shown below.   (and I am sorry, somehow I forgot to take a picture of this next bit, but I am sure you can figure it out :)   Place the right hand squares onto the left hand squares with right sides together and stitch a 1/4" seam along the edges to sew the two rows together.

Press the seam allowances of each of the two rows in opposite directions.  This will allow them to nest.   Place the top row onto the bottom and Nest (and pin if you like) the center seam.  Sew a 1/4"seam along the edge.

Press the seam allowance open.  And your Four Patch is done :)  Repeat the process for the remaining 8 sets of 4 squares to make a total of 9 Posy Four Patches.  They should measure 12 1/2" x 12 1/2".   (and you can always chain stitch this process if you want to speed things up a bit ;)

STEP 3 - SEWING THE STEM FOUR PATCHES

And now, we are ready to make the "stems".  Layout your 9 Posy Four Patches with space between them as shown below.   If you have a designated space to do this that is best as it helps to just leave these laid out on the floor ;)

Now with your remaining Group B print squares and your White 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" squares, fill in between the "posies" by laying out 4 Patches as shown below.  Take care to match the print sides to the bottom of the "posies" so that the "stem" is all the same print.   You will be laying out 12 Additional "Stem" four Patches.

Once your layout is all correct, gather the additional "stem" four patches.  (leave the "Posy" Four Patches where they are.)    I like to stack them up next to my machine so I can chain stitch them and save time, but you can do them one at a time if you prefer.  Using the "Posy" Four Patch instructions, Sew these additional "Stem" Four Patches together.

When completed, you should have 12 Additional "Stem" Four Patches that will measure 12 1/2" x 12 1/2 square.

And now, you can place them back in between the "Posy" Four Patches as shown below.  (this is why it is nice if you can just leave the laid out ;)

STEP 4 - SEWING FOUR PATCHES INTO ROWS

Now with the Four Patches all done, you are ready to start sewing them into rows.  For that, we are going to need our small 3 1/2" x 12 1/2" Rectangles or Sashing Strips.  Place a Small Sashing Strip between the Four Patches as shown below.  Take note that there are not sashing strips at the end of every row as some of them will be trimmed.

Place the small sashing strips onto the 4 Patches with right sides together.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the edge of each set.   (I find it is very helpful to take a picture of this step before picking them all up so you can remember where everything goes back ;)

Press the seam allowances towards the sashing strips.  Now gather  5 of your large Setting Triangles and lay them at the end of the rows as shown below.   (Yup, one got away from me for a few pictures so I had to add him in digitally ;)

Now you are ready to sew the rows together diagonally.   To do this, place the sashed Four Patch or Setting Triangle of the row onto the second Block/Triangle with right sides together.  Stitch a 1/4" seam allowance and then press towards the sashing.  (shown in first row).  Then, place the third Block/Triangle onto the now sewn together first and second units with right sides together.  Stitch a 1/4" seam allowance and then press towards the sashing (shown in second row)  Continue in this fashion until the row is all sewn together.
 NOTE - When adding the setting triangles:  For Row 1 and Row 2 (or top rows) Align the bottom edge of the triangle with the bottom of the row.   For Row 4, 5, and 6 (or bottom rows) Align the top edge of the triangle with the top of the row.

Continue in this fashion until you have sewn all of the rows together.  Then press all of the seam allowances towards the sashing strips.  Trim the "dogears" that are hanging out on your triangles even with the rows.

STEP 5 - SEWING ROWS INTO QUILT TOP

And now, you are ready to add your long sashing strips and sew the rows into a quilt top.  Start by sewing all 10 of your 3 1/2" x Width of Fabric strips End to End to make one giant strip.   (I like to trim the selvages of my strips before sewing them together ;)

Now lay the giant strip between each of your sewn rows and trim  a piece of the sashing strip to size.  They don't have to be perfect, just close.   Notice, you don't need a sashing strip along the bottom row of the quilt.

And now it is just like making the rows, only on a larger scale ;)   Place the sashing strips onto the rows with right sides together.  You can pin if you like or just align as you go.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the edge or each row.

Press the seam allowances towards the sashing strips.  Add 2 remaining Setting Triangles (there will be 1 leftover that is scrap)  to be used for the two Top Corner Triangles.

Place the Corner Triangles onto the top row and the end of the third row with right sides together as shown below.  If the end of your Third row is not even with the sashing, just trim it nice and even.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the edge of the triangles and press the seam allowance on your Corner Triangles towards the sashing.

And now, you can start sewing the sashed rows together!!! Place the bottom row onto the next row with right sides together.  Take care to align your sashing strips and pin them together.  (this means you will have to sort or peek between the strips to assure they are aligned)  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge and press towards the sashing strip.

Next, place the now sewn together first and second row onto the third row with right sides together.   Once again, align the sashing and pin it in place.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge and then press towards the sashing.

Continue in this fashion sewing the rows together.  I find it easiest to sew half of the rows together from the bottom.  Then to stop and switch to the top of the quilt and sew half of the rows together. So then you have two halves that look like this.

Then all that is left is to place the bottom half onto the top half with right sides together.  Align the sashing strips and pin them in place.  Then sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge and finally, press towards the sashing strip.

And now your quilt top should look a little something like this and is all ready to be trimmed nice and sqaure ;)

STEP 6 - TRIMMING QUILT TOP & ADDING SIDE BORDERS

To trim your quilt top, place a cutting mat under your quilt top.  You will be trimming the sides of the quilt different than the top and bottom so be sure to note that!!!  Along the two sides of the quilt, align your long quilting ruler so that it is 1/4" over the points of the print "stems".  Trim along the edge, removing the excess background fabric.

Along the top and bottom of the quilt, align your long quilting ruler so that it is 2 1/2" over the points of the print "posies".  Trim along the edge, removing the excess background fabric.

And now your quilt top should look something like this.   You can be done here if you like, but I like to have all of the posies appear to be "floating" so I decided to add two side borders.   The other thing that is super nice about this is that it uses up some of that "trim" and less wasted fabric is always better ;)

So grab that extra that you trimmed off of the top and the bottom of the quilt.  Cut it into a 3" strip.  Then you will need to cut a few additional 3" strips from the triangles you cut from the side.  If you cut just right, you can get this from the sashing part and not the pieced square part ;)   Sew the strips end to end to make 2 long border strips.

Place them along along the two sides of the quilt.  If they are a little short, add some additional trim pieces ;)  Place the two side borders onto the quilt with right sides together.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the edge.  Trim the excess strip and then press towards the border strip.

And there you have it!!!  A beautiful Posies Quilt Top all ready to be finished up :)

STEP 7 - FINISHING QUILT

So . . . Let's finish it up ;)  Time to  Baste It, Quilt It, and Bind It!!!  Which is a whole lot in one little sentence.  If you are new to quilting, you can see my Finishing Your Quilt Series of video tutorials that will walk you through Basting, Quilting, and Binding step by step ;)

I had a lot of fun quilting mine with one of my favorite all over fillers.  A beautiful Feathered Swirl ;)  I just have so much fun quilting this design, it is so very relaxing and looks so pretty!!!

And I just love all of the gorgeous texture it gives the quilt.  Doesn't that just make you want to snuggle up with it!!!

Use the remaining (8) 2 1/2"x 42" black strips for binding the quilt.  And your Done!!!

STEP 8 - ENJOY QUILT

And now, just sit back and enjoy your beautiful Posies Quilt!!!  It finishes at 68" x 70" so it is just the perfect size to snuggle up with and enjoy a good book or a little nap!!

 I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and if you make your own Posies Quilt I would love to see it!!  You can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com or add it to my flickr group here or post it to social media with the hashtag #happyquiltingwithmc ;)  I can't wait to see your Posies Quilts!!!

 Thank you so much to Carina Gardner for allowing me to play with her goregous fabrics!!!!   And for more Posy Garden fun, be sure to follow along all week with the Posy Garden Blog Hop!!!  You will  find all of the details of the Hop over at Carina's blog ;)

Thanks for stopping in today to share this tutorial.  I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Day!!!

Layer Cake Checkmate Quilt

I am so excited to be sharing another quilt from the Shortcut Quilt Series from Fat Quarter Shop.  This one is called Layer Cake Checkmate and it is so much fun!!!!  Don't you just love those happy bright 4 patches among the neutral squares :)  I just can't get enough of how much they pop!!!!  

Layer Cake Checkmate is a free pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop that can be found over at the Jolly Jabber ;)   It is super easy to follow and goes together in no time !!!   (And Fat Quarter Shop just might have their Layer Cakes on sale to celebrate it's release, just sayin :)  

For my Layer Cake Checkmate Quilt I used 2 layer cakes from the amazing Jen Kingwell ;)  The Four Patches are made from the bright happy polka dot prints of Just a Speck and the beautiful neutral background squares are from a Behind the Scenes layer cake.  I just love how perfectly the two play together ;)

I absolutely love the simplicity of this quilt and how you can add that punch of bold colors in it.  The quilt is so fun and easy to make, I had the top sewn together in no time at all.   I think it will be one of those fabulous "go-to" designs when you are in a pinch for a quick wedding gift :)   Wouldn't this just be so perfect for a new couple to use as a picnic quilt or to lay in the sun reading a good book.     Love it!!!!

And of course, Kimberly has made a wonderful Checkmate Quilt video to go along with the pattern.  She walks you through each step of putting the quilt together and shares some fun little tidbits along the way ;) 

I had so much fun when it came time quilt this.   I tried something new in the background squares.  I always love grid quilting, but I thought it would be extra fun to make wavy grid quilting.  And you know, I love, love, love it!!!!  I can't wait to do it again.  So fun, fast, and I love the overall effect!!!

And in the colored 4 Patches, I quilted my little wavy arch repeated.  It is a little hard to see, but I just love the movement and the secondary design created in the center of the 4 Patch.   This is becoming a favorite way to quilt clusters of squares  ;)

And I think my favorite thing about that wavy grid is the awesome texture!!!   Eeekk, I am so loving it!!!!  I just want to keep brushing my hands across the quilt top to feel all of that quilty goodness.

And you might have noticed, I didn't add my border, mainly because I couldn't decide what fabric to use for a border, but It looks great with or without a border :)    I just can't get over how happy and bright this quilt turned out, just makes me smile!!!

And to see how lots of other wonderful Layer Cake Checkmate Quilts turned out, you can pop on over to these fellow bloggers ;)  Guaranteed to be some happy eye candy!!!

Peta from She Quilts a Lot

Melanie from Mostly Crafty

Connie from Freemotion by the River

Melissa from Happy Quilting  (your here :)

Heidi from Buttons & Butterflies

Amanda from Jedi Craft Girl

Tina from Emily Ann's Kloset

Sherri M. from A Quilting Life

Andy from A Bright Corner

Anorina from Samelia's Mum

Sherri F. from This & That Patterns

Brooke from Silly Mama Quilts

And that's my Layer Cake Checkmate Quilt and I can't wait to make a second, third, and fourth one.  They are just so much fun!!!!  

Thanks for popping in today and I hope you love my Layer Cake Checkmate just as much as I do and plan on making your own ;)

Be sure to check back soon as I have another post planned for today ;)  Yup, it's a Double Happy Quilting Day today!!!!!

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

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

First, we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!   The winner of the 3 Happy Quilting PDF Patterns is . . .   Number #191 . . . Congrats  Lindsay Rodems!!! I have emailed you :)    

  

    

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by Ollie and Evie.  Rhonda has an adorable Etsy shop packed with wonderful pre-cuts and beautiful yardage!!!  And be sure to check out the  Clearance Section as well for amazing deals, like as in $5.00 a yard!!!!   Rhonda has also recently made some adorable Custom Holiday Bundles that you will want to check out.  So fun!!!

And for this weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway, one lucky reader will win a gorgeous Fat Eighth Bundle of Playground by Amy Sinibaldi for Art Gallery Fabrics. These prints are so precious and I absolutely love the mixture of colors!!!  Just adorable ;)  

You have two entry chances, the second being optional, 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 was (or is) you favorite piece of equipment to play on at the Playground ;)  For me, I was always a fan of the Monkey Bars :)   

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Olie and Evie love.   You can follow them on  Facebook, at their blog, or Favorite their Shop, or you can visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Olie and Evie Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, August 9th when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

It's August and Incredibly Happy Mail

Wow, I really can not believe it is August 1st today.   I have to say, July was about as crazy as they come in our house.  We had 2 Family Reunions, a Week Long Scout Camp, and 5 days at Girls Camp.  Honestly, I spent more days away from home in July then I did at home (quite a few more ;)  And while I loved every minute spent with family, you can guess that there hasn't been a whole ton of sewing time and yes, it might have been causing a little anxiety to get back to my sewing room and machine.  So I can not being to express my delight when I checked the mail Saturday afternoon and found this adorable Mini!!!!!

Nicole is participating in the Summer Solstice Quilt Along and made this fantastic mini for me as a thank you for helping her along with her project ;)  Isn't that just so incredibly nice!!!!  She represented each of my 5 children, and even have them in age order.  So cute!!!!

Thank you so much Nicole!!!!  This was just such a wonderful surprise and could not have come at a better time :)  Suddenly deadlines didn't seem quite so stressful when I remembered how amazing quilters are and how incredibly grateful I am to be a part of them!!!!

Nicole, You have certainly made my day a Happy Quilting one and I hope that each of you are having a Happy Quilting Day as well!!!