Bella Skill Builder - Quarter Square Triangle

This post is coming a day late because of Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day, but I am happy to say that my blocks were still done yesterday!!!!   Because it was August 1st and that means it is Bella Skill Builder time!!  I am just so loving the rainbow of blocks I have and can't believe we only have two months left of this awesome quilt along hosted by the Fat QuarterShop and Sherri McConnell!!!!  And this month's skill builder blocks are all about Quarter Square Triangles!!!

For this month's tone on tone blocks, I layed out all of the blocks I have so far and tried to choose some pretty solids that I didn't have represented yet.   So it is soft pinkish reds and beautiful blue greens.      For the small version of the block I used Bella Strawberry and Raspberry (which really makes me crave some fresh berries) .  And for the large version of the block I used Bella Bermuda and Lagoon.   

Now you will notice right off that my blocks don't really look like this month's blocks.   Since I am doing a different layout I need to keep all of my blocks 12" square.  So I decided to just focus on the Quarter Square Triangle part and cut out the Half Square Triangle part since we already had a month of focusing on those :)   I just love how quick these quarter square triangles went together!!!  I just made HST's that I then put together in opposite layout and then used the same HST sewing process to make them Quarter Square Triangles.    And oh my goodness, was my Cute Cuts ruler just perfect for trimming these to size.   The diagonal lines made it so easy to match up with the seams and I just love the little "grit" on the back of the ruler that really helps to keep it from moving while trimming!!!   Thanks Sew Sampler for introducing me to another awesome ruler!!! 

And I ended up with a beautiful Ohio Star Quilt block that was just perfect for practicing my Quarter Square Triangles.  Which honestly, I haven't made in a long time because I always just think to make them as flying geese, but this method made it so easy to make and I so want to try and incorporate them more in my designs now!!! 

And then of course, I had to make a smaller version of the block.  Those little quarter square triangles finish at just 2".   How cute are they.   And i just love the secondary designs that are created by doing the opposite layout of fabrics from block to block.   It is just so fun!!!   I could just make these stars forever :)

And that is the Quarter Square Triangles block, the seventh set of blocks in the Bella Skill Builder!!!!  Be sure to download  the free pattern and watch youtube video.  And also pop on over to the  Fat Quarter Shop's blog, Jolly Jabber  for lots more Quarter Square Triangle (and Half Square Triangle)  Block details and wonderful Block eye candy from lots more blogger friends ;)  I hope you are enjoying the  Bella Skill Builder fun as much as I am!!!

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day so let's have some fun :)

But first, we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!  And I need to make a correction to last week's post.  I accidentally gave you the link to the European site.  For my Stateside Readers, you wan't to follow along with Quiltmania  here :)   

So now, the winner of the Quitlmania three summer Edition Magazines is . . .   Number # 100. . . Congrats BarefootThunder!!!   I have emailed you :)        

  

  

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by  Lou Lou's Fabric Shop .    Did you know that Jamie makes a new Lou Lou Bundle every Tuesday . . . you so want to check these out!!!  Along with hosting the giveaway, Jamie is offering all Happy Quilting readers has a special discount of  15% off your purchase  with the code happyquilting good until August 6th!!! (excludes pre-orders and items already on sale)  Oh, so much fun shopping!!!

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is for some shopping goodness!!  Lou Lou's Fabric Shop is offering one lucky reader a $25.00 Gift Certificate good to use on anything in the store, including an awesome Lou Lou Bundle!!  Just perfect!!!!

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 telling me, What was the first quilt you made?  

 ENTRY 2 - Lets show Lou Lou's Fabric Shop some Love!!!!   You can follow them on   Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram.  Or you can follow their blog or  visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Lou Lou's Fabric Shop Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, August 8th  when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Several Small Trips Quilt

Well . . .  Thanks to you all helping me decide to take Several Small Trips with my Trip Around the World Blocks from the first of this month,  I can now say that my Trip Around the World Quilt is done and I thought it only fitting to call it Several Small Trips ;)  And I just love, love, love it!!!!

I have made several of these blocks for Bees before using Bonnie Hunter's awesome tutorial.  So way back here I decided it was about time I make my own Trip Around the World quilt. (and yes that is way back :)   So I had some bee mates help out and got some blocks back, and then they sat, and sat, and then sat some more.  And it wasn't until this month that I finally pulled out some scrappy red, black, and white strips and made enough blocks for a quilt top.  And I had forgot just how much fun these blocks were to make.   I wish I wouldn't have waited so long to make more, because they really were a blast and went together super fast.      And now, I can finally say, I have made a Trip Around the World quilt and I am just so thrilled!!!

I made this in Red, Black, and White because it will get donated to my Alma Mater at some point to help raise funds for student scholarships.   Again, I am so glad my school colors are red, black, and white, because they are just so classic in a quilt!!!   And I especially love seeing those colors in all of their scrappy goodness in this quilt.  I don't even know how many prints are in it, but there are a lot!!!  It just makes me so happy.  And I kept the scrappy goodness going with the binding, using up lots of little bits and pieces of leftover binding from other quilts in beautiful red, black, and white :)   So fun!!!

When it came time to quilt it, I just had to do simple arches.  I just love they way the look in all over patchwork.  They just let each little square pop and I love the secondary orange peel design it creates as well.   I decided to change threads for the black, red, and white so that it helped to make the Several Small Trips design pop even more.  It took a bit longer as it meant a lot more cutting threads to start and stop, but it was so worth it!!!

Isn't that so fun how the quilting just makes each square pop!!!  I just love the way those arches frame each square.  Almost gives it the feel of a puff quilt, without all the hassle of stuffing batting, tee hee hee.   I am just so happy how it just really helped to add to the overall design of the quilt.  

And I just had to share this fun backing I found.  Our local Quilt Shop was having a clearance on some red and black prints, I am not even sure what line they are from.   But I thought, how fun to do half and half for the back!!!  I just love how the design changes scale across the print, and how the combination of the two fabrics with the scale created such a fun and unique backing.    And I have just enough left of both prints for 1 more quilt back, so I am sure I will be doing this again sometime ;)   It's just so fun and a perfect fit for the scrappy goodness that is this quilt!!!

And that is my Several Small Trips quilt!!!!!   It measures 72" x 72" as each block finishes at 12" square so it will be just perfect for a stadium blanket for some SUU Alumnus.    I am just so happy to have finished this quilt and couldn't be more thrilled with how it all came together.   It was so much fun to make and I am already thinking I need to add it back to my list of quilts to do.  It is just so classic and a fabulous scrap buster!!!   If you have never made one, I would highly recommend you give it a try.  The possibilities are endless and it is just so much fun ;)

And that's all for today!!! Thanks again for popping in and sharing this finish with me today :)  You all are just the best!!  

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

Linking up this finish to Amanda's, Sarah's, and Myra's, ;)  

July Sew Sampler Box!!!

It's always a great day when my Sew Sampler box arrives on my doorstep :)  And this month's box is all about Vintage Chic and it is so amazing!!!   It never ceases to amaze me what a great value these boxes are and how they just keep managing to fill them with such a wonderful variety of quilty goodness ;)

First up, is this gorgeous Snowberry Junior Jelly Roll by 3 Sisters for Moda!!!!  These prints are so beautiful and all of those pretty creams and blues have me wanting to make another Union Jack quilt.  Which really wouldn't work with the Jelly Roll, but I think this will be used in some similar fashion :) 

And boy did I need these adorable little embroidery scissors last week when I was working on my reverse applique block for Aurifil.   They are so sharp and tiny they can get into every little corner.  Now I might actually finish that reverse applique block, it's all about having the right tools ;)

And the other notions in this month's box are just as equally great!!!  These mini wonder clips are just perfect for so many little projects.  I am currently teaching a bunch of youth to make charm bags and we are just about to stitch the tops together, insert mini wonder clips for the win!!!  And I love Seam Rippers with the rubber end to scoop it all up but have never tried this type of seam ripper with more of a blade for ripping, it will be fun to give it a try!!  

And of course, I can't do a Sew Sampler reveal without a picture of this month's Block ;)  So here is July's Basket Block. Isn't it just so fun.  I really liked the basket in Black, I think it just makes everything else just pop!!!

And that is the July's Sew Sampler Box  . . . August's box should be coming right around the time school starts so that should be a very well timed surprise.  Nothing like quilty goodness to help smooth out the crazy, happy, fun that is the start of another school year  ;)

Happy Quilting!!! 

Baby Quilts for Beginners - 2 New Quilts!!!

EEEkkk, it's another one of those secret sewing project reveal days!!  I just love being able to share these quilts that I have had to keep a secret for what seems like forever.    So let's not wait a minute more and get right to sharing the quilts!!!

This is  Labyrinth.

and this is Time to Shine.   

 And I just love how cute and adorable they both are!!!!  I made these two quilts last July for the newly released Baby Quilts for Beginners book and I have been so excited to see all the adorable quilts ever since then.  I just love making baby quilts!!!  I can't help but smile when I think of a sweet little angel being wrapped up in all that quilty goodness.  And this book is jam packed with 14 adorable quilts that are perfect for beginners to learn on, but also perfect for those who have a little more experience, but need a fast "go-to" gift.  Most of these quilts be made up in a day!!!

So let me tell you a bit about my two quilts found in Baby Quilts for Beginners.   First up is Labyrinth.   When we were asked to submit ideas for baby quilts that would be suitable for a beginner, I immediately thought of Jelly Rolls.  They are just so great to learn with as they mostly involve strip piecing.   So I came up with this fun Maze design that gives lots of movement, but is really just an easy strip pieced block that has been rotated.  So fun!!!

And the nice thing about jelly roll friendly quilts is you get so much variety in the fabrics which just adds to that fun maze look.   I just loved Sweetwater's The Treehouse Club Fabric for it's happy bright colors and prints, and that it made this particular quilt gender neutral.    But of course, if you knew you were making the quilt for a specific girl, or boy, you can easily use a jelly roll that has that "all Girl" or "all Boy" feel ;)

  

Since this book is all about Beginner quilts, the quilting is focused on beginner friendly designs as well.   And what better place to start with quilting than a simple meandering or stippling, whichever you prefer to call it :)  I kept the size of the meander to a medium so it is still nice and soft for snuggling but at the same time adds lots of yummy texture.

And speaking of soft and snuggly, how adorable is this picture from Baby Quilts for Beginners!!!  I just love little baby toes, and this picture had me all excited for the quilt to return and to gift to a special little one!!!

And that is Labyrinth ;)    It measures 40" x 40" and it oh so much fun to make.   It's just perfect for beginners to learn on, and wonderful for experienced quilters that want a fast and fun finish.    I hope you just love it as much as I do ;)  And of course, I just had to share this picture from Baby Quilts for Beginners as well, because that little girl is just precious!!!

And the second project I am blessed to have featured in Baby Quilts for Beginners is Time to Shine.   You all know how much I love Star Quilts!!!  Well this fun, offset trio of stars just make this little baby quilt pop :)   I love the big bulky border around each star that lets the actual star really shine :)

And it's perfect for beginners as the star can be broken down to some basic stitch and flip and a 9 patch.  Easy as that!!!   Which again, makes it great for the more experienced quilter to use it as one of those, "I have a baby shower tomorrow and nothing to bring" gifts that can really be put together in an afternoon.  Just grab three fabrics from your stash and you are good to go!!!

I used 3  prints from Sherri and Chelsi's Desert Bloom fabric line for this quilt.   The colors were the perfect fit for the feel that I was trying to create, and all of the tiny prints really let the stars just shine.   And I love that the "background" fabric just has a pop of color to keep that big negative space fun and intersting ;)

When it came time to quilt it, I again decided I wanted something that a beginner could do.   So I quilted it with an all over grid pattern that is just as easy to do on a home machine as it is on a long arm.   Just simple back and forth lines, that you can do with either a walking foot or a free motion foot if you like a little bit of wiggle in it, which I do ;) And goodness, talk about some yummy texture!!!

And that is Time to Shine!!    The quilt measures 45" x 45" just perfect for wrapping up some wee little fingers and toes and pudgy little cheeks.    Oh, and I just love that you can turn this quilt any direction and it will give it a new look.   There really is no up or down or side to side, and that just makes it all the more fun!!!

And those are my two quilts from the new Baby Quilts for Beginners Book!!!  And I am just so excited to finally get to share them  and now I want to grab a jelly roll and make up labyrinth today because I just found out a friend is expecting!!!  So fun  ;)

 There are lots of adorable baby quilts in this book and all are easy, fast, and so much fun to make!!!   So be sure to Pop on over to  Martingale, the book publisher, to see all of the beautiful quilts ;)   And they just might be celebrating the release with a Giveaway as well!!! Good Luck!!!    Baby Quilts for Beginners is now available wherever quilting books are sold and  if you would like a signed by me copy, I have a few available in my little book shop here!!

Thanks so much for popping in today and each day!!!  I just love being able to share my daily quilting adventures with you all ;)

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!