Tutorial Throwback Thursday - Lots of Love Mini

With Mother's Day coming up on Sunday, I figured today's Tutorial Throwback Thursday, needed to be all about mom.   And what better for mom then the Lots of Love Mini!!!  This is a fun tutorial that walks you through how to make heart blocks and then shares them in all different sizes, so you can truly customize your mini for you and yours ;) 

I made this Lots of Love Mini for Barbara.   The Big hearts on the top represent her and her sweetheart Bob.  Then the medium hearts are her children and daughter and sons in-law.  And finally, the small hearts are all of the grand kids.  Isn't that so fun!!! What a wonderful way to say I Love You to Mom , a mini that represents everyone she loves :)    

And this Lots of Love Mini post came about from my Splendid Sampler Lot of Love Block, that represents my Sweetheart and my 5 children.   The pattern for the block is found in the book, but I walk you through the steps of making the hearts in the tutorial, and then as you surf down to the mini part, it has the cutting directions for all the different size hearts.   So you can just customize your mini for you ;)

And then just quilt and bind your Lots of Love Mini.  I love this crosshatching quilting, and it goes nice and fast because you are working on a mini.   I love that I can do more detailed quilting on a mini as it won't take me forever ;)     And because this is a mini, you could even get it whipped up before Sunday!!! 

And now this Lots of Love Mini is on Barbara's sewing wall and was the start of her Mini collection.    And I hope you want to make one too!!!   I hope you have enjoyed today's Tutorial Throwback Thursday as much as I have!!!      So if you  want to make a Lots of Love Mini  simply click on any of the project name links for the free step by step tutorial.  And when you are done,  I would love to see your Mini's!!  You can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com, post it to social media with #happyquiltingwithmc  :)   I can't wait to see your Lots of Love Mini quilts!!!

Thanks for popping in today!!!   I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Day!!!!

Charming Baby Sew Along - Week 5!!!

**  NOTE  - This post is part of a series of posts for the Charming Baby Sew Along.  If you would like to join (and have a chance to win some fun prizes ) you can find a list of the post links here :)  Here is the schedule

Intro, Fabric Requirements, and Prizes Announcement

April 8 - A Star is Born and Color in the Lines 

April 15th - Dream Big and Hugs and Kisses 

April 22nd - Just Blooming and On the Move 

April 29th - Ring Around the Rosie and Shine Bright 

May 6th - To the Moon and Twinkle Twinkle - Today!!!

May 13th - Quilt Finishing - Pieced Back - Grand Prize Linky

May 27th - Charming Baby Parade and Grand Prize Winner

WEEK 5 - TO THE MOON AND TWINKLE TWINKLE

It's the fifth week of making blocks for the Charming Baby Sew Along and this is our last week of blocks, so exciting !!!  This weeks assignment is a super fun, and a little smaller so it is a great time to do any catch up you need to ;)    You will need your copy of Charming Baby Quilts  for the piecing instructions as well as the Week 5 Charming Baby Sew Along Pattern for cutting instructions ;)  This week we will be making blocks from the To the Moon quilt and the Twinkle Twinkle quilt!!!

First up, To the Moon!!   And this quilt is just so cute!!! Aren't those little rocket ships just adorable, and they are so easy to make, you can whip this quilt up in no time ;)    The quilt uses 2 Charm Packs and I used All Our Stars by Jennifer Pugh for Wilmington Prints and a Bella Solid Bleached White Background.   And this quilt is just perfect if you want to make an "all boy" quilt for a space loving little one!!    To the Moon finishes at 48" x 48" so it is a great baby to toddler size quilt :)

And for our Sew Along, we will be making 1 To the Moon block so that will go super fast for you ;)      This block will actually go in the pieced backing and doubles as a quilt label.  So great!!!     Use the To the Moon piecing directions from the book and the Week 5 Pattern  for cutting directions to make your blocks.

And next up, the Twinkle Twinkle quilt!!!  Again, I love making star quilts, and this is another awesome star quilt in Charming Baby Quilts ;)  And I just love the scrappy background to this star!!!   The quilt uses 3 Charm Packs and I used Breeze Charm Packs by Zen Chic for Moda and a Spotted Citrine for the Accent fabric in the stars.   And those stars just pop on that scrappy background, so fun ;)    Twinkle Twinkle  finishes at 36" x 36" so it is fabulous for a car seat blanket or even wall decor over babies crib ;) 

And for our Sew Along, we will be making 2 Twinkle Twinkle blocks and adding a little sashing to them.   Use the Shine Bright piecing directions from the book and the Week 5 Pattern  for cutting directions to make your blocks.  These blocks will be offsets in the center row and really frame up that big star in the center.  

WEEK 5 BLOCKS FROM FRIENDS

And just like that, you are done with Week 5 and looking forward to next week of The Charming Baby Sew Along where we will put it all together!!  It's so great to have you all quilting along!!!!   Be sure to pop over to all my Sewing Along Friends and see their Week 4 blocks for lots of inspiration!!

      Amanda Castor - Material Girl Quilts
      Andy Knowlton - A Bright Corner
      Beverly McCullough - Flamingo Toes
      Melanie Call - A Bit of Scrap Stuff
      Pat Sloan - Pat Sloan's Blog
      Fat Quarter Shop Friends - The Jolly Jabber

THE PRIZES

 And keep up with the sew along as everyone that finishes their quilt top will be entered into a drawing for this amazing grand prize giveaway from Moda Fabrics !!

   

And Melanie Call is hosting the Week 5 Charming Baby Sew Along giveaway!!!  You can win 2 Charm Packs of Geometry by Janet Clare and a spool of Aurifil thread!!! This is the line I used to make the On The Move quilt and it is so fun!!!  Pop over to Melanie's Blog to enter the giveaway ;)           
                   

SHARING

 It's always fun when we share what we are working on!!!   If you use Facebook or Instagram post your Week 5 blocks with the Hashtag #charmingbabyquilts  If you don't use social media you can email me a picture of your progress at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com ;)

I can't wait to see all of your Week 5 Charming Baby Blocks!!!!

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

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

First, we need to announce the winner from last Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!  

The winner of the Bloomington Jelly Roll from Fat Quarter Shop is . . .   Number #52 . . . Congrats Kathryn!!!  I have messaged you :)    

   

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by  Thousands of Bolts .   Thousands of Bolts has incredible prices that will have you super excited!!!  And yes they are open and working hard to get out orders during this crazy time :)    And right now, you will find incredible bargains shopping in the Thousands of Bolts Sale Section where they just added 400 fabrics!!!      Be sure to check it out :)

And for Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway,  Thousands of Bolts is giving one lucky winner at $25.00 Gift Certificate!!!  You can get just what you always wanted :)   And good luck picking because there are literally thousands of bolts to choose from!!!!   

You have two entry chances here on the blog, 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 if you could paint a picture of any scenery you've seen before what would you paint??   (I introduced the kids to Bob Ross yesterday, they were mesmerized!!) 

 ENTRY 2 - Lets show Thousands of Bolts some Love!!!!   You can follow them on   Facebook or Instagram.  Or you can visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Thousand of Bolts Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, May 12th, when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

You can also pop over to my Instagram and/or Facebook to enter there as well :)  

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Sew Sampler!!!

Oh my goodness, I can not believe the Sew Sampler Box is 4 Years old :)   Happy Birthday Sew Sampler!!!!    And I am so looking forward to another year of these lovely little boxes arriving on my doorstep, it really is just the best day of my month!!!   And so let's kick off a new year with the April 2020 Sew Sampler Box that is appropriately You're Invited!  Themed :) 

And the party starts with a gorgeous At Home Jolly Bar from Bonnie and Camille!!   And really, could it be a more perfect line since we are all literally At Home ;)  And I love this Garden Gala Pattern!!!   It is so adding to my list to make, although I think I might add one more block in the center, just for fun :)   Wouldn't that be so cute!!!  

And the notions for this Birthday Celebration are so great!!!! First off, an Alphabitties Expansion Pack!!!  You all know I use my Alphabitties all the time, and just the other day I was drawing on some to make an 11, now I have them all set :)  So perfect!!    And we all know how I feel about hand stitching, so this Posey Handmade Thread Conditioner will most likely be going to Barbara, but I think she will just love it!!!  And finally, this super fun Scallops and Waves Template ruler.  How great for free motion quilting on your home machine!!  I still do that for small projects and am excited to try this out :) 

And last but not least . . . And I am so very excited for this . . .   With a new year of  the Sew Sampler Box, comes a new sampler quilt and this year it is the Greatest Hits Quilt!!!!  And this is actually why my post is a few days late . . . I just couldn't decide what fabrics to use for my Sampler quilt this year.   After a lot of debate, I finally decided I really needed to do a scrap buster . . . and from there, I figured my Low Volume Scraps were really needing some busting . . . and that led to the first block called Track 1  ;)   I plan to make print blocks that match the pattern colors with a "matchy" low volume background.   I have no idea where this is going to go in the coming months, but I am so loving this first block!!!   And yippee for Scrap Busting!!!!

And just a note, if you are wanting to get in on the new year of Sew Sampler boxes you have to get in line.  There is currently a waiting list as the box subscription is full.   But hopefully the wait isn't to long.  (I have been told new spots open up each week!!!)   


And that is April's  Sew Sampler Box and I am so looking forward to May's Box ;)  I can't wait to see what Track 2's block will be ;)  

Bloom-Topia Quilt Along - Release 7

Well it's April 1st, and no Foolin Around here today ;)  It's is the Seventh Block Release of the Bloom-Topia Quilt Along hosted by the Fat Quarter Shop and I am super excited :)   These blocks are both super fun and all use some of the classic units that I just love!!!

So for Block 11, were just squaring up the block by making 4 extra HST's.   I didn't have triangle paper so I simply used 16 Print 4" x 4" squares and 16 Background 4" x 4" squares.  Sew your HST's and then trim them to 3 1/2".  Then sew them into blocks with the below layout.  Make 2 blocks ;)  

And  for Block 12, we are just making a small portion of the block.   (oh, and I messed up my numbering of the blocks here because I didn't realize this was 11B and not 12, but I think you can still follow along pretty easy ;)    We will be making 2 of these Gander blocks and I switched the background and prints in the entire layout.   So for cutting the prints you will need 4 Print A squares 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" for the Snowball and 20 Print C squares 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" (cut 5 each of 4 prints) for the 9 patch.     For cutting the Background you will need 16 Background E squares 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" for the Snowball and 16 Print G squares 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" for the 9 patch.     

So are you joining in the Bloom-Topia fun???  If so, you can download the block pattern  and it is requested for each pattern you download to donate $5.00  to the Make a Wish Foundation :)  This is Fat Quarter Shop's annual charity QAL that is raising funds for an amazing organization.  What a wonderful way for us all to make a difference!  And wow, so much has been raised!!! 

And just as a reminder, if you are new to finding the Bloom-Topia Quilt Along, this is the layout I will be making and are the alterations referred to above ;)     I am using a Breeze Fat Quarter Bundle by Zen Chic for Moda Fabrics with Gris Grunge as the background!!! And there are still a few Bloom-topia Quilt Kits and Backing Sets available if you want to make your's like the original ;) 

And like always, Fat Quarter Shop has made an awesome  You Tube video tutorial that walk you through making the blocks.  There are some great helpful hints and you can see it put together step by step!!!   

Be sure to share all of your Bloom-Topia progress on social media with #bloomtopiaquiltalong and check out Fat Quarter Shops post for Release 7 for lots more Block Inspiration!!!

And that's it for the seventh release in the Bloom-Topia Quilt Along!!!!   I will continue to share a new set of blocks on the 15th and 1st of each month. So what do you say, want to come Bloom-Topia Quilting Along??  You are going to have so much fun!!!

And just to make it easy to find . . .Here is a list of all the places to find my alterations

Layout Fabric Requirements Alteration
Release 1 - Block 1 and 2 Alterations
Release 2 - Block 3 Alterations
Release 3 - Block 4 and 5 Alterations
Release 4 - Block 6 and 7 Alterations
Release 5 - Blocks 8 and 9 Alterations
Release 6 - Block 10 Alterations

Thanks for popping in today ;)  I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Day!!