Dutch Days - Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book Tour

 It's Week 5 of my Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book Tour and today I am sharing the Dutch Days quilt! This quilt is made up of one large block, and believe it or not, there are Zero half square triangles in this quilt.    I always love it when a quilt block looks harder than it actually is.  This one is quickly becoming a go-to quilt in a pinch because it truly is super fast, and super fun!!  

Here is the introduction I wrote about Dutch Days in the Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book.  "Dutch Days reminds me of windmills blowing in large fields of tulips which is how the quilt got its name.  I purposely chose fabrics with colors reminiscent of tulip fields.  Using the no-waste method for the flying-geese units makes this quilt super fast to piece, and mixing the prints in the units gives it a scrappy look without too much effort.  It's a wonderful quilt to whip up for any special occasion"

When writing this book, I tried to give you all of the tips and trick that I would share if I were teaching a quilting class.  This is my favorite tip from the Dutch Days quilt.  It is as simple as taking a picture, but if you have never tried it, you will find it makes all the difference in laying out your blocks.   And you can also look at the image in black and white to check that your lights and darks are balanced as well :) 

Dutch Days was made using Harmony fabrics by Melissa Lee for Riley Blake Designs.  All the quilts in Fast and Fun Lap Quilts are made with 1 Layer Cake/10" Stacker and a background fabric.   You will use 40 of the 10" squares for this quilt so you really use up just about every last piece.  This quilt finishes at 72" x 72", making it a generous square lap size quilt.  

I had so much fun custom quilting each of the quilts in Fast & Fun Lap Quilts .  For this Dutch Days quilt, I quilted curly q's in the sashing and echoed wavy arches in the blocks.  Whenever I have a block with gridlines that are perfectly symmetrical, I always love to use the wavy arch.  It is so fun and fast to quilt and I just love getting the cool wavy orange peel look without having to use rulers.  And as is the trend with the quilts in this book, I used 402 So Fine thread to blend perfectly into the white background and all of the prints.   I just love how it all came together. 

And that is my Dutch Days quilt, the fifth lap quilt in my new Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book !  You can find the Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book in your local or online quilt shops, C&T Publishing, or if you would like a personalized signed copy, you can order from my Etsy shop.  And if you make your own Dutch Days quilt, I would love to see it!!  You can share your quilts with me on social media using hashtag #happyquiltingwithmc and #fastandfunlapquilts and tag me @happyquiltingmc or you can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com.   

And speaking of making a Dutch Days Quilt, my good friend,  Andy Knowlton has whipped up her own Dutch Days Quilt using one of my favorite new fabrics that releases this December.  Isn't this just gorgeous in Songbook A New Page by Fancy That Design House.     Isn't that just so amazing!!!!  And when I say whipped up, I truly mean that, Andy has been sharing her progress online and she put this together super fast.  You can see all the details at Andy's Blog, A Bright Corner. 

And while you are visiting Andy at A Bright Corner, be sure to enter her giveaway. Like I said, this fabric isn't out until December, but my good friends at Moda have shared a Layer Cake to giveaway!!  How awesome is that!!!  You can enter the giveaway at her blog.  

And that is it for today, thanks for popping in for Week 5 of the Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book!

I am just so happy to share this Dutch Days quilt and be sure to pop back in on Friday when I will share a second version of the quilt (and I'll give you a hint, think ombre :)  

I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Day! 

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!

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

First, we are going to announce the winners of last week's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!  

The winner of the Slow Stroll Layer Cake from Fat Quarter Shop  is . . . #24   . . . Congrats to Chris K. !!!  I have messaged you :)

   

 

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by  Poppie Cotton .      Poppie Cotton is an amazing fabric company started by my good friends Jina Barney and Lori Woods.  Their fabrics are just beautiful and are wonderful to sew with.   The quality is fantastic and I just love all of their pretty prints!!!   If you haven't sewn with Poppie Cotton yet, I highly recommend you check it out ;)  

In Celebration of the release of my Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book , for today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway,  Poppie Cotton is offering one lucky reader a Betsy's Sewing Kit 10" Precut!!!   This is such a fun fabric line, you are just going to love it!!!!

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 what is your favorite tool in the "Basic Sewing Kit"??

 ENTRY 2 - Lets show Poppie Cotton some Love!!!!   You can follow them on   Facebook, YouTube or Instagram.  Or you can sign up for their newsletter or  visit Poppie Cotton and share your favorite fabric collection ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Poppie Cotton Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, November 8th, 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!!!

October Sew Sampler!!

Well here we are at the last day of October, and that means it's time to share my new  Sew Sampler box!!!   Which for me, is so way more exciting than Halloween!!!    The theme of this month's box is Everything Is Coming Up Roses and it is just with some rosy delight :)  So let's check out this amazing Sew Sampler Goodness!!  

I was thrilled to find a gorgeous Junior Jelly Roll  of Country Rose by Lella Boutique.   I have already made the Bloomers Quilt, as well as a second version of my Aurora Quilt from Fast & Fun Lap Quilts using this line.   It is just gorgeous!!  And, paired with the Polka Dot Black Background, amazing!!!  I so want to make the exclusive Star pattern with the same black background, I know it will be just stunning!! 

And the notions that  Fat Quarter Shop sent along this month are just great!!!! This new Riley Blake Binding Holder is just super great for keeping your bindings nice and neat.   And the Mini Soak Sampler Pack will be great for washing those super special quilts.   And of course, the Needle Twister will be super cool for my hand piecing friends ;)  

And since it is now October, and we are over half way through the Bliss Quilt Along I just don't see myself catching up.  So I decided, I think I am going to wait until it is all done, see the final layout, and then probably just get the   Bliss Quilt Along kit featuring Stitched Fabrics by Joanna Figueroa so I can make it as a nice long term project :)  

And just fyi, the Sew Sampler box Subscription now has openings!!!  So there is no wait list, and you can sign up and get a new box next month.  So fun!!!   This truly is my favorite Subscription and I just love when it arrives each month and I get to enjoy all of the quilty goodness in each aqua box!!! 

Hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Day!!!

Aurora - Fast & Fun Lap Quilts

 It's Week 4 of my Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book Tour and today I am sharing a second version of the Aurora quilt! It's always fun to see how different a quilt can look by changing things up the fabrics, and wouldn't you know, Vanessa was my guest blogger this week, and she is also the fabric designer of this second version, to fun!!!    

 And doesn't it look just stunning in a dark background!!!  For this version of Aurora, I was really trying to highlight how much using a dark background can change up the look of the quilt.   Isn't it just incredible how the chain and the star centers just pop.   I love it so much!!!!    Using a dark background can really make your colors so vibrant, it is a great way to make the fabric stand out :)

This version of Aurora was made using Country Rose fabrics by Lella Boutique for Moda Fabrics.   This is the same fabric I used to make the Bloomers Quilt, and I loved it then, and I love it all the more with a dark background.   All the quilts in Fast and Fun Lap Quilts are made with 1 Layer Cake/10" Stacker and a background fabric.  And like I said, Country Rose was the perfect Layer Cake to just pop on this black polka dot background.  It is just so happy making ;)   The quilt finishes at 68" x 68".  

Since I custom quilted all the quilts in the Fast & Fun Lap Quilts  I thought it would be fun to do all over designs for these second versions.   For this Aurora quilt, I quilted all over swirls and paisleys.   These are two of my favorite designs to quilt all over, and I just love all the yummy added texture it gives the quilt.   And when doing an all over using a black background, with pretty print colors, I recommend a nice soft grey thread.  It will blend into the black, but not stand out as much on the prints :) 

And that is another Aurora quilt, the third lap quilt in my new Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book !  You can find the Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book in your local or online quilt shops,  C&T Publishing, or if you would like a personalized signed copy, you can order from my Etsy shop.  And if you make your own Aurora quilt, I would love to see it!!  You can share your quilts with me on social media using hashtag #happyquiltingwithmc and #fastandfunlapquilts and tag me @happyquiltingmc or you can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com.   

Thanks so much for popping in for another Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book day of fun.    And if you haven't had a chance to enter Vanessa's Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Giveaway for a beautiful Christmas Eve Layer Cake that you can use to make your own gorgeous Christmas Version of Aurora, be sure and pop on over and enter.  

I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Day! 

Aurora - Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book Tour

 It's Week 4 of my Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book Tour and today I am sharing the Aurora quilt! This quilt is made up of two blocks, that area actually pieced with the same units.  I love how you can create two totally different blocks with the same pieces, so cool!!!   Oh, and I always love adding a "chain" in one of my quilts from a book (see the reason here) and this chain is subtle, but it is the perfect finish for this Aurora quilt.  

Here is the introduction I wrote about Aurora in the Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book.  "I absolutly love designing Star blocks!  Truly, they are my go-to bread and butter of designing.  In Aurora, I added a pieced frame to a basic Ohio Star to create an amazing block.  Then a simple change n fabric placement and orientation made a wonderful new second block that forms a chain across the quilt top.  The two blocks combine to make a stunning quilt."

When writing this book, I tried to give you all of the tips and trick that I would share if I were teaching a quilting class.  This is my favorite tip from the Aurora quilt.  It is the same as the "pin trick" that I share here, and it a total game changer in lining up lots of points.  My pinwheels have never looked so great :)   And this quilt has lots and lots of points, and they come out so perfect with this little trick ;)  

Aurora was made using Beautiful Day fabrics by Corey Yoder for Moda Fabrics.  All the quilts in Fast and Fun Lap Quilts are made with 1 Layer Cake/10" Stacker and a background fabric.  You will use 33 of the 10" squares for this quilt, and the Plan Ahead tip will help you divide your fabrics, so you know exactly where each fabric will go in your quilt and can plan accordingly.  This quilt finishes at 68" x 68", making it a great square lap size.  

I had so much fun custom quilting each of the quilts in Fast & Fun Lap Quilts .  For this Aurora quilt, I quilted swirls in the background, and then straight lines and pebbles in the blocks.  I left the center stars unquilted so they pop :)   And you know, it's my favorite 402 So Fine thread that I used to blend perfectly into the white background and all of the prints.   I just love how it all came together. 

And that is Aurora quilt, the fourth lap quilt in my new Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book !  You can find the Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book in your local or online quilt shops,  C&T Publishing, or if you would like a personalized signed copy, you can order from my Etsy shop.  And if you make your own Aurora quilt, I would love to see it!!  You can share your quilts with me on social media using hashtag #happyquiltingwithmc and #fastandfunlapquilts and tag me @happyquiltingmc or you can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com.   

And speaking of making an Aurora Quilt, my good friend, Vanessa Goertzen has mocked up Aurora using her new Christmas Eve fabrics that will come out in May of next year!!!   Isn't that just so amazing!!!!  This design looks so amazing in Christmas and this has totally been added to my "to make" list.  You can see all the details at Vanessa's blog , Lella Boutique .

And while you are visiting Vanessa at Lella Boutique, be sure to enter her giveaway.  Christmas Eve isn't out until May of 2023, but Vanessa scored one Christmas Eve Layer Cake to giveaway!!  How awesome is that!!!  You can enter the giveaway at her blog.  

And that is it for today, thanks for popping in for Week 4 of the Fast & Fun Lap Quilts book!

I am just so happy to share this Aurora quilt and be sure to pop back in on Friday when I will share a second version of the quilt (and it just so happens to be made with more of Vanessa's fabrics, so fun :)  

I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Day!