Electronics, Grrr!! and a Quilt Top

I have been anxious to sew the last few days, but found instead that I had to spend most of my free time transferring all of our data to a new laptop.  The old one was starting to randomly shutdown and then take forever to turn back on. Not a good sign.  So after a time of babying it along, we decided it was best to do a little out with the old and in with the new.  But . . . In with the new, always takes more time than you anticipate.  Electronics can be so frustrating to me.  I won't bore you with all of my struggles, but I am happy to say, that with a lot of help from my dear husband, I think I have all of the programs, files, and so forth loaded and hopefully am good to move forward.

So today . . . I got to sew!!!   And sew I did.  I spent the morning putting my  40" Starbust blocks together!!  I am so happy with how they came out.  I just love these colors together.  Julie did such a great job in creating this fun bundle!!

And I couldn't stop there.  I spent the afternoon adding the sashing so now the quilt top is complete!!  Yippee Skippee!!  Sadly, it is snowing right now so I can't take it outside and get a nice picture.  But I was to excited to share to wait.  What ya gonna do :)  At least I am all set for writing up Monday's tutorial for the Quilt-A-Long.  It's nice to feel like everything is not last minute :)  I'm linking this finish up with Amanda :)

Now, it's off to basting, quilting, and binding.  I have no idea how I want to quilt this yet.  I keep thinking of maybe trying some custom quilting but then the size intimidates me and I lean towards an all over design.  I am open to suggestions ;)  How do you think I should quilt this top??

I Need a List

I haven't done a WIP post for a little while and boy oh boy do I need one.  The list in my head is starting to get a little long and I am worried things are gonna fall out :)  So many wonderful projects and only 24 hours in a day.  Guess we will all just have to keep trying to squeeze more time out of each day ;)

I spent majority of last week teaching and getting ready to teach.  It was so much fun and I can't wait to get emails from class members with their finishes. Once the classes were done it was time to crank out a few of my own WIP.  First on the list, Starburst.  Wouldn't want the hostess to get behind :)  I have some more work on this to be ready for next weeks post :)  Good thing I still have 4 days!

Second on the list is my Honey Honey quilt.  I just have to sew these pinned blocks and then add some sashing and then I will be ready to start sewing the blocks into a top.  I really am hoping to get this one done by the weekend :)  Here's hoping ;)

And of course, there are  a whole lot of projects just waiting for these 2 to make their way to the finish stage so that I can bump them into the Piecing Stage :)

Designing Stage

• Circle Meets Square Quilt 
• Pillow Cases and Table Topper for Master Bedroom
• Pillow Case for Kristian's Bed
• Read with Me
• Ring Around
• Boxed In and Out
• DD 
• SD
• KS

Piecing Stage

• Jessi and Me Quilt 
• Block of the Month - Lucky Stars
• Scrunchy Strips - For Kami
• Starburst Quilt-A-Long 
• Hugs Before Kisses

Quilting Stage

• Solids Quilt for Free Motion

Completed Stage

• Jan Bee Block
• Class Samples
• I had to add something here, otherwise I will wonder what I did all January ;)

Refracted - In the Mail

Remember when I mentioned that my Refracted quilt was accepted to be in the Quilt Con quilt show.  (Still totally excited about that!!)  Well the show is this month and it was about time I get this little lady in the mail!!

To prep the quilt for the show I added a Quilt Sleeve.  This was my first time ever adding a quilt sleeve.  Not to tuff thanks to this fabulous tutorial by Jackie!!  I made the sleeve, pinned it in place, and then my wonderful MIL (I think I will start calling her the Hand Stitching Fairy) hand stitched it in place for me :)

 Then the quilt needed a label with my address and phone number to ensure it made it safely home again :)

Then it needed a little home to be shipped in. I just grabbed this yardage from my stash and whipped up a quick drawstring bag :)

And finally, boxed up, delivered to the post office and on it's way :)  I am so excited!!!  I wish I could go to Quilt Con but I will be on my own little trip that week :)  I feels good to have that in the mail and off my to do list. 

Now to the next thing on my list, time to go work with some of this (tutorial coming soon :)

Starburst Quilt-A-Long - Making Blocks

**  NOTE  - This post is part of a series of posts for the Starburst Quilt-A-Long.  If you would like to join (and have a chance to win one of the $75.00 Gift Certificate grand prizes sponsored by The Intrepid Thread ) you can find a list of the post links here :)  Once again, here is the schedule, but if you want to work ahead you can use the tutorial  just be sure to take pictures of your weekly assignments so you can link them up for weekly prizes :)

January 14 - Cutting Post
January 21 - Goose in the Corner and Half Square Triangles
January 28 - Flying Geese
February 4 - Building Blocks - At least 2
February 11 - Finish Blocks and Sashing
February 18 - Baste it, Quilt it, Bind It
March 4 - Starburst Parade and Grand Prizes

Now, before we get into this week's assignment let's get a winner from last week!!

The Flying Geese winner who gets a Honey Honey Charm Pack  is . . .#49 -Liz- Congrats :)

I am so excited for this week!!  This weeks assignment is to make at least 2 of your Big Blocks!! I just love seeing it all come together!!    

THIS WEEKS ASSIGNMENT  - BUILDING BLOCKS

Now all of the building units are made and we can get to making the blocks.  Start by sorting your building units into the block groups that you decided before cutting.  

Each grouping should have 2 sets of flying geese (1 set of 4 with the "sky" in print fabrics and 1 set of 4 with the "geese" in print fabrics), 16 half square triangles, 4 goose in the corner blocks that match the "geese" print fabrics, and a larger center square that matches the "sky" print fabrics.  Then to each set add 4 background squares and 4 background rectangles.  

When sewing these blocks together placement is key!!  Place close attention to the direction of each piece.  I find it easiest to lay the entire block out first as follows.   

We'll start by sewing the center star first. Lay the center star out as follows.   

First, lay your background squares onto either side of the flying geese unit with right sides together on the top and bottom row.  Sew a 1/4"seam along all 4 sides.  Press towards the background fabric.  

Now, lay the flying geese units onto either side of the center square with right sides together aligning raw edges.   Pin in place and then sew a 1/4" seams along pinned edge. See next picture for tip on sewing.   Press towards the center square.

To get a perfect point on your geese unit be sure to sew directly through the center of the x created from your geese seams.  Even if you sew a little larger or a little smaller than a 1/4" sewing through the center of this x is going to give you the perfect point finish.

Now simply sew the 3 rows together.  Start by placing the top row onto the center row with right sides together taking care to nest the seams and then pin them in place.  Now sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge, once again, taking care to sew directly across the x created by the goose unit.  Press seams open.  Repeat for the bottom row.  

And your center star is complete.  So pretty!!!

Next, you will create the Side Bursts. Start with your HST's.  Lay 2 HST's out in the layout of the top row and two in the layout of the bottom row as shown below.  They look a lot a like, but they are different.  Lay the top HST onto the bottom row with right sides together and raw edges aligned and pin for both the top and bottom row.  Sew a 1/4" seam  along the pinned edge.  Press the seams open and Wha La.  Burst Points.  Now repeat to make a total of 4 Burst Points for each of the 2 layouts.  

Now to make the centers of the Side Bursts.  Grab your Flying Geese with the print as the "Geese" and your background rectangle and lay out as follows.  Lay your background rectangle onto your geese with right sides together and pin.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge.  Press towards the background fabric.  Repeat to make 4 units total.

Now it is just a matter of sewing the 3 units together.  Lay your 3 units out as follows.  Place your Burst Points onto your geese unit with right sides together and pin.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge.  *See the following picture for hints on how to keep the perfect point when sewing.  Press the seams open.  

When sewing these units, you are lining up 2 points. So to ensure that they are perfect I like to do the following.  Place a pin right through the point of where the background fabric meets the print fabric, then continue to push the pin through the second unit right where the point of the geese unit is.

Now straighten your two units so the pin is directly facing up and down.  This means your two points are aligned.  Pin the edges and then pin the center seam.  Remove the guide pin.  When sewing your 1/4" seam make sure to cross your sewing line directly over the bottom of that tiny background fabric triangle where you placed your guide pin. 

Repeat this little process to make a total of 4 Side Bursts.  

Now it's time to sew the entire block together.  Hooray!!    Layout out your sewn units and Goose in the Corner blocks as follows.  Start by sewing the pieces into three rows by adding your Goose in the Corner blocks to the Burst Units in the first and third row.  Then add the Side Burst's to the center star in the center row.  Use the same techniques as you used to create the units to ensure that you get nice perfect points.  And like always, use a 1/4" seam and press seams open to avoid bulk.  (I am sorry, I forgot to take a picture of this step :)

Once the three rows are created it is simply a matter of sewing them all together.  Start by laying the top row onto the center row.  Align and pin your seams.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge taking care to use your techniques of sewing over the ends of those bitty background triangles to ensure perfect points.  Press the seam open and then repeat to add the bottom row to the center.

And your block is complete!!  Now repeat to build your other blocks!!  This week's assignment is to build just 2 blocks, but if you get in a groove and want to work ahead your welcome too :)

 So that's it!!!  Get your 2 blocks made and your assignment is complete!!!  And now you can enter to win the weekly prize :)

The Weekly Prizes are sponsored by the Fat Quarter Shop and a huge thanks goes to them for their support of the Starburst Quilt-A-Long.

This weeks  prize is a $25.00 Gift Certificate to Fat Quarter Shop, so you can buy whatever you like!!! 

So what do you have to do for a chance to win??  Simple . . . Just link up your 2 Blocks at the end of this post :)  You can link to a blog post or a flickr picture, or whatever.  Just make sure to link up by next Monday morning as I will be announcing a winner at the beginning of next weeks post :)

**If you are only making one block for a pillow or wall-hanging, please link up next week instead of this week, that way you will still be entered for the "Grand Prize".

Like always, if you don't get your blocks done by next week you can still link it up :) (just not in time for the prize :)    The linky will remain open until the end of the Quilt-A-Long.  Link up when you can :)

And don't forget to add your blocks to the Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long Flickr group!!!  

And remember - Questions??  Please don't hesitate to send them to me at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Major Procrastination

I found out about 8 months ago that I would be teaching a class on my Braided Irish Chain quilt.  I was so excited!!  First thing I realized was that I was going to have to write a pattern for the class, especially because when I first submitted the design for the class, I changed the size options to make it more  "bed size friendly"  .  Well, I procrastinated, and procrastinated.  And then I procrastinated a little bit more.    And finally, the week before the class, I sat down and started writing the pattern.  I finished a day before the class :) Yup, all about last minute around these parts ;)  And I am so linking this finish up to Amanda's ;)

 I originally intended to write this pattern for just a California King size and a Queen size, but once I got going I couldn't stop.  So the pattern actually has 6 sizes, others sizes include Baby, Lap, Twin, and King.  The pattern also goes over detailed instructions on how to strip piece each size to help save tons of time in stitching.

I am so happy to have finally finished this!!  I will be honest, pattern writing, not so much fun for me.  But I loved seeing all of the finishes from my class yesterday so that makes it worth it ;)   I have always loved this quilt design and now I totally want to make it in a baby size for a good friend who is expecting.  I just need to wait to find out if it is a girl or a boy.

I have listed this pattern at a temporary discounted price of $6.00.  I will keep it at this price until Valentine's Day, and then it will be listed at my regular pattern price of $7.50. Patterns can be found here.

Purchase pattern from Craftsy - Instant Download

Purchase pattern from Etsy - Emailed within 24 hours.

I so appreciate all of the kind comments that I have been sent my way on this design.  It really is one of my favorite designs I have created and will always have a special place in my heart as it was my first official teaching opportunity.  I hope you like it too :)  Have a Happy Quilting Weekend!!