Happiness Is … Quilting!

Located in the historic downtown square of McKinney, Texas, Happiness Is … Quilting! takes up the first floor of an 1898 structure built by Masons. Quilts pop against the bright pink walls, tin ceiling, and brick accents.

Front row, from left:

Kelli Ladwig, Elise SansSouci, Barbara Greathouse, Laura Kay Houser (owner), and Timi Ann Welch; back row: Joanie Buster, Judy Cozzi, Renae Brown, Denise Derry, and Wendy Madeiros; not pictured: Matt Houser and Jane Schrick.

Quilts and clothing become wall art at Happiness Is … Quilting! The Cuppy Cake Dress by Pink Fig provides beautiful inspiration. The shop offers a variety of classes, including sessions for making aprons and some for making purses.

The shop features everything from 1930s reproductions to wool fabric to animal prints. The Annandale Quilt by Candy Hargrove highlights a selection of blue Jo Morton fabrics.

Shop owner Laura Kay Houser designed Dutch Beauty for Quilt Sampler® Fall/Winter 2011 magazine.

Lynne Haley machine-quilted details to highlight the natural motifs in the pattern. She stitched a loopy flower in each hexagon of the pieced border, adding butterflies to a few hexagons. Solid red borders strips set apart the different sections.

Using bold fabrics gives every portion of this wall hanging equal play. For border No. 4, quilt tester Laura Boehnke chose a large-scale floral that mimics the hexagons in border No. 1. Instead of a panel, an allover paisley print in the center reinforces the sweeping effect. Fabrics are from the Penny Lane collection by Kensington Studio for Quilting Treasures.

For more information about Happiness Is … Quilting!, visit happinessisquilting.com.