Monday, March 30, 2015

Monday Musings


 Last week I made the trip back to my favorite 
local quilt shop, Miller's Dry Goods. My mind and 
eyes were tuned into a different fabric selection, 
and I wasn't disappointed. I was looking for, and found, 
some highly patterned, and colorful floral pieces. 

My latest inspiration comes from a book I've
highlighted here several times, and is one
of my favorite go-to reads--


This incredibly scrap-inspired quilt is the work
of Katie Pedersen, who blogs as Sew Katie Did.
I just love it!



I've been on a HST kick this year, and have written
about my frustration using pre-cuts when making 
them. The feedback I received was full of ideas, 
but two names kept coming up. One was Bloc-Loc 
for their squaring-up rulers. When I decided on this 
concept as my next project, and realized the extent 
of workI contacted Bloc-Loc. We talked about my 
ideas,and they were gracious to send me a ruler 
to use as a demo here on Pink Doxies.


I was sent a 6.5" squaring up ruler. Bloc-Loc's suggestion
in their directions say to use one inch up, so a 7.5" 
square to start. I didn't have anything that large in
my scraps to use so I hit my stash--hard!
I have over 50 fabrics cut into squares or strips
at this point--



...and another 140 or so to go!
I went after pieces that I've never used 
before first, and filled in with others.


My trusty He-Man Ruler has been very helpful. My 
tendency with plastic rulers is to lose contact
with the edge right at the end, and it causes a 
swerve or divot in my strip. The heavier ruler
with the gripping foam underneath it helps
hold the fabric in place all the way to the end.

This is the idea of a finished block. I am already
willing to say I am notably impressed with the 
accuracy and ease of the Bloc-Loc ruler,
but floored by the increased speed I can work.
So far, SO Wonderful, Bloc-Loc!


 Also on my list of daily lessons to grow my skills is
to visit the Leah Day Free Motion Quilting Project.
Every single day I do something. There is a vast 
improvement in my skills even from the first 
video until now. It's FREE, and I'm so grateful
for all the resources packed in there.




I keep practicing so I can link up with
Thursday's when she hosts a link up party.

blogbutton photo peacockfmq025_zpse5bceb10.jpg

 My days are going in all directions, it seems,
but I feel I'm moving forward like the coming
of spring is. There are so many new things to
learn when you're trying to grow.

I'd love to hear what things you're working on
or how you're trying to grow your skills.
Please take a minute and let me know 
today in the comments.

I'm so honored to be 
featured today on~

Sew Cute Tuesday

and also at

Quilt Story



I'm linking up today with~

Time for work!
Come on, Doxie Girls.
Let's go sew.





Friday, March 27, 2015

Pet Project Show #13


My Life Aquiltic
A very modern looking pieced back using my 
remnants. I envision a column of ocean water 
with a small wave swell on top.


I spent yesterday sewing alongside my mom. 
She worked on her Little Dresses for Africa, and 
I finished this quilt top. (Aren't we lucky?) 
This will be another Pie Quilt.




I had to snap these pictures late yesterday
afternoon before I lost the light. I wanted
you to have a realistic idea of how relaxed
I am when making a quilt sandwich. I've 
had some shifting in the back while moving
it around so I'll need to fix that before 
I actually start FMQ. I'm also adding 
just a little more length to the ends, 
 to ensure I don't run out of backing
while quilting. You will get shrinkage.




I'm off taking a class today in creating a 
landscape quilt. It's offered through my new
and sounded too interesting to pass up.
Besides, I've made some good friends there
already, and they're coming. Quilting is a 
social hobby if you want it to be.


This was last Saturday at Heritage Arts Days.
How can you not smile when you're
sewing among friends?


It's Saturday, and time for the weekly 

Pink Doxies 


Pet Project Show. 

Add your link here every Saturday. 

Rules


Do we have to have rules? 


No worries! It's EASY.



1. Use the blue 'Add Your Link' button (below left) 
to upload a picture of something you've created 
in the past week. Any kind of handiwork--
share it now! It can be a work in progress, 
finally finished, or even your fab new fabric. 
Whatever it is that inspired you to create this 
week, we'd like to see it here. 

2. Please link to a specific post, and not just your 
blog address. It makes it easier for someone 
following your link to find the project.

3. Provide a backlink to Pink Doxies with a link in 
your post, or pick up our Pet Project Show 
button in the sidebar. Copy the code, then 
create a Pet Show widget with 'Add by HTML' 
on your Layout page.

-OR-

1. You can link up to your Instagram. 
Click on the Instagram icon at the bottom 
of the link up screen. The URL of your Instagram 
feed will be your link. 
Please hashtag #pinkdoxiespetproject


Either way you link up, remember it's a party 

here, so schmooze with the crowd! Visit others 
who've linked up. Leave a comment so they 
know what you like about their work. 

Don't miss a post! 
Follow me on Bloglovin' or by email. 

The Linky Party starts now, and runs until 
Monday, March 30th at midnight. 
Spread the word, and tell all your stitchy friends.

*The first Saturday party of each month will 
feature several of the Doxies and my 
favorite link ups.
By linking up, you are giving permission for me 
to post your picture with a link back to your 
blog or Instagram account. 





Linking up today with~

Thank you for the linking opportunity!





Pie Quilts





My new Moo Cow baby quilt 
front and back.


 The backing is a actually a textured print, 
with a striped Moda binding.


I started this little quilt with some 
'Milk Cow Kitchen' fabrics by Moda
 I had on hand, and added to it some of 
my other favorites. I wanted a more
traditional-feeling quilt with a little boy
in mind after all the little girls quilts
I had made lately.




Lately I've been running crazy behind the scenes of 
Pink Doxies with half a dozen projects. So many 
new things happening--so much to tell you, but I 
won't overwhelm you. Spring is here with a 
few brave flowers and occasional overnight 
snow, but I have faith the sun will shine. 
Let's keep our sewing simple so we can enjoy 
the warmer weather.

One of my latest projects to tell you about is 
 Pie Quilts.
More on the name in a bit.

For many folks ready to learn all about sewing and 
quilting, it's a scary thing to pick out a project
that is past the Very Beginner level, but doesn't have too
many new things to tackle all at once. I hear over 
and over, "I can do pillowcases, and this-and-that, 
but where should I start with quilting?"

or...

"I used to sew quite a bit, but it's been a while."

First, there are so many places to learn the most 
basic skills of sewing and quilting. Take a class 
where you live, or do one online class. Many online 
sites have free lessons, and will walk you through 
all the basic steps of your first quilt.
You know my theory on free resources-- 

Free is Great!

Google it yourself or look here.

Sewing Lessons and Courses
Craftsy's Free Sewing Classes

There's almost 250 free classes there just
for sewing!

But then what?
What can I do next? 

How can you be sure a project is right for you now? 
Everyone wants to be successful and make sure 
they can get the project done they've chosen, but 
we should also be building skills as we sew. 
So, not too easy, but not too hard either. 

Now the name--Pie Quilts.

Did your mom ever tell you,
"It's Easy as Pie, honey!"

Folks, I used to be a big pie maker, and 
let me tell you, making one is not at 
all that easy. We ate a lot of flops.
My crust was always perfect, but depending on
what fruit I used, things could go south in a 
hurry. I learned that by making sure I had a good 
crust recipe from my mom, didn't mess with my 
oven temperature, and always used real butter, 
I could learn how to make all the different 
fillings one at a time.

This is a Pie Quilt.
We're only going to change one thing at a time.

A Pie Quilt has one serious stipulation for you. 
If you have basic skills, and have put together at 
least two basic quilts with straight lines, then 
it's a good choice. Why do I say you should have 
sewn two quilts before? Sewing is skill-based, and 
requires repetition and practice. You get better by 
doing it. Even the most skilled sewists I know 
are still working on their skill set. 

I know when I did my first quilt, I was completely 

amazed when I finally finished it. I struggled 
through it, and made a lot of corrections. I also 
had someone holding my hand when I got stuck. 
The second one I tried to do more on my own, 
and I had an idea what would come next. 
There was a big difference in my process, my skill, 
and my outcome even by the second quilt. 
By the third quilt, stand back because 
I was ready to take on anything! 
Not really, but it felt that way. 

This is the point when we struggle 

to pick out a project that causes us to 
stretch a little, but not break.

I want you to be successful, and I love to have 
people to sew with, so let's do this together.

Many of you readers already have gorgeous quilts 
stacked in your boudoir, but you have friends 
with quilt envy who would like to learn how to get 
started. This is a good place for you to refer them, 
or make it easier for you to get them safely started.


The Moo Cow baby quilt will be our first Pie
Quilt project coming very soon, and the Wave
quilt, or 'Aquiltic' as my daughter refers to the
one below, will be our second. Although they
might look complicated to a newer quilter,
they are not beyond your reach! 
We're working on one new skill at a time.



The Moo Cow quilt at the top is quilted, bound, and 
headed for my Etsy shop this weekend. I try to keep 
everything here free, but I also need to buy
fabric and other materials. I encourage you to
browse my Etsy shop if you're in quick need of
a handmade gift, and help me keep the lights on.

We can do this together. If you have a question
or run into a problem, we'll have a place for 
you to ask. Are you excited yet? I am!

Come back soon for Pie Quilts~

Come on, Doxie Girls.
Let's go sew.

Linking up today with~
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?
LAFF
WIPs Be Gone
TGIFF
Creative Goodness Linky Party
WIDTH
Thank you for the linking opportunity!








Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Quilt Label Bliss




 There's finally a label on my quilts 
that makes me happy.


I used this saying as something to simply work with
while I was figuring out how to do curvey 
designs with Word. I sat there and smiled 
while I looked at it and worked. 
 I realized that I wanted to smile every time I saw
my quilt tags, and that's when this stuck. 
I like it, and it makes me happy.


These little baby quilts were for family, and I
wanted something with a saying and a date.
I found this on Pinterest, and thought 
it was so sweet! It's not my poem.
,

There are oodles of places to find sayings for quilt 
labels, but my favorite is at Quilter's Diary.

One I want to try is, 
"Blessed are the children, for they
will inherit the quilts."

And another,
 "In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there 
was in me an invincible summer.” 
-Albert Camus

They may not be your cup of tea, but the important
thing is we put some kind of a label on each of
our finished quilts. You choose what you want,
but name, date, receiver's name, and laundering
instructions are a few to consider.

I have several quilts to go back and tag. I 
knew I should do it, but was not happy with
anything I'd tried. A friend has gone on and on
about how easy it was to use her printer,
and I had seen the tutorials on many blogs.

I finally gave it a try, and I won't go back!

Instead of listing them all, check out these
Pinterest boards on 'how to print on fabric'. 

I'm going to give you a 30 second walk through.
You need common freezer paper.


Cut a piece of freezer paper to the same size
as your regular printer paper. Mine is 8.5"x11".
Cut the cotton fabric you are printing on
just slightly smaller than that paper.
Iron shiny side to the fabric until it sticks.
I used a medium heat iron.



I have a Canon inkjet printer, 
and I use generic cartridges.
Feed your paper in with the fabric
side facing down.


Work out your design in any program you're
 comfortable with. I used Microsoft Word.
Space the document so there is room
between each logo for you to cut them
into tags, or however you plan on 
using them. Hit print.


 Seriously! How cool is that?

Here's the next bit that works for me. I use 
iron on interfacing to back the actual tag.
I frame the tag in a fabric used in the quilt.


Sides first, then top and bottom. I used 1.25" 
wide strips whatever length to match.



I use a non-woven pattern tracing material called
Do-Sew, and cut a piece the same size as
my tag. Cut an X in the Do-Sew, and sew
it to the front of the tag.



Clip corners, and turn.



It's puffy at this point.


Use another piece of fabric to protect your
ironing surface, and lay the Do-Sew side on it.



Steam the Do-Sew to 'shrink up'
the backing, and you have a lovely
quilt tag that says exactly what you want.


Hand stitch on the back of your quilt.
Finding a simple, inexpensive way to
label my quilts has been a thorn in
my side since the beginning. I'm so 
thankful to have found this method.

I'll share a sneak peak at 
my design wall.
More on that tomorrow.




Until then..
Come on, Doxie Girls.
Let's go sew.

Linking up today with~


Sew Fresh Quilts 
Freshly Pieced Modern Quilts
Quilty Thankful Thursday
Design Wall Monday
Needle and Thread Thursday
Thursdays at Pretty Bobbins

Thank you for the link up opportunity!