Second Entry for 2015 Blogger's Quilt Festival-"Zombies, Zombies, Zombies!"

We took advantage of a quick break in the

rainstorms, and snapped a few new pictures

to show off "Zombies, Zombies, Zombies!" 

Another post telling the whole backstory can

be found HERE.

This quilt was made for my son, who happens

to hate zombies, so it's a little tongue-in-cheek.

Regardless, he liked his quilt I made last fall.

This marks my second entry into the

2015 Blogger's Quilt Festival at 

Amy's Creative Side. This is a smaller

quilt than "Chicago, 2007", which is entered in 

the large quilt category. Measuring in at "52x61", 

this will be entered in the "Home Machine Quilted" category.

Zombies is one of the first quilts I had the

chance to quilt on my Janome. I had moved

up from a 7" throat space to a whopping 11"!

I went a little crazy with the graffiti style

quilting, and the grey Aurifil thread popped 

on my black Kona backing.

The fabrics were a hoot to work with, and I

loved the fussy cutting possibilities. 

I chose a black and white hatched fabric

for the binding shown above.

I think one of the best things about doing so

much freestyle is you develop a rhythm as 

you move the quilt. 

I pieced the back with the intent for it to

look like little legs on the sides.

Since this was one of the first quilts I made

in my early blogging days last fall, it's new to

most of you. So...

"Ta Dah!"

Time to get back in the archives and put

some labels on old posts, I think. There are

some goodies hiding in there yet, if you

care to check them out.

Like this.

And, yes, Mishsa and his pasture mates are doing 

well, and loving their new barn. We'll do an

update on them soon.

If you're new to Pink Doxies, the

Pet Project Show runs Saturday-

Monday every week, and is your

opportunity to link up whatever

lovely thing you're working on.

We'd love to see you there!

Come on, Doxie girls.

Let's go to Amy's Creative Side,

and check out all the quilts today.

Linking up with~
Late Night Quilter
Please go read her 
Tuesday Tips and Tutorial today! 
You'll love it.
Blossom Heart Quilts
Freemotion by the River
Monday Makers
Show and Tell with Bambi
Cooking Up Quilts

'Chicago, 2007' QST Quilt--Entry for Blogger's Quilt Festival 2015

'Chicago, 2007' 

Quarter Square Triangle Quilt

Stats: Made from a 100% cotton mixture of 

whatever was in my scraps and stash when I 

started, plus a few special fabrics found just 

for this quilt. Contains more than 180 different 

fabrics. The final dimensions are 85"x95". 

The batting is Fairfield's 50/50 

bamboo/cotton blend. 

This marks the first time I've entered 

the Spring 2015 Blogger's Quilt Festival

at Amy's Creative Side.

Nomination for viewer's choice runs 

May 15-21, and voting May 22-29. 

Winners are announced May 30, 2015.

I encourage you to visit, and see the 

collective talent of quilting bloggers

from around the world. You can 

find me in the large quilt category.

The setting triangles and pink backing are

both from Tula Pink's Acacia line. The sari

fabrics are cottons from Amy Butler.

Several years ago my youngest daughter and I 

made a trip to Chicago to visit a dear friend, 

Betty. A seasoned tour guide, she told us 

there were a few things we must do while in the 

Windy City. One was visiting the Bahai Temple.

I've visited this sanctuary many times with her, 

and it's one of my favorite places. Popping up in 

the midst of a residential neighborhood, it stands 

like a beacon shining its light. It was my young

daughter first visit, and as she was quite taken in 

with it, we spent hours there.

Its gardens are amassed in flowers,

and the colors and lights are 

reflected in the pool.

Photo from the Baha'is of the United States

Another of her goals was to find a lehenga 

choli for my daughter so the 3 of us headed 

to Devon Avenue. Devon Avenue is a 

melting pot of mom and pop stores, groceries, 
and restaurants from many ethnic groups. We 

sipped mango lassis, and ate Hungarian 

pastries fresh from a beehive oven while the 

wind whipped by us on the sidewalk. We 

eyed up bolt after bolt of sari fabric, and my

young daughter tried on half a dozen little 

dresses before finally deciding on this one. 

That evening we sat in the garden of 

their brownstone enjoying Peruvian takeout 

and wine while reliving our perfect day. I
have frozen those memories in my mind.

 I believe that one day deeply imprinted

my mind and senses, and is expressed

in this very quilt these many years later. 

It wasn't until I was making the binding that 

it came together. My thoughts have been 

filled with memories of my friend these past 

months, and my longing to see her since
she's moved so far away.

Whether we realize it or not, something in 

our psyche guides our choices when we design. 
I believe it is important for me to focus on 

what is good, and beautiful, and true. Our
art and creations become an expression
of our consciousness at that moment. 

This quilt started as a simple experiment in 

making half square triangles, then continued to 

quarter square triangles. Visit these recent 

posts documenting the creative process, and 

 the many changes of direction.

Monday Musings

Friday Progress

I've Moved Out

When Do You Sleep?

Thankful Thursday

The Great Debate

QST Progress

What's Next? Dealing with It.

I spent the morning with my domestic Janome

 FMQ the setting and corner triangles using 

my favorite pink Aurifil thread, #2425.

I turned the machine so I could work from

the end feeding smoothly through, and not 

have to push the bulk up and under it. I used 

a small, portable table to help support the 

weight of the quilt as I stitched, moving

it as necessary from one side to the next.

This is a very heavy quilt.

The pink Aurifil shows up nicely on the teal blue.

I ran into one small problem. Although I allowed

3 extra inches on the sides of the backing, I had

only 2 on each end to spare before quilting. The

long arming took up quite a bit of that, and left

me 1/4" short on this end. I trimmed the other

end as it was a match with the pieced fabric,

and sewed it to my short end. It was a pretty

close fit, but I was lucky.

 I love to machine stitch binding on. Or should I

say, I hate binding quilts by hand? I do. Here's

a trick. Sew it to the back of the quilt first, then

bring it to the front, and stitch it down. I used a

pale blue in my top thread to match my binding,

and a fushia in my bobbin to match the backing.

If you're careful to pin, pin, pin the front,

it works beautifully.

I was a little bit off where I sewed my

tag on, but I made sure to have it sewn

into the binding to make it extra secure.

I was cautioned against sewing on my binding

by machine, but it seems to be lying flat. I 

always cut my binding fabric perpendicular to 

the selvage, and that seems to be key.

This is a memory quilt sewn with love. 

Come on, Doxie girls.

Let's have us a snuggle,

and ring a friend today.

Creative Space Tag continues with
Judy at Quilt Paradigm. She's put a 
lot of time in analyzing her space,
and how she uses it. Wait until 
you see her design wall!

This also is a finish for
my list made for Adrienne's
2015 Finish-Along On the
2015 Finish-Along On the Windy Side.

Linking up with~
Blossom Heart Quilts
Val's Quilting Archives
Sew Can She
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Crazy Mom Quilts
Quilt Shop Gal
TGIFF
LAFF
Free Motion Mavericks

Thank you all for the linking

opportunities.

Cell Phone and Camera Sling Bag

Necessity is the Mother of Invention.

~unknown

I'm so excited to show you my new Make! 

I will tell you that I have lost my beloved cell

phone very few times. Once I came home 

from the barn without it, and on back-tracking 

found it laying in the middle of the road 

across town. It survived. The second was a 

bounce out of my pocket while mowing. My

daughter had the experience of bush hogging 

her own phone into tiny pieces years ago, so

I knew I needed a solution.

I have been working on my Anna Marie Horner

Swap this past week, and the mini-quilt is

nearly done. I don't want to show you the 

whole thing as to not ruin the surprise for

my partner out there, but here's a sneak peek.

I needed some hand sewing to do one day while

all the dogs were here for a play date. My studio

is not yet dog-proofed for 6 energetic dogs!

This is an original design, and I was excited to

try out some applique and embroidery with 

this new project. I love the Folk Song line, and it 

seemed to speak to the 70's child in me. When I 

saw the leftovers, I knew what I wanted to do.

I pieced improvisationally until I came up

with a slab of both the tumblers, and the 

strips. The darker chunk of fabric in the

back is also AMH, but from an earlier line.

I liked the little bit of contrast it provided, 

and it's the backing used in my swap.

The strips made up the back.

The tumblers made up the front, and 

the Innocent Crush became the lining.

I added large 3M One velcro strips for

security, but none of the problems you

have with typical hook and loop tape.

I love this stuff!

I used FMQ in a swirly, floral pattern, and 

my favorite pink Aurifil thread to give

it a touch of pizazz.

I put a strip of scrap binding over the inside lip,

then bound it as I would a regular quilt.

Now for the strap. I can't stand anything digging

into my shoulder, so no wimpy strap for me. I 

used leftover batting and fabric with the selvage,

and made a wonderfully padded strap to cross

over my body. There are 3 layers of batting 

inside, and one seam sewn down the middle 

to hold it all together. 

I've been wearing it since I made it, and it's passed

the test. I love it. I can stick my iPhone with its 

Mophie battery pack, and my little Canon Power

Shot inside, and have room left over for

money or emergency items. 

I can actually say it was a total scrap project

because I used all the leftovers from my 

swap project. Woohoo! I'm over the

moon with my little Make, and thankful to 
keep my valuables safe now.

Working away at my QST quilt, and hope to

show you the flimsy finish this weekend.

I'm close.

Come on, Doxie Girls.

We've got sewing at Joann's tonight.

Daylight's burning!

Let's go sew.

Sandra is the hostess of 
Creative Space Tag today at~
Musings of a Menopausal Melon


Linking up today with~
Quilt Shop Gal
Crazy Mom Quilts
TGIFF @ Quilt Matters
Richard and Tanya Quilts
Free Motion Mavericks

A Quilting Reader's Garden
My Quilt Infatuation
Freshly Pieced
Quilting Jet Girl
Sew Fresh Quilts

Giveaway--Variable Star Within a Star Pillow

I needed something to practice quilting on,

and have been spending lots of time looking
at block tutorials. Caroline at Sew Can She 
has a treasure trove of projects, but I 
especially love the block tutorials and tips. 
This block is the Variable Star, part of her 
Classic Quilt Block series, and I sewed 
it as she did with a block within a 
block, within a block. I'm so thankful for
her wonderful resources she shares.

I experimented with my own color palette,
and, of course, it has some pink. *Should I
repeat this again, I would be more aware
that the second star would stand out better 
with more contrast in the fabric patterns. The 
colors are very similar. Perhaps that subtley does
work as the middle star, but it appears 
a little muddied to me when the others
are so much better defined.

I rarely do this, but that color issue was 
bugging me. I went down all ready to tear out 
the middle colors, but hadn't remembered 
I'd already sewn it together. 
I must have been in the zone!

I made the decision to keep it as it was, and
just see if there would be a way to help
define the floral star points from the chevron
background by highlighting it with a
FMQ pattern somehow. I pushed on.

I outlined the daisies to keep it simple,
and added directional lines to the 
chevron fabric to pull your eye in.
It's more defined than it was before 
quilting--not entirely 'fixed', but I 
do like it! I pebbled the dark grey 
with my Aurifil bright pink, and it 
added texture AND color!

Another thing I tried was adding piping
in the same Riley Blake floral. It helps
the eye focus on the repeated daisy centers.
The back is a simple gingham.
and a long, covered zipper to remove
the insert for laundering.

If you're curious, the prominent 
fabrics are here in the selvages 
I saved, and it will have a tag 
this afternoon, I promise.

This is the Giveaway prize for the 
month, and also a finish for Adrianne's 
Q2 On the Windy Side.
The details are all in the post HERE. I
will mail the pillow without the insert
to the winner anywhere in the world.

Follow the directions in the link 
above, and let me know
the details in an email~
juliebehappy1@gmail.com with any
questions.

You have through April 30th at midnight,
and the winner will be announced on
Saturday, May 2, 2015 with the Pink Doxie
Pet Project Show.

*Please, please be sure to list your email
address if you are a No Reply Sender.
If you are unsure, just list your email
in your message. I try very hard to respond 
to all my comments, but there are times
I cannot as you may have no listed email
on your profile. An email from me is not 
crucial, but I wouldn't want you to 
miss out if you're the winner, though!

Linking up today with~
On the Windy Side
Blossom Heart Quilts
Late Night Quilter Tips and Tutorials
 Freemotion by the River
Show and Tell Tuesday
Quilt Story Fabric Tuesday
Sew Fresh Quilts
Quilting Jet Girl
My Quilt Infatuation
Thank you all for hosting your
link parties!


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