Custom iPad Sleeve & Pet Project Show #20

I have had the fabric for this iPad sleeve

since January. My mother-in-law requested

something simple yet fairly well padded

to carry while travelling. The project

sat on the back burner while other things

took its place. I had it on my list of 

2015 Finishes for On the Windy Side Q2, 

and I've checked it off.

This is for a bird lover, and the fabrics

seemed suited. I especially love the Acacia

print from Tula Pink used as the 

background fabric. A fantasy print, she's

mixed hummingbirds with what looks

like anemones.

Please Note

The closure is with 3M One. I strongly

warn against using any kind of magnetic

closure with electronics! They don't mix.

I did just a tad of FMQ on this with some

pebbling, and spiraling flames.

It doesn't show much at all on the outside,

but was a chance for me to practice. The

batting is my very dense 'Kevlar' batting,

and though I wouldn't guarentee it, I

think it will hold up fairly well to a drop.

I did a bit of outline FMQ on the front of the

economy block, or square within a square,

and some pebbling in the corners.

Less quilting means more loft.

So, 'Ta Dah!', and another finish down.

Don't forget to visit 
Blogger's Quilt Festival-Spring 2015
Eye candy for quilt lovers everywhere!
I'm entered in the large quilt category.

Now show us what you did this week?

*******
Woohoo, Doxie Girls!
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)
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 easy for anyone 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, May 18th 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. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Linking Up with~
Q2 On the Windy Side
Free Motion Mavericks

What's Next? Dealing with It.

An artsy friend sent me this card last week, and 

I'm stuck on it. It pushes me to think. She 
would never call herself a great motivator, but 
she has a way of dropping Thought Bombs 
that stops me in my tracks.

Neither of us are empty nesters, but it's on our
 horizons. (I'm laughing because we have 11 kids 
between us. Will either of us ever be?) But we are 
mentally preparing for the next season of our lives, 
and it comes up in our conversations a lot. I know 
many of you who visit Pink Doxies blog are 
thinking this, too.

So, we ask ourselves, What's Next?

Which Road are we Taking?

How will we Know when we've Arrived?


 I got back into quilting because it fit easily 
into my life, and made me happy. Now I get 
my color fix, make neat things, and meet the 
most wonderful people through blogging. 
Sounds so cozy, doesn't it? Then what? 
What if I want more than that?

When we reach uncharted territory, it
gives us pause to think. The unknown can
be scary. We're now at the End of 
our Comfort Zone. I've been coming up
against this for the past few months. 

Where I'm At--One Place

I want to be able to create entire 
quilts from start to finish no matter the size. 
I'm making bigger projects now, and like this 
one, they don't fit in my domestic machine 
anymore--even my Janome with an 11" throat.

I felt like one thing I needed to learn 
was long arm quilting. It scared me, yet I spent
a lot of time looking into it. I visited stores, 
talked to friends, and even priced machines. I 
tried it a few times, but the learning curve was 
steep! I could do so many things on my domestic 
Janome, but it didn't transfer to a long arm. It 
was like riding a bike and rowing a boat--a 
totally different skill set. Was it a road I wanted 
to even go down? Was it worth it for me?

I have a neighbor just houses away with a
Tin Lizzie. She quilts commercially for clients, 
and was kind and willing to show me her machine
the day after my phone call. She even let me 
have a try at it. The next day my QST quilt was 
on her machine, and I was going to quilt it 
myself. She had faith in my skills when I didn't.

We drove an hour away to buy thread as she
does mainly Traditional quilts, and had nothing
in my color palette. We came home, pinned it
on, and after a few minutes we both knew the
color wasn't working. I couldn't see it enough
to follow the pattern. She happily helped me
rip out stitches for half an hour. At that point
I went home to sleep on it, but I kept waking 
up wondering if she'd be upset if I just wanted
to take it out of the frame. I was panicking I
would screw it up beyond saving. I loved this
colorful quilt.

The next morning, Mother's Day, she called
to ask if I wanted to try again. I had looked
at more patterns, watched some videos,
and drawn page after page with 2 hands
on my pen moving it at the same time.
I found this pattern on a porch chair, and
thought it was easiest enough to begin.

We re-evaluated thread color, and chose a
darker color even though I would have liked
a paler one. I needed to see it! This is a
lavendar shade, and she had a matching
So Fine for the bobbin thread. 

Away I went, down my first run, and by the end 
I was in tears. Good tears! It was so terrifying,
and I had managed to do a passable job, 
and not ruined my quilt.

You might be laughing to yourself that I'm
being overly dramatic, but you have no idea
how afraid I was of botching this. I've done 
that before, and have the mess to prove it.

With the adrenaline rush going, I kept on.
Sandy helped to coach me by checking if
thing were in place after each pass, but she
stayed out of the way. I'm a good 7" taller
that she is, and I'm sure it was quite a 
sight with me scootching down to run the
machine at her height adjustment.

A quick break for lunch, a minute to smell 
my gorgeous Mother's Day bouquet, and I 
told my husband I'd be done by 3.

When I returned, Sandy took her sewing 
upstairs, and left me on my own. I managed
fine, and in my head kept saying,
"I can do this. I can do this."
It was an empowering moment for me.

My work was not perfect. Shoot, I
even ran over my design a few times
trying to see under the machine head, 
but the whole quilt was done
in one day. I'm so, so pleased with a
passing job this time.

The lavendar thread was a solid choice 
for the backing.

Effy had to have a quick try at it right off.

I still have the edges to quilt on my Janome.
I've chosen to use my sit down domestic
for the control it allows me, and then the
binding. All can happen this week.

I don't know if I'd ever have done this had
circumstances not been what they were.
It all fell into place when it did, and I 
didn't have as much time to over-think it.
Thank you, Sandy.
Fear nearly stopped me from this uber-
thrilling adventure. I'm totally wiped out,
and have come down with a cold or
something already, and I wonder if it's 
from stressing over it all.

As for my card above, I think I would 
rephrase it to say, 

"Growth begins at the end 
of your comfort zone."

Gardeners who start seedlings know it helps 
to brush your hand across them once a day. 
You're simulating nature brushing by them. It 
makes the whole stem structure healthier, 
I understand, when the seedling pushes 
back against the stimulus. In turn, it 
causes it to grow stronger. 

As for the biggest questions I have
above, I still don't know. Perhaps
I never will. My answer for today
is simple.

Let me grow.

Come on, Doxie girls.
Let's all go sew.

Linking up today with~
Freemotion by the River
Quilt Story
Blossom Heart Quilts
Late Night Quilter
She Can Quilt
Cooking Up Quilts
Monday Makers
Show and Tell with Bambi
Hug-a-Bit Quilts

'Peas in a Pod' Batik Pillow Finish-April FMQ Challenge

This FMQ pattern, 'Peas in a Pod', is from 
Christina Cameli, and I started it weeks ago here. 
It's very organic, and I played around with it quite
a bit rounding out, squaring off, etc. Christina 
shows it much smoother, and refined, but I had 
more than a little trouble with the batting I used. 
It was terribly dense to start with, and then I 
added intensive quilting with heavy thread. 

*This piece would be ideal as Kevlar-type padding 

 worn under chain mail or jousting armor. No joke.
I now understand why early soldiers used such 
padded underclothing to protect themselves. 

Darlene at Quilt Shop Gal is hosting the 
2015 Free-Motion Quilting Challenge as she's 
done for several years. The April Challenge
features Christina Cameli. Check out her
blog, A Few Scraps, for some sweet inspiration!
I highly recommend her books, one of which
I already own, and the other I'd like to order.

First Steps to Free-Motion Quilting

Step-by-Step Free-Motion Quilting: Turn 9 Simple Shapes into 80+ Distinctive Designs Best-selling author of First Steps to Free-Motion Quilting

I used some fabrics on the inside that are older,
and wouldn't get used in my modern things. No
one will see it, so I use that or muslin. My backing
is the same 3 fabrics, and quilting with a 
walking foot in a straight stitch.

I decided not to use a zipper on this pillow,
but to sew it shut. It's for me, and I can spot
clean it if I must. I stabilized the sides of the 
back by stitching a 1/4" around all sides. Then 
I added my binding, but only sewed it to the 
backing section of the opening.

I left a long tail to sew the binding together 
at a 45 degree angle. Christa Quilts has a great 
tutorial if you're ever stuck.

Notice that I was also sewing the front and back 
together at the same time as I added my binding, 
but you could do it first if it's easier. Then I brought 
the binding to the front, and sewed it by machine
on 3 sides. Leave an opening to insert your pillow!

Pillow went in, and this time I used one on the 
smaller side. I didn't want the whole thing
to feel like a rock. I pinned the section near 
the last opening so it flattened it out, and 
kept the pillow back. That makes sewing on the 
binding SO much easier in the case you have a 
pillow pushing on your last opening.

Miter the corners with a fold, and you're done.

And, since none of you seemed to mind--
Ta-Dah!

Now to frost the Espresso cupcakes I'm 
taking to sewing and quilting tonight.

Come on, Doxie Girls.
We've got lots to get ready

before I can go sew.

Linking up with~
Lizzie Lenard Free Motion Mavericks
Val's Quilting Archives
Freshly Pieced
Sew Fresh Quilts
2015 FMQ April Challenge with Christina Cameli

Graphic Patchwork and Comments Always Appreciated

My last post, The Lowly Nine Patch Goes Mod, 
was about cutting into my Allison Glass 
FQ bundle. I had taken most of the bundle 
plus half a dozen Kona solids, and made 9 
patch blocks with them. They're bright, a 
little wild, and this is a quilt I'd love to have.
These square were first intended to go
into that quilt, but it became too busy.
So I separated them into 2 quilts.

I had finally decided on this grey background,

and was headed for bed when I got a couple 

comments on my email about the grey. I laid 
there thinking, "Maybe they're right." I couldn't 
go over to check it out either. It was the middle 
of the night! One drawback of not being in the 

downstairs any longer.

This morning I looked at it with fresh eyes,

then packed it up to get some other folks'

opinions. We tried lighter backgrounds,

and they were okay, but they weren't 

powerful. I texted friends for their take 

on it. I looked at some of the sites that the 
posters suggested, but I hesitated because this 
was supposed to be a quickie quilt. I didn't 
want to put that much extra time into a quilt I 
intended to sell. There is a line where all the 
extra time spent cutting, piecing and sewing will 
eat up even more than you can recoup. So I went 

back to my original Plan A you see above.

I still like it the best.

I just want you all to know that I value your

opinions when you give them, and I consider

them seriously because I think it helps 

me grow as a quilter--even if it doesn't

change my mind in the end. So, thank you,

and feel welcome to keep leaving me advice
and suggestions. I'm never offended.

After that little top was sewn up, I pulled
out the triangle quilt from my UFO pile. I've
been SO frustrated with this hot mess. I
tried redoing the backing and batting twice
already, and it was still a wreck.

I started by tearing the whole thing apart
--again. I squared the backing first, then
 I trimmed the side of the backing adding 
it to the top to give it more length. FMQ 
will take up backing, and I was pushing it here. 
I steamed it with a vertical iron because 
it was still sticky with 505, and taped it to my
ping pong table. Then I laid the top on it with
the batting which was also still sticky with 505.
I recalled how Late Night Quilter had posted
a tutorial on how to use your long ruler to
smooth out backing, but I think that was 
without 505. I will tell you it worked like
magic, even with all the stickiness! My hero!
Just lift, smooth, and reset. Check the back,
and repeat until it looks good.

It took several tries before I had things smooth
enough to satisfy me, and then I just used
regular large safey pins to pin it together. To 
save my table surface, I slid my rotary cutter 
mat underneath the area I was working with.

The wind has been howling today, so I put
on some low music, and quilted away. This quilt
reminds me of ocean water, so I did waves.

I didn't have the exact color of thread I
might have chosen if I had shopped for it,
but this pale blue was fine. It's the first
time I've quilted with Iris Ultra.

It shows up pretty next to the teal backing.
I hope to have it all done for a Friday
Finish to show you.

Last week we started a new blog hop
called Creative Space Tag. I tagged
Maryse at Maryse Makes Things, and 
she's on the ball! Pop in to see the
bright and beautiful room she works in.

Do you want to be involved in our 
creative space hop? It doesn't matter
if you work in your kitchen, your
bedroom... darn, I know someone 
who relocates to a porch when the
weather warms up. 

Be proud of it! 

Show us how you make it work 
for you, and inspire those people who 
say they have nowhere to sew. 

Send me an email, and I'll add
you to our growing list. You'll
have advance notice if you need it.

We had a treat from Mother Nature last night.
This rainbow was up close and gorgeous.

Can you see the double

off to the right?

Within a few minutes, this was all that was left.
Glorious color!

Until we visit again~
May all your days feel like they
end with a rainbow.

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

Linking up with~
My Quilt Infatuation
who also featured me today!
Thank you, Kelly.
Quilty Thankful Thursday
Freshly Pieced
A Quilting Life
Sew Fresh Quilts