Coastal Mist Blog Hop & Giveaways

Coastal Mist Blog Hop & Giveaways

Last summer Tammy Silvers at Tamarinis blog asked if I would like to make a project for Island Batik using their new Coastal Mist line. Surely, I did, and set to work to design something to showcase its wide range.

Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life! Blog Hop Day 5

Uppsala Stars

A "Sew You Learn" Teaching 
Pattern on Craftsy

Happy Valentine's Day from someone with a little crush on hearts! Quilters seem to embrace the heart motif in their work, and I'm no different. I have some heart projects to share along with new bloggers posting about their own crushes with Craftsy. 

Yes, I'm still down with the flu, and the good man has been doing everything he can to help out. A true Valentine is someone who shows their love even when you haven't gotten out of your pajamas in a few days. 

Did You Know This About Craftsy Classes?

You control the video speed.

I've been spending some of my couch time watching Craftsy classes. I shared with Sandra that I really liked the ability of speeding the class up if I needed to. What? Where? At the bottom of the video screen is the play button, to the right it says '30 sec repeat', and to the right of that 'normal speed'. You have the option of going 0.25x, 0.5x, normal, 1.5x, and 2.5x. This is a huge benefit for me if I just want to speed back through, and hear it all one more time. 

Classes are closed captioned.

Lara at Buzzinbumble had this to offer, too:

"I love Craftsy classes too! I especially love how perfectly they are closed captioned. Lots of websites have videos that say they are closed captioned, but turn out to be terribly done and you just can't follow along. But Craftsy is excellent! You can even click right on the sentence you want to go back to and the video will sync right to that point. It never blocks any of the video either... like I said, it's perfect! “

Featured classses are 50% off for one week after each blog review.

Today's bloggers: Preeti at Sew Preeti Quilts will tell you how to enhance your stash at Craftsy without breaking the bank by buying a Kaffe Fassett 6" strip! And, she's got a terrific quilt she designed with that strip.

Beth at Cooking Up Quilts learned that appliqué can be done in many ways.  Read her review of Amanda Murphy's "20 Fresh Appliqué Techniques."  Save major bucks with a 50% discount on this class through Beth's website!

Please don't miss visiting Sandra either at mmm! quilts, as today's post is about S.E.X. and Education, and a Sunday Stretch. (Stash Enhancing eXperience--seriously a real term at Quiltbug.)

Over $500 of free Craftsy products up for grabs!

• Two free classes
• A Boundless Solids 6" Strip Set
• A Boundless Solids 10" squares
• A beautiful Boundless Solids Crown Jewels Quilt Kit by Amy Gibson!

The Giveaway entry to Craftsy can be found both here and on each post throughout the hop. One entry per person. Enter until Sunday, February 21, 2016 at 11:59 pm MST, and all winners will be announced Feb. 22 .

Surprises!

Check back daily at mmm! quilts or here at Pink Doxies for the updated daily link to each day's featured posts, and take advantage of surprise giveaways by the daily bloggers, too! 

Check out these posts for some fun mini projects adapted from a Jen Kingwell pattern, and see you all tomorrow.

Memorial Day 2015




Modern Heart Zip Bag

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

Christmas In My Heart Day #1 & Giveaway

Welcome!

The week long hop for Christmas In My Heart starts now!



Yes, it's only November, but all you stitching folks know that projects have to be started early if we want to have them done in time for the holidays. I hope you'll find lots of good ideas here to inspire you to give gifts of a Maker. There is nothing so treasured as that of a gift stitched with good wishes, and the Fat Quarter Shop is helping you out with a giveaway each day.

*Keep reading to find how to enter the Giveaway!*

Giveaway Winner and Pet Project Show #18

Congratulations to Sandra from 
Musings of a Menopausal Melon! 

Sandra was the 5th link up for month, and the 
winner of the Variable Star Within a Star pillow.
I'll be shipping this package due north.

Here are a few of the Doxie Girls and my favorite 
link-ups for the month of April. I'm a nut for color
so I'm always drawn to brights.

Tanya linked her zebra quilt from 
Tanya Quilts in CO. It's vibrant!

Debra at Quiltingartist linked this cat quilt. It's
simple, bright, and effectively fun.

Maartje Quilt in Amsterdam linked this 
multi-colored FMQ bag. I'm transported
back to high school, and doodling on notebooks.

Beth at Cooking Up Quilts linked her Bee quilt.
What a lovely composition, and perfect for spring!
I think I need to join a Bee after seeing it.



Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict worked
together this beauty, and it surely suits its name,
Stained Glass.

Cassandra at The Not So Dramatic Life linked
her Marsala Mini, and wowed me. It's
just gorgeous.

Thank you all for sharing, and keep them

coming. I love seeing your link-ups, and getting
to know so many talented sewists.

Come on, 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 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 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, April 27th 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

   

The Lowly Nine Patch Goes Mod

I have a few favorite blogs I frequent,

and one is Sew Can She. I've learned so much

by reading the different tutorials, and am

excited every month when a new

Classic Quilt Block comes out. Many I've done

before, but more than a few times I've learned 

a technique that really was quite helpful.This 

month's block was the 9 Patch, and I wanted to 

link up with one I'd done to her Facebook page so 

I was entered in the contest for the month. There's 

always a free giveaway, and that's free fun.

I was brave, and cut into my Allison

Glass stash of fat quarters I'd gotten a few

months ago. One 9 patch easily turned into many 

more, and soon I had a small pile I thought would 

make a wonderful throw quilt. What I thought

would work was this, and before you look, it

 Did Not.

You know how much I like print with print, 

but this even made me a little nauseous.

So then I tried this.

It was still pretty awful. I threw in some

slate colored sheeting, and it was getting 

better. It gave the eye somewhere to rest,

but also allowed the brilliant colors to shine.

I still wasn't happy with the layout, though.

Next try here, and I thought it was cleaner,

and simplified. I could now walk away for the 

day, and look tomorrow with fresh eyes.

Coming back this morning, it still made me 

smile, so I plugged on making more 9 patches.

Some were dark/light/dark, others opposite,

and some just had a funky-cool look so I 

went with the combination.

Did I say that I'd already cut out 50 blocks

6.5" square the night before? Yes, I did! So as to 

not waste the fabric or my energy, I tried this.

Again, very simple, but wouldn't it look a

little more glamourous with a stacked coin

border around the whole perimeter?

That's two days of sewing work for me. I also

did a little gardening, and mowed everything 

from north to south. Each morning brings

something else into bloom, and it's

really pretty exciting if you're into it like

I am.

Bleeding hearts

Magnolias, and to the right a clump of

a double narcissus 'Erlicheer' that you 

can smell 20 feet away at times!

My 2 pink dogwoods will be out by

morning I'll bet, but look like fairy

trees today.

Pansies greet us at the front door now.

And look what surprised me! I had no

idea it was going to bloom after all

these years.

I hope you're enjoying spring as much as I am.

Thank you to everyone who linked up to the

Pet Project Show #16 this weekend. It runs

through midnight Monday, April 20th.

When you link up, you are automatically

entered in the drawing May 2 for the

quilted pillow. Follow the directions in the

link below for other ways to enter.

Variable Star within a Star Pillow Giveaway

Come on, Doxie Girls.

I have another idea to try.

Let's go sew.

Linking up today with~
Val's Archives
Quilt Story
Freemotion by the River
Late Night Quilter
Blossom Heart Quilts
Show and Tell Monday with Bambi
Sew Many Ways
Design Wall Mondays
Main Crush Monday
Monday Makers at Hug-a-Bit Quilts
Monday Makers

Thank you for the linking opportunity!

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.