Multiple Perspectives

"Sunrise at Sea"

This is the free block pattern I made for the Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop 2015. The pattern and tutorial are available through the link. I wanted to see how it might look in sweet print fabrics, and was surprised at how much it changed the feeling of the block.

The Farmer's Wife 1930s: Week 1: Blocks 8,12,16

"Aunt"--It begged for a fussy cut!

The 1930's Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt Sew-along has begun, and it's exciting! There are over 4,000 members now, and the variety of blocks is wonderful to see. I am sticking to my reproduction fabrics, and throwing in some solids. Three blocks were introduced the first week, but from here on out there will be two a week. 

Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop 2015: Pink Doxies

Thank you Fabri-Quilt for sponsoring this blog hop! 

One summer treat for me was to be part of the New Blogger's Bloghop. As our time together was ending, our fearless leaders were working on continuing the the fun with this last hop. Thank you to Yvonne @Quilting Jet Girl, Cheryl@ Meadow Mist Designs, Stephanie@ Late Night Quilter, and Terri Ann @Childlike Fascination. Blocks made for this hop will all be assembled and completed into several quilts destined for charity organizations. 

60 participating bloggers each received an identical fat eighth's bundle of our palette named "Watermelon Summer." All were challenged to design an orignial 12" block using only the fabrics provided, and to publish their own tutorial. Our theme...

"Summer!"

Perfecting the Pouch-Zipper Bags Revisited

"The essential conditions of everything we do must be choice, love, passion."

                                      ~Nadia Boulanger

Immediately after a quilt top finish, I like to stop for a breather and clean the studio. Organizing is the therapy I need before saying hello to the next new thing. I sorted the scrap pile I'd made creating the Moda Modern, and when I opened my bins to put them away, it was like the scene from Jumanji where Alan Parrish was sucked into the board game. 

Pet Project #32 & Close, But No Cigar On Moda Building Blocks

I sincerely believed I would have a whole flimsy to show off today, but if you follow Pink Doxies on Facebook, you'll know I played hooky with my girls yesterday. It was worth it. Family first, right? We had a ball at IKEA, one of our favorite spots.

One Year Blogiversary & Moda Modern Progress

Do you know the feeling of the 3rd lap while running a mile? You've used up a lot of energy, and still need to pull off that last burst? I'm there. Yesterday was a good day even though I only added a few new blocks. I am working strategically, and finishing up sections. These 2 below are sewn together now. There are 12 more 6" blocks to go, but the section top left can be sewn together. Half the top will be finished by afternoon, and I'm focused on my goal.

Scrappin' Inspiration, AKA, When Craft Becomes Art

Nothing makes my heart go pitter-patter more than a wonky scrap block. No measuring. No freaking out over straight seams. Pull your scraps, keep on piecing, and square it up under your 12.5" square. Scrapping speaks to me on a gut level, and I have an emotional response. What makes you swoon?

Pressing On with Mrs. Bannister's Stars

Four blocks done. The first one took a whole afternoon, but the following day I had 3 more done in about 4 hours. The more I hurried, the less focused I was, and the more mistakes I made. On the other hand, I figured out some tricks.

One time saver was using chain-piecing whenever I could. I will tell you that Mary Huey's method for chain-piecing Y-seams works wonders in zipping through repetivite pieces. She has a dvd showing how to consistantly piece Y-seams accurately. Love it!

There was a point on every block when I looked at it, and asked myself if the fabrics were 'working'. It was usually at this point, before I had the lighter backgrounds attached.

See how much more unified the block appears with a background fabric?

The direction the seams are pressed is important. I either moved clockwise or out from the center. Just to remind us all,

PRESS. Lift up. Press down. Don't iron. This block is a good example of what will stretch with all the bias seams. And remember that spray starch is your friend. Use it.

This is the first time I've ever gotten the little star in the center of my pressed back, and I was just tickled about it. Ta-dah!

This yellow dot did not look like a deep yellow when I chose it, but the other colors helped to deepen it. 

Here's a little trick that sometimes helps me get a truer color

with my photos. Include other colors nearby, and crop your photo with an editing program after you take it. It's surprising how much better the actual color is vs. using an all white background.

Now I have to make a decision whether to arrange these

blocks into a pillow, or if they might be better in a quilt. I'm thinking more toward a small quilt after all that effort. I feel like the blocks would benefit from a border or some additional piecing. Back to the stash stack I go!

I do hope you're finding time to stitch today, but if you haven't seen your stash in a while then block off some time for YOU this weekend. We're better at dealing with the crap stuff that comes at us when we've met some of our own needs. Creating makes me feel like I've filled my cup, and some of that love does run over. I'm just a nicer person to be around, and thankful to have it in my life.

Come on, Doxie girls.

Let's go sew.

If you're on Instagram and want some afternoon company while you stitch, post your pictures and tag me @pinkdoxies. I love to have people out there to trade ideas with!

Linking up with~
Quilty Thankful Thursday
My Quilt Infatuation

Quilt Lovely 'She Loves You' Blocks

Cleaning up the studio is always my priority

after finishing a big project. I couldn't bear 

sorting such a mess, and I decided I needed a 

color fix instead. Out came Jen Kingwell's 

new book Quilt Lovely: 15 Vibrant Projects 

Using Piecing and Applique, and I turned to 

this heart block I had been playing with for a

few days. Perfect for your tiniest scraps,

pieces ranges from 1" squares to 1"x4".

Although I am inspired by her designs in the

book, I am most intrigued by Kingwell's wide 

use of fabric variety. Most of us have both

vintage and modern fabrics in our stash, and 

if you're like me, it's mostly an Either/Or Thing.

Let's face it, our old dark green, navy, and 

maroon, are not easily blended with our

aqua and orange. Surprisingly, she does 

this a lot in the book, and it looks good!

Part of my book lovin' here is in breaking

down and analyzing how she blended

them so well. I already see a 'Daisy Do' 

in my near future.

My first block was totally botched. My 

mind was wandering to 'How was our Lucy

dog doing having 2 teeth removed?' to

'Did the new baby arrive yet?' You have to

keep your head in the game here.

I didn't view it as a total loss, though, when I 

saw the outer piecing needed to have more

contrast. Taking pictures helps me more than

anything. 

Next try below: The low-volume background 

needs to be more uniform. The khaki strips are 

a bit too dark in the block, I think.

I switched from the Anna Marie Horner scraps

to some strips of Amy Butler's new Violette.

Both warm and cool tones in the palette, I

looked for a background fabric to unify it.

The paisley is very traditional while the 

Butler line steps toward the modern side.

Very subtle contrast, but I'll try framing

it out today. A zipper bag in the making.

Even though I left yet another mess to deal

with tomorrow, it was time for a walk in the 

garden with the dogs. 

Lucy was home and recovered when I snapped

this picture of my orris root in bloom. It looks

like a common iris. Something moved across

my feet, and it wasn't a Doxie girl.

It was this not-so-little guy. Two dogs stepped 

right over it on the way to see me so

I felt safe.

Every year I think it's the last for my tree peony,

and every year the gnarly thing blooms.

Gorgeous, short-lived, giant blooms.

Today I'll be a slave to the house and yard,

but I'll be back Friday for the big reveal of

the QST quilt. I've been dragging it around

to local quilt groups playing Show and Tell.

Thank you all for bearing with me.

I hope you make time for yourself during 

this busy season, and better yet if it

includes time to sew.

Congratulations on a new baby boy in the

family to all the anxious relatives that 

awaited his arrival! Welcome!

Come on, Doxie girls.

I'll make up a thermos of tea,

and then let's go sew for just a bit.

Linking up with~
My Quilt Infatuation
Quilting Jet Girl
Freshly Pieced
Sew Fresh Quilts

Fresh Arrangements

Effy came out to help me show off the new

bag I made today. I used some heavy gingham

someone had given me, and some uber retro, 

poly-vinyl with giant strawberries I found at

a local discount fabric store. It's a little

over-the-top, but I had to buy a yard of it

at $3 a yard. I'd never sewn with vinyl before 

so it was purely experimental. It was 

easier than I anticipated. No problems.

Simple construction. Make the inside envelope of 

fabric. Tuck the corners so it will 'stand' with

a flat bottom. The same process with the vinyl.

I ran a band of strap reinforcing around the top,

then turned it under and sewed the two bags

together. The handles are reinforced the

same way, and sewn to the band to provide

strength to the whole bag.

The large check gingham peeks through

just enough to make me think of a picinc.

I imagine over time the vinyl with harden

a little, but it will get some solid use this

season. Doesn't it look like a summer bag?

The best part is I can put it down anywhere,

and not be afraid of getting something on it.

Just wipe it off!

I took time over the Easter weekend to 

tear apart my sewing studio, and do some 

deep cleaning. I thought about how

my needs and movement in the space 

had changed since I first took it over.

I needed to make some small changes.

 These are flannel covered artists' canvases.

Blocks hold on to them easily, and I also stick 
pins through them to hang up papers and such.

I hung them up on the wall to get them off the 
back of my cutting table. They're still portable. 
I can take them down and move the blocks over to 
the large design wall keeping everything in order. 
Those extra few inches gain me space, and 
keep the boards from falling over into 
my work space now.

I relocated my sewing machines into a straight

line. Now I can use the table to the left to

help support large projects I'm working on.

I will cover that portion of the table in a 

slippery plastic as the rough surface makes

manipulating my quilts more difficult.
I'm directly under the light in the fan, and 
have an additional lamp. I need that extra
light when doing detail sewing.

One spare table is kept relatively free
in case someone comes in to sew with me.

I'm also facing the t.v. so if I choose to watch

or listen, it's easier. I've made an aisle

behind my machines to walk through, and I

think it all flows much better. My cart can
be moved around to wherever it's needed.

I've gotten bins off my cutting tables to gain

more space, too. I don't need everything up 

there at once, and it keeps things freer of lint

and dust build-up. Just store them on the shelves.

One last walk outside before the rain starts.
The Maple buds will burst open any day now.

Already there is color to go with our
April showers.

Until next time friends~

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

Sewing with Abandon a.k.a. Guilt Quilting

I couldn't resist jumping ahead, and did the middle

block of the Modern Tradition Quilts Charm

Square Quilt Along 2015. It's my favorite!

I kept in the spirit of the tutorials, and 

finished the other 2 blocks provided.

The yellow electrifies the prints, and gives

these blocks a very tropical feeling.

I keep referring to this mentally as

the Casablanca quilt.