"Quilt-opedia" Book Review

Quilt-opedia by Laura Jane Taylor

All of us have seen books that promised how wonderful they were. We've paged through them, and they looked like they would be good, but later turned out to be proper shelf decorations. I hate wasting my money like that! Don't you? Then let me introduce you to a great one today.

One of My Original Mission Statements

One of my intentions in starting Pink Doxies was to inspire people to sew. Why? Sewing time has been shared for centuries all over the world creating common ground for conversation and relationships. We stitch and we chat. Sometimes deep, meaningful conversations, and sometimes just about the weather and mosquitos.

I spend a fair amount of time reading and thinking about social behavior, and the reality is it's become harder for us all to form acquaintances and friendships. I won't get into all the reasons because they are different for each of us, but In-Real-Life personal relationships are important to our well-being. They validate us, and make our lives more meaningful. Online friends are very valuable--like so many of you are to me, but there is nothing like a spontaneous hug from a friend. A hug with intent makes the poppycock in our lives slip away, if only for that one moment. It's amazing therapy!

My Search for an All Around Reference

I encourage and help many brand new sewists. The greatest gift I can give is a good experience their first time out. I'm their personal cheerleader. After they've learned basic skills like how to run their own sewing machine, etc., most want to start a project right away. Can you blame them? It's pure magic when you sew your first seams! Most of the questions from that point on can be answered easily, or better explained, by a book with excellent pictures and tutorials. Up until just recently, I was unable to recommend one.

I am so tickled by this book, and will tell you it's true to its promise. It says on the cover, "The only quilting reference you'll ever need." Yes, it is that good. If you're going to buy one book to get yourself or someone else going, and want to cover 99.9% of your questions, this is it. 

I made a rough list of everything I could think I would cover with a newer sewist. Not one thing was left out, and oodles more were covered. The photography within the book is bright and colorful, and the fabrics are modern. Newer techniques like machine binding are covered right along with hand binding. Spiral, lay-flat binding is icing on the cake in my version of Quilt-opedia, but a paperback version is available here, too.

This was a book I purchased on my own, and my honest impression and review. I received no compensation to review it. The links I've given are to Amazon, and if you choose to buy through clicking them, I will receive a small compensation. With that in mind, it's an amazing book, and I do hope you support this quilting author. She's given us a great reference book, and the first one I will tell my newbies to go buy.

Linking up with~

Needle and Thread Thursday

Quarter 3 Sign Up for On the Windy Side

#1 Moda Modern Building Blocks

Posting all my UFOs or WIPs for the Quarter 3 Finishes with On the Windy Side makes me feel like I'm pinning my skivvies to the clothesline in my front yard. I'm just the tiniest bit embarassed, but it is definitely motivating. I want these to disappear. Wouldn't it be neat if I had none of these left by October 1st? 

They are all quilts or wall hangings so no explanation is necessary. I'm just going to give each one a number today.

#2 Blue blocks

#3 Red Strip quilt



#4 Modern Traditions quiltalong

#5 Improv piecing from Amy Butler Retreat

#6 Tula Pink X's and O's

#7 Love block quilt

#8 Circus quilt

#9 Mrs. Bannister's Stars

#10--2015 MQG Challenge

#11 Allison Glass 9 patch

Gosh. There were 11, and honestly I hid a few so I wouldn't be tempted to throw them in. I'm motivated! Keep me honest, and working through them, okay? And I'll be sure to give you little reminders, too, to keep you on track.

And now I'm off to sew a bit before the Canal Quilter's Guild meeting tonight. I hope to chat with you on Instagram.

Come on, Doxie girls.
I have to get sewing!

Linking up with
Patchwork Times
Q3 Finishes On the Windy Side

2015 MQG Fabric Challenge Progress "Birds in the Garden"

May I venture to say we've all had the experience of planning a project, and then been disappointed by what we made? On the same hand, I've had this one go from an apprehensive start to very exciting for me. Let's call it a roller coaster project. My anxiety is mostly from drawing you into it with me, and the possibility that it flops. This blog runs in 'real time' meaning I don't only show you my triumphs, but also showcase my duds. Honest creative process means not everything works out. It's comforting knowing we all go through it, and grow in our struggle. Sewists don't deliver gorgeous projects without making some dogs! (Sorry Doxies.)

You can find more information about the start of this project in yesterday's post. I showed you the top and bottom pictures here. A close up of the center shows how my curves weren't as even at the points as I would have liked, but the geometric fabric tends to throw the eye off anyway. Unless I'd point that out, not everyone would see it. I'll tell you so you can use that trick, but remember to never point out your own mistakes to people when you show them your work! Most will never see what you see.

I paired the curved piecing light fabric to light fabric. Low contrast means I have some leeway if my seams are the slightest bit off. I expect they will be as I've never sewn a project with curves before. It's hard to perfect a technique the first time out, but this challenge is more about highlighting the fabrics than technique for me.

The next row of the medallion is HSTs. I made sure to make them slightly larger than needed, and trimmed them down. There's high contrast on this fabric change, and it frames in the all light center.

I used a variety of the challenge fabrics at the corners that I was finding hard to fit into another part of the quilt. I echoed the colors here.

The Square-in-a-Square blocks below are a favorite of mine, and when I laid the charcoal with the coral, I had to make them.

The corners were next, and again, I was using new fabrics from the rest of The Quilted Fish line "The Cottage Garden". The charcoal print reminded me of a gilded frame when viewed at a distance.

It was time to add the connecting pieces on the border, and I auditioned several. The white was calming to all the prints, and gave the eye somewhere to land. It also reminded me of clouds. I imagined the hardscaping of a garden in the darker fabrics, and birds surrounding a fountain in the center of a garden. 

I did some collaborative texting with family and friends about the white 'floating' too much, and decided it needed a dark border to lock it all in. Charcoal birds, I think. Don't you?

Click my Instagram button at the top sidebar to follow along through the day as I sew. It's a great help having other quilters to bounce ideas off of in real time. I'd love to see what you're making, too! Just @pinkdoxies to make sure I see your post, and we can sew together. A Virtual Bee Day anyone? I'll Bee there this afternoon.

Come on, Doxie girls.

Let's go sew.

Linking up today with~
Sew Fresh Quilts
Freemotion by the River
Blossom Heart Quilts

Are You Up for a Good Fabric Challenge? 2015 Riley Blake for MQG

Months ago I signed up for the Modern Quilt Guild's 2015 Fabric Challenge with Riley Blake Designs. A list of guidlines came along with the fat quarter bundle I received, and I took the challenge to heart.

#1. It needs to be fantastic and quilted. 

#2. Something I've never done before. I've never done a project that involved curves. I learned how to sew them, but I've never used them in a project. 

#3. I've never made a medallion quilt.

#4. The fabrics in the fat quarter bundle were the ones shown on the card above. I had to add to them after I saw the rest of the line. The pinks were just as gorgeous as the blues and greys.

The design was next. I worked on graph paper, and came up with something I thought would enhance the prints. To make it all easy to calculate, I used a 2" block. Making my own template was easy with a basic compass. Just make sure you have a 1/4" overlay for the seam in both directions. I made my template for a 3" block, and it gave me leeway to trim it down to 2 1/2". This will finish out as a 2" block. 

The center is sewn together here below, and you have a rough idea of the curved pieces in the top picture. This is going to be an easy and fun project on a smaller scale. I should have more to show you in the next day or so.

Are you working on the same challenge? July 31st is the last day to link up. Details are on the Modern Quilt Guild website if you want to check them out. Be sure to follow me on Instagram if you want to see projects evolve more quickly. The button is in the right side bar at the top of the page.

Until next time...

Come on, Doxie girls.

Let's go sew.

Linking up with~
Patchwork Times
Show and Tell with Bambi
Cooking Up Quilts

Here's what I'm looking at next for those 
of you who have asked.

The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt

In the Studio with Anglea Walters: Machine-Quilting Design Concepts Add Movement, Contrast, Depth & More

By the Block: 18 Surprisingly Simple Quilts