Cloth Basket Ideas

Cloth Basket: Quick Sew

How's that for a quick gift in under an hour? My daughter asked me weeks ago for a small gift for a co-worker, and I forgot until the 11th hour. It didn't take long to check this one off, though. Cloth baskets are wonderful for highlighting pretty fabrics, using up remnants, and easy to personalize for individual uses. While I typically use a denser, iron-on batting, it was nowhere to be discovered. I resorted to a quilt batting remnant, and it made for a slouchier construction. A little straight-line quilting adding some body, and more would have even been better in hindsight. 

I would love to make a grouping of smaller baskets using this method, and tack them together in a group. Wouldn't that add a bit of color on a nightstand to hold hair clips, earrings, and those little things that typically get misplaced? 

Come on, Doxie girls.

Let's go sew.

     

Thursday's Tips

Pfaff Creative Performance: New to Me

Over the past winter, I've had my share of problems with my older Pfaff sewing machines. Two shorted out their motherboards (Read, "More expensive to fix than the value of the machine"), and another had tension or mechanical issues. It was a constant rotation to find or borrow one that was in working order. Maybe a newer machine was what I needed. Thanks to a husband with a keen eye to Craigslist he spotted this one. It was only 6 years old, but a buy for me compared to new. I will admit there was an initial learning curve--and I'm far from a whiz on her, but I'm back to piecing finally. She came with all the embroidery attachment bells and whistles, but I'm not even venturing there yet.

Marching Along with Charity Quilts

The Awesome, Official End of the Polyester Batting

Isn't that great texture? I love how this quilt turned out in spite of the waviness. Polyester batting in a comforter thickness is not conducive to detailed quilting. Even with widely spaced stitching, the tension causes it to draw up in spots. Still it will be a wonderful quilt for someone to snuggle under, and the vintage fabrics give it a 60's retro vibe.

It's been a real task to use up the last of the monster roll of poly comforter batting, but this marks the end. Thank you, and Amen! The road ahead is smooth sailing with cotton.

Quilts In the Width of a Week

My $4 Fabric Fun

I love to tell people, "I can make a quilt out of almost any fabric." You don't need the latest and greatest (or highest priced) fabric to make a fantastic quilt. You just need good contrast, and something in common. It's like the great game of SET for those of you who play. Now, I'm not saying this is going to be worthy of entry into Quilt Con--to which I'll be visiting next week, and hope to meet any of you who will be there, too--but wait until you see just how darn cute this new quilt is turning out! And for an honest disclosure, the batik was higher at $5 a yard, not $4. 

Lots of Quilts & Ramblings

Finished Beauties Added to the Stack

Last week's sewing detail for the Gnadenhutten Quilt Project was full of finishes, but I might also say we have quilts in every stage right now. It's wonderful how we are working as a team. Each person in our little group seems to have found their niche for what suits them. My mom is happy working on blocks at home between meetings, and coming in with a stack that can be turned into a quick top. 

Gnadenhutten Quilt Project:January Quilts

Simple Labels: Gnadenhutten

Quilt Project

Allow me to catch you up to speed on why I've been an infrequent blogger these past weeks. I've been buried in quilts, and isn't that the most glorious thing you could imagine? Ah...yes, it is!

The Gluten-Free Quilt Issue

To Quilts & Beyond!

In spite of sounding like that tinny, pull-string recording of Buzz Light Year, I keep repeating the theme of My Life Beyond Quilts. Perhaps I've poured the essence of my mental and emotional energy into learning everything I could about quilts for the past 5 years, and neglected to honor my other needs. As Creatives, we do this. It's all or nothing, baby! We self-consume. We eat that one food everyday until it grows tasteless, and think, "What have I been missing?" Don't get me wrong. I still adore quilts, but I'm adding a few spices now for flavor. 

2019 Quilts and Beyond: Bluprint

Do you like the new header? I keep looking at it like a new haircut in the mirror, but I do. I like the freshness. I spent a lot of time with a talented gal working out all kinds of graphics this fall, and was waiting for just the right time to change it. This is it. 2019 is going to be a year full of tweaks. Tweak meaning fine adjustments along with some sharp pulls. Tweak as in no sweeping changes in view. Just some little ones. And, while we were working on the new logo, I was was trying to define an image that represented what this blog, Pink Doxies, was now. That turned out to be very enlightening.

Happy New Year, 2019!

Delectable Mountains Variation

Welcome 2019! I hope the year came in the way you wanted whether quietly or with a bang. For the first year in decades, I was awake at midnight listening to fireworks off in the distance as I crept upstairs to bed. There was no kissing, though, as the Mister has a bad cold, and I am doing my best to keep it from catching it. 

The last few days have been low-key while he recovers, and I have taken advantage of the time to sew a few blocks. I used some Anna Marie Horner fat quarter scraps, and Sakura yardage from Moda to test out the method from the YouTube video below.

The Gnadenhutten Quilt Project

Olive Branch Quilts

And so it begins. Ready for the cliffhanger ending? Let me only say the ending is really the beginning. Imagine me sitting amidst my pile of scraps only a week and a half ago to a growing stack of quilts and comforters. Quilts that will soon be delivered to a local shelter for women and children. Imagine a project that has formed to offer something handmade to someone local who may need a sign of hope. These are Olive Branch Quilts.

The Introverted Blogger

The Tula Pink Saltwater Quilt Is Quilted

This was the first jelly roll quilt I made before I gained the wisdom of why one should not skimp on seam allowances. Therefore, before I bind it, I have some minor repairs to make. I noticed a few seams that were too small for comfort, and did makeshift fixes while quilting. Some WonderUnder and embroidery stitches now will make certain the fabric holds for several years to come. Some people would be upset by that happening after all the beautiful quilting, but I see it as a sigh of growth. We live and learn. I doubt anyone else will notice.

Are you an introverted blogger?
Say hello to another one here.

My blogging mojo disappeared a few months ago when real life got intense. It happens to all of us, but more often to bloggers who are also introverts, I believe. We are the people that need to recharge our internal batteries with alone time. We need extra time to space out, sort, process, and recover. You might think it's different with just writing about something because there's no face-to-face encounter. Texting or email is easier? Not true. We can get pretty hung up on words of any kind. Writing a blog post takes a lot of social energy. So Instagram, Facebook, blogging, and answering comments all went on hold. I just couldn't. 

I even talked to my besties about taking a year off--a blogging sabbatical of sorts. I spent 2 weeks imagining I didn't blog anymore. I quit checking email. I told all my friends I was on a social media diet. I finally slept, but still those creative juices were hard to squeeze out if at all. 

So I quilted, and in many ways I meditated. 

Simple No Batting Quilts for Pets

8 Simple Quilts in 1 Day

Looking for a quick Christmas gift for a pet lover? 

Gift their fur babies, and they will love you!

We tend to celebrate Christmas with few presents if any, but this year I wanted something for all the kids to open on Christmas Eve when we get together. There are no grandkids in this family, but there are 11 spoiled dogs. We decided to exchange dog presents this year. In between my longarming work last month, I squeezed in a day for my own Christmas sewing. Yes, of course, I would make them all quilts.

Quilt Beautiful

Quilting Up Beautifully

Over 5 years ago I purchased my very first jelly roll. The Tula Pink Saltwater line jumped out at me as a had-to-have. You can find more information about the origin of this quilt in the posts below.

Making 2.5" Unfinished HST from a Jelly Roll

Saltwater Jelly Roll Quilt

Few words can describe the dismay I felt when the seams would not line up as hard as I tried. (My first hard lesson with inaccuracies of pre-cuts!) It is off in many places, but I trudged onward in spite of it. Sometime in the past year I turned the blocks into a quilt top, folded it neatly on my ready to quilt rack, and quilted many other quilts for customers. 

Last week I think the little eyes on the octopus were watching me--winking perhaps, and in spite of having half a dozen other quilts still hanging for friends, I bumped this to the front. I was itching to use some of my new rulers, and just cut loose on something of my own.

The BIG Quilting Catch Up

Resuscitated and Running 
(Whew!)

Are you ready for a montage catch up?
Oh, yeah, baby! Yesterday was a marathon!

Machine Down

I am a Pfaff Lover, and have 2 older machines I switch between. Sticking to one brand provides better accuracy, and they have always been dependable for me. But breakdowns do happen, and they are scary when we depend on our machines daily. This is a front loading bobbin, and the last time I opened it to load a fresh bobbin it would not click in. With closer examination, the bobbin case itself was spinning. I had not encountered this before on any machine, but was not keen on shelling out $80 to fix it. Could I fix something this complicated?

Cabin Under the Stars Mini

New Pattern Work

Goals for 2019 are forefront in my mind already. I have had requests for several patterns this past year, and am working toward publishing them. I have been rather quiet here on the blog front, but a busy gal behind the scenes as I work with an energetic graphics assistant. She is helping me through areas of technical spider webs I cannot get out of, and collaborating is fun with someone who has fresh ideas! Keep your eyes peeled for a fresh look coming soon.

One Patch Cross Baby Quilt

One Patch Cross Quilt

The one patch is my go-to method for creating anything quickly and accurately! I've found nothing to match the design potential with ease and speed of sewing. I spent more time selecting fabrics, cutting, and laying out this design than in quilt top construction. This baby-size top was sewn together in little more than an hour. A quick trip on my longarm with a medium, monster-y meander went quickly, and check out my 3 layer floating method with magnets to secure. (This time I meant to do it!)  Binding was cut from the leftover backing, and machine stitched. 

Three Naked Ladies Blooming Finish

Three Naked Ladies Blooming In the Moonlight Finish

Isn't that a grabby title? I thought so. (wink-wink)

Still dedicated to digging out my languishing UFO/WIP/PUPs, I pulled the Three Naked Ladies Blooming In the Moonlight last week. (This project is 2 1/2 years old.) I'm hoping most of you can't read that. 

Rose-Star Block

Rose-Star Hexagon Pattern 
Attributed to Alice Brooks, 1949

This was my post-retreat recovery project after everyone had packed up, and the studio was strangely silent without the hum of machines. I like to sew in complete quiet or with just a bit of low music playing. Sewing is my meditation.

The Rose-Star pattern was published in 1949 by Alice Brooks, but many designers have published patterns related to it since. Earlier this year I made a quilt for the MCC charity auction based on this one large block. Check out these posts below for more how-to information.

Giant Rose Star Quilt

Giant Rose Star Quilt Finish

QBIR III: Quilter Bloggers' Retreat 2018

QBIR 2018: Quilter Bloggers' Retreat

Left to right: Meta, Irene, Sarah, Tish, Beth

This past week I hosted the third annual Quilter Bloggers' (International) Retreat here in my studio. I hesitate to find the right words now. I don't want to tarnish the memory by defining it. It was like being wrapped up in my most favorite quilt! May I only say I felt warm, accepted, and inspired by this dynamic group of talented women. We rolled together in sync, and that's a rare thing. Each of us brought a unique skill set to the gathering, and shared openly. It was perfect!

Vintage Quilt Top: 9 Patch

I Spy with my little eye....a Nine Patch!

Can you see it?

Do you ever walk by old quilt tops for sale, wrinkled or balled up, and say, "Meh?" There is little interest in only a quilt top I've observed. Casual collectors around here want quilts even if they are what some call cutters. Cutter quilts have so much damage they might only have a small section usable for cutting down into a craft project. Quilt hunter and gatherers will pass these orphaned tops with little more than a second glance. Could that be a big mistake?