Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life! Blog Hop and Slow Stitching

Pin basted, and ready to quilt! Finally.

We're still hoppin' and showing our love, but flu has hit this household. It means a minor change in plans for me, and a good reason to find something portable to stitch while playing nurse. Check it out below. But first, let's 'talk hop'.

Are you registered for the Giveaways?
 Over $500 of Craftsy products!

Two more talented ladies are ready to show their discoveries on Craftsy.

Zenia at A Quilted Passion is enamored with FMQ and her review of three classes, "Start FMQ" with Elizabeth Dackson, "Secrets of FMQ" with Christina Cameli, and "Help! How Do I Quilt It?" with Angela Walters will open your eyes to the benefits.  Buy any of those classes through Zenia, and get 50% off for the next week! 

Jayne at Twiggy and Opal has a sweet heart deal from Craftsy to show you: her pressing/cutting mat and mini iron.  We quilters adore our tools!  Let Jayne point you in the direction of some pretty terrific finds!

Sweet Giveaway Details

Enter the Craftsy Giveaway here or through any bloggers in the hop. The main schedule can be found here or by the button in the sidebar.

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!

One entry per person.  Enter until Sunday, February 21, 2016, at 11:59 pm MST.  The winners will be announced Feb. 22 here and at mmm! quilts.

This project is based on Jen Kingwell's block 'Mrs. Bannister's Stars', but beyond the center has been add-as-you-go. It's been waiting for the perfect moment to finish. You may remember it starting here, the next post here, and adding borders here. Then I got sucked into the Moda Building Blocks quilt, and this beauty sat on a shelf.

No need to go into details when the fabrics are so varied, and so dear. There are pieces from Depression feed sacks...

...recycled dresses from the 1940's, and every decade to the present. The fabrics range from contemporary to traditional to modern. The initial goal of this quilt was to blend all of them without fussing. Would it work? I think it has. All that's left is the quilting.

Enjoy the guest bloggers, and stay healthy. 
I'll be keeping the chicken soup warm.

Come on, Doxie girls.
Let's sit and stitch.

Linking up with~
A Quilted Passion
Crazy Mom Quilts
Off the Wall Friday
Fort Worth Fabric Frenzy
Confession's of a Fabric Addict
A Quilting Reader's Garden
My Quilt Infatuation

Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life! Day 2

Just a hop, skip, and jump to learn 

more wonderful ways Craftsy can help you 

become a better maker! 

Two talented bloggers are ready to tell why they're crushing on Craftsy today. Cindy at Stitchin At Home will give you the skinny on “Quilting With Rulers on a Home Machine" by Amy Johnson, and... 

Vicki at Vicki’s Crafts and Quilts will let you know what it's like to purchase fabric through Craftsy. See what's she found when she bought Stonehenge Strips, and a Christmas fat quarter bundle.

Craftsy helps you be creative by making it easy and convenient to learn new things. Right now every class featured in the hop is on sale for one week! If you've been thinking about a class, but were waiting for an inside scoop on whether it was a good fit for you, read the reviews here. Seasoned quilters and bloggers will let you know.

Craftsy Giveaways

Enter the Craftsy Giveaway here, and also on each site during the hop. 

Hearing firsthand about the terrific opportunities on the bloggers' sites below will surely entice you to explore Craftsy in a little more depth, and perhaps try something out of the norm to what you might usually buy...however, Craftsy is sweetening the pot even more...

• 50% discount on classes discussed in each blog post!  Suh-weet!
• giveaways on some of the individual blogger posts!
• And drum roll please! Three fabulous prizes from Craftsy! Two lucky people will win one class each, and one person will win this fabulous grand prize!

1- Boundless Solids Crown Jewels Kit  by Amy Gibson

 1 - Boundless Solids Modern Brights 6" Strips

1 - Boundless Solids Modern Brights 10" Squares

Sugar high or what, huh?!!

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!  

Come on, Doxie girls.

Let's hop!

Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life! Blog Hop: Starts Now

Hey, Sugar! Are you ready? It's finally here...

YES!

It's TIME to HOP

and Enter to WIN!

Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life! Blog Hop

QBL--Quilter Blog Land

You know what they say about great minds--synchronicity... the stars aligning... All this and more came together a few weeks ago resulting in a quilting blogger's blog hop with Craftsy co-hosted by Sandra from mmm! quilts (Musings of a Menopausal Melon), and I, Julie from Pink Doxies.

Get Ready to Show Your Love!

I feel very lucky to have my guy around, but this saying reminds me that not all of us have our love near enough to touch. I've decided this year I should give a little more effort, and let him know. Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and I know some of you have been planning the perfect day for weeks already. Most years it catches me unaware, honestly, because we don't tend to go for big celebrations. Maybe a favorite dinner at home with a glass of wine, and a movie on Netflix. 

The Devil's In the Details: Visual Inspriration in Vegas

Tiled Mosaic--Beautifully Layered Details Everywhere!

I've been out of town, lying low for a few days in a fabulous hotel. The Wynn Las Vegas is one of my favorite places for visual inspiration, and besides rain in the desert this weekend, and much warmer weather back home in Ohio, it's been a trip with some serious eye candy.

Quilted Heating Pad Cover

Turning Up the Style!

A heating pad is underrated in its ability to relieve pain. Amazing thing! It's my go-to remedy for pain, strains, and aches, and we shared a hand-me-down here for many years before it recently bit the dust. I bought the family a new one, but it had a polyester cover on it which I couldn't bear to touch. (You know what I mean if those bother you, too.) I was tired of using a vinyl heating pad. I knew I could make a better one, and pretty it up to boot!

A Solid Dyeing Experience

Left to right: Avocado, Soft Orange, Chartreuse, Clear Yellow

"Wow! I'm finally getting a grip on dyeing!"--
What I said to my family last night before dinner,
and before they all stared and laughed.

The assortment of fabric resulting from yesterday's dye session had me really excited. I finally found a reliable process to get solid colors! That is, a consistent color without the mottled effect that is so often indicative of hand dyed fabric. That may not sound like a big deal, but certainly is for me. It's one step further in controlling how and where I put color on fabric. 

January Bee Blocks

Checker Block

Last year I watched as many fellow bloggers here in QBL talked up the blocks they were making for their Hive. Hives are online quilting bees where members take turns each month as the Queen Bee, directing the others to make the block she or he has selected. As each quilter finishes the block, they are mailed off to the Queen, and she then assembles them into her quilt. You can see why these are called hives, can't you?

Soy Wax Batik & Over Dyeing Experiment

Hands down, my favorite! 
I'll show you why.

It started with a fat quarter of Kona previously immersion dyed with Procion MX Dyes. That translates as 'cold water dyed in a cup', and that's why there is a mottled color to the fabric instead of a nice, overall distribution of color. This was Lemon Yellow by Dharma Trading Co., and one of the 3 primary colors I started with. It was bright--almost neon, and perfect to experiment with over dyeing.

Uppsala Stars Goes Modern Is Quilted

 Uppsala Stars Goes Modern
in Mochi by Cotton+Steel 
from RJR Fabrics

This sweet little quilt is a modern version of Uppsala Stars that I published last month seen here. The pattern is available as a pdf download from Craftsy, and available by linking through my sidebar. 

Taming the Scrap Monster

Can you remember the first time you set aside scraps thinking you would never save enough to make an actual quilt? I used to look at those scrappy creations, and nearly swoon. Many quilters admittedly prefer the look of using one single fabric line, but others like me throw abandon to the wind, and think the more the better. 

Dyeing Pink to Orange, Painting with Dyes, & Project Quilting 7 Week 1 Challenge

Left to right: #12 Light Red, #10A Chinese Red, #10 Fire Red, #9 Scarlet--2 pieces, #6 Deep Orange, and last a tri-color piece 

These are all examples from my latest batch of low-immersion dyed cottons with Procion MX Dyes. This run was an experiment using the range of red to orange on my shelf. I chose not to use #13 Fuchsia, which might have been included.

Project Quilting Challenge: S7/Wk1 Finish: Confetti

A small sized finish, but still a finish. 

I tried several fabrics to bind this with, but none worked as well as sticking close to the colors nearest the perimeter. My strips were all 2", but when I tried turning them as a normal double thickness the binding seemed too puffy. One layer looked better, and I took up the excess on the backing.

Fabric Collage Progress: Confetti

Saxifraga

Fabric collage was never on my bucket list. I admit I knew nothing about it until I came across a book explaing the techniques. You can catch up in this post. Persimmon Dreams is hosting a weekly challenge with this week's theme listed as 'confetti'.

Öland, Sweden, & Collaging Bits

Sedum Saxifraga

Massed in concrete pots before the Borgholm Castle on Öland, Sweden, these spring alpines radiated with color. 

Eyes Wide Open: Assessing the Journey

Happy New Year, 2016!

Can you believe we've put 2015 to bed already? Looking back, it was an excellent year despite the bumps in the road. (We all have bumps.) The Winnie-the-Pooh in me says 2016 will be even more spectacular, so let me send a little of my optimism your way.

Rule #1: Do What They Say Not to Do

Traditional Wax Batik on Muslin 

with Procion MX Dyes

Here's a peek at my set up. It's in the same building as my studio, but in a corner close to the utility room where I have access to a sink.

Add Batiking to My Love-to-Do List!

True Colors

Honestly, if I had known how fun and easy the process was, I would have been dyeing fabrics years ago. As my wise husband would say, "Sometimes you just have to do it to understand it." Yes, indeed. 

Improv Quilt: Gold Rush

Gold Rush

Stripped together from a box of scraps donated by a friend, these outcasts have taken on a new life. Two people said immediately it reminded them of a Gustav Klimt work. I believe this is the piece to which they referred. Stocletfriez

Image: Gustav Klimt, Wikipedia

Custom Color Dyeing: Round One

A Palette From Your Favorite Beer

Playing with an introductory set of Procion MX Dyes was the equivalent of jumping out of an airplane for me--or so I can imagine. It was thrill seeking with both feet on the ground, but what a rush! Dyeing to Share  and Dyeing to Share Part II. 

Christmas came early as I carefully researched what dyes I needed to make the greatest array of colors. Dharma Trading Co. had a deal on sets until the end of December, and I took advantage. I also cosidered what palettes I normally lean toward, and shopped those.

Does Our Work Define Who & What We Are?

Dear fellow Blogger, Quilter, or poor soul who stumbled onto this funky blog titled Pink Doxies:

2015 year is winding down, and some of us feel the need to finish up loose ends. While wrapping up projects, I'm pleasantly surprised to see my work has come full circle. 

Creativity Killers: How to Fight Back

Secrets to Leading a Creative Life

Most people admit they would like to lead a more creative life, but for one reason or another they get stuck. The one thing they tell me that stops them most often is fear. I believe fear is the #1 killer of creativity. Let's deal with fear here, and learn some strategies on how to live with it.

Concept to Quilt: Implementing Your Ideas

Scene: You're relaxed--just falling asleep, and the images are flashing through your head. Some people might hear music, but my movie is a total run of images and color. One catches you, and you think, "I better not forget that." 

Improv Quilt Finish

Let me start by saying this quilt design isn't every one's cup of tea, but it speaks to me. It started off as an improv project at an Amy Butler Dreaming Big in Color weekend.

Dyeing to Share Part II

Fiber Reactive Procion MX Dyes

Those of you who ahhhhed at the Jet Black, I'm with you! Hands down, this is my favorite, but I really think it pulls a dark inky blue, too. Above are 2 fat eighths of Essex linen, and below is a Kona cotton. Linen's texture above adds something to it, although the Kona isn't necessarily 'less wonderful.' It's just more subtly textured.

Dyeing to Share

I've been hanging out in some colorful spots lately checking out new blogs and artists. One that has really captured my attention is Creations...Quilts, Art....Whatever, by Nina-Marie Sayer. She has great linky party each Friday called Off the Wall, and I've used it to do some serious blog hopping. I think I'm being pulled into another dimension of quilting.