Second Entry for 2015 Blogger's Quilt Festival-"Zombies, Zombies, Zombies!"

We took advantage of a quick break in the

rainstorms, and snapped a few new pictures

to show off "Zombies, Zombies, Zombies!" 

Another post telling the whole backstory can

be found HERE.

This quilt was made for my son, who happens

to hate zombies, so it's a little tongue-in-cheek.

Regardless, he liked his quilt I made last fall.

This marks my second entry into the

2015 Blogger's Quilt Festival at 

Amy's Creative Side. This is a smaller

quilt than "Chicago, 2007", which is entered in 

the large quilt category. Measuring in at "52x61", 

this will be entered in the "Home Machine Quilted" category.

Zombies is one of the first quilts I had the

chance to quilt on my Janome. I had moved

up from a 7" throat space to a whopping 11"!

I went a little crazy with the graffiti style

quilting, and the grey Aurifil thread popped 

on my black Kona backing.

The fabrics were a hoot to work with, and I

loved the fussy cutting possibilities. 

I chose a black and white hatched fabric

for the binding shown above.

I think one of the best things about doing so

much freestyle is you develop a rhythm as 

you move the quilt. 

I pieced the back with the intent for it to

look like little legs on the sides.

Since this was one of the first quilts I made

in my early blogging days last fall, it's new to

most of you. So...

"Ta Dah!"

Time to get back in the archives and put

some labels on old posts, I think. There are

some goodies hiding in there yet, if you

care to check them out.

Like this.

And, yes, Mishsa and his pasture mates are doing 

well, and loving their new barn. We'll do an

update on them soon.

If you're new to Pink Doxies, the

Pet Project Show runs Saturday-

Monday every week, and is your

opportunity to link up whatever

lovely thing you're working on.

We'd love to see you there!

Come on, Doxie girls.

Let's go to Amy's Creative Side,

and check out all the quilts today.

Linking up with~
Late Night Quilter
Please go read her 
Tuesday Tips and Tutorial today! 
You'll love it.
Blossom Heart Quilts
Freemotion by the River
Monday Makers
Show and Tell with Bambi
Cooking Up Quilts

Custom iPad Sleeve & Pet Project Show #20

I have had the fabric for this iPad sleeve

since January. My mother-in-law requested

something simple yet fairly well padded

to carry while travelling. The project

sat on the back burner while other things

took its place. I had it on my list of 

2015 Finishes for On the Windy Side Q2, 

and I've checked it off.

This is for a bird lover, and the fabrics

seemed suited. I especially love the Acacia

print from Tula Pink used as the 

background fabric. A fantasy print, she's

mixed hummingbirds with what looks

like anemones.

Please Note

The closure is with 3M One. I strongly

warn against using any kind of magnetic

closure with electronics! They don't mix.

I did just a tad of FMQ on this with some

pebbling, and spiraling flames.

It doesn't show much at all on the outside,

but was a chance for me to practice. The

batting is my very dense 'Kevlar' batting,

and though I wouldn't guarentee it, I

think it will hold up fairly well to a drop.

I did a bit of outline FMQ on the front of the

economy block, or square within a square,

and some pebbling in the corners.

Less quilting means more loft.

So, 'Ta Dah!', and another finish down.

Don't forget to visit 
Blogger's Quilt Festival-Spring 2015
Eye candy for quilt lovers everywhere!
I'm entered in the large quilt category.

Now show us what you did this week?

*******
Woohoo, 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)
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, May 18th 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

Linking Up with~
Q2 On the Windy Side
Free Motion Mavericks

'Chicago, 2007' QST Quilt--Entry for Blogger's Quilt Festival 2015

'Chicago, 2007' 

Quarter Square Triangle Quilt

Stats: Made from a 100% cotton mixture of 

whatever was in my scraps and stash when I 

started, plus a few special fabrics found just 

for this quilt. Contains more than 180 different 

fabrics. The final dimensions are 85"x95". 

The batting is Fairfield's 50/50 

bamboo/cotton blend. 

This marks the first time I've entered 

the Spring 2015 Blogger's Quilt Festival

at Amy's Creative Side.

Nomination for viewer's choice runs 

May 15-21, and voting May 22-29. 

Winners are announced May 30, 2015.

I encourage you to visit, and see the 

collective talent of quilting bloggers

from around the world. You can 

find me in the large quilt category.

The setting triangles and pink backing are

both from Tula Pink's Acacia line. The sari

fabrics are cottons from Amy Butler.

Several years ago my youngest daughter and I 

made a trip to Chicago to visit a dear friend, 

Betty. A seasoned tour guide, she told us 

there were a few things we must do while in the 

Windy City. One was visiting the Bahai Temple.

I've visited this sanctuary many times with her, 

and it's one of my favorite places. Popping up in 

the midst of a residential neighborhood, it stands 

like a beacon shining its light. It was my young

daughter first visit, and as she was quite taken in 

with it, we spent hours there.

Its gardens are amassed in flowers,

and the colors and lights are 

reflected in the pool.

Photo from the Baha'is of the United States

Another of her goals was to find a lehenga 

choli for my daughter so the 3 of us headed 

to Devon Avenue. Devon Avenue is a 

melting pot of mom and pop stores, groceries, 
and restaurants from many ethnic groups. We 

sipped mango lassis, and ate Hungarian 

pastries fresh from a beehive oven while the 

wind whipped by us on the sidewalk. We 

eyed up bolt after bolt of sari fabric, and my

young daughter tried on half a dozen little 

dresses before finally deciding on this one. 

That evening we sat in the garden of 

their brownstone enjoying Peruvian takeout 

and wine while reliving our perfect day. I
have frozen those memories in my mind.

 I believe that one day deeply imprinted

my mind and senses, and is expressed

in this very quilt these many years later. 

It wasn't until I was making the binding that 

it came together. My thoughts have been 

filled with memories of my friend these past 

months, and my longing to see her since
she's moved so far away.

Whether we realize it or not, something in 

our psyche guides our choices when we design. 
I believe it is important for me to focus on 

what is good, and beautiful, and true. Our
art and creations become an expression
of our consciousness at that moment. 

This quilt started as a simple experiment in 

making half square triangles, then continued to 

quarter square triangles. Visit these recent 

posts documenting the creative process, and 

 the many changes of direction.

Monday Musings

Friday Progress

I've Moved Out

When Do You Sleep?

Thankful Thursday

The Great Debate

QST Progress

What's Next? Dealing with It.

I spent the morning with my domestic Janome

 FMQ the setting and corner triangles using 

my favorite pink Aurifil thread, #2425.

I turned the machine so I could work from

the end feeding smoothly through, and not 

have to push the bulk up and under it. I used 

a small, portable table to help support the 

weight of the quilt as I stitched, moving

it as necessary from one side to the next.

This is a very heavy quilt.

The pink Aurifil shows up nicely on the teal blue.

I ran into one small problem. Although I allowed

3 extra inches on the sides of the backing, I had

only 2 on each end to spare before quilting. The

long arming took up quite a bit of that, and left

me 1/4" short on this end. I trimmed the other

end as it was a match with the pieced fabric,

and sewed it to my short end. It was a pretty

close fit, but I was lucky.

 I love to machine stitch binding on. Or should I

say, I hate binding quilts by hand? I do. Here's

a trick. Sew it to the back of the quilt first, then

bring it to the front, and stitch it down. I used a

pale blue in my top thread to match my binding,

and a fushia in my bobbin to match the backing.

If you're careful to pin, pin, pin the front,

it works beautifully.

I was a little bit off where I sewed my

tag on, but I made sure to have it sewn

into the binding to make it extra secure.

I was cautioned against sewing on my binding

by machine, but it seems to be lying flat. I 

always cut my binding fabric perpendicular to 

the selvage, and that seems to be key.

This is a memory quilt sewn with love. 

Come on, Doxie girls.

Let's have us a snuggle,

and ring a friend today.

Creative Space Tag continues with
Judy at Quilt Paradigm. She's put a 
lot of time in analyzing her space,
and how she uses it. Wait until 
you see her design wall!

This also is a finish for
my list made for Adrienne's
2015 Finish-Along On the
2015 Finish-Along On the Windy Side.

Linking up with~
Blossom Heart Quilts
Val's Quilting Archives
Sew Can She
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Crazy Mom Quilts
Quilt Shop Gal
TGIFF
LAFF
Free Motion Mavericks

Thank you all for the linking

opportunities.

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