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.