Scrappy Hats Snowman Quilt Along!

Now that the kiddos are off to school let's have some quilty fun. I was thinking of a Snowman QAL (Quilt-a-long) Sound like fun? Well come and join me as we make a fun snowman quilt! First, you will need to pick up the Scrappy Hats quilt pattern. It can be found in my Etsy Shop, or on my Website. It is available in PDF or packaged form! Every day starting October 15th we will work on a block or section of the quilt. You can post your finished blocks to #Scrappyhatsqal on Instagram!

Let me tell you a little more about this QAL. You will need a background fabric. I used a white with a print that went with my fat quarter bundler. I had it on hand. You can use a gray, light blue, snowflake print. Whatever strikes your fancy. Then of course you will need a white for the snowman faces and orange for the noses. Each block will have a different hat, I encourage you to check thru you stash to see what you have. This is meant to be a scrappy quilt project. Mine will not be so scrappy since I will be using some Lori Holt Christmas Fabric that I have been hoarding for awhile now. You will need either a bunch of fat eighths (24) , or at least 13 fat quarters . What's fun is we will work on a different snowman everyday for 13 days.

~Scrappy Hats~

The layout of the quilt...

For the flying geese border I used 4 fabrics, I did not make that as scrappy. If you choose to make that scrappy too, remember I used 3 yards total, so your scraps need to add up to or exceed that 3 yard amount. So here's your homework... Pick up the Scrappy Hats pattern either on the Quilt Doodle Website or in my Etsy Shop. Then gather your fabric! (I love this part) Then I suggest that you precut all of your background blocks, snowman face rectangles, and rectangles for your snowman hats (the top piece) Leave the hat brims for later.

Then come back and join in the fun on October 15th, when we begin our QAL.

Happy Quilting!
Cindy and Belvedere

You can also click on this link to purchase the instant PDF Download of the Scrappy Hats Pattern.

 

Some Kitchen Sewing....

Some of you know that we did a complete kitchen make over with countertops, backsplash and new door fronts. It was quite the process and took some time since we did most of the work ourselves. Or let me rephrase that.... hubby did most of the work. I directed what I wanted... and he was super sweet to agree. One of the things we added was a coffee bar area, which I absolutely love! Coffee bar by day can be switched to a wine bar at night for guests. Well while I was planning and plotting this area of my kitchen, I of coarse bought some adorable coffee fabric. I spent yesterday afternoon doing some sewing for my kitchen, finally. I made a 10-minute table runner for the coffee bar. I had some left over fabric and wondered, what can I do with this.   Hummmmm, with a little thought I came up with a potholder. I always need new potholders. They get worn, dirty, wet, so I never have enough when I cook. So let me show you how I made them. Pretty easy peasy and a great way to use left over batting and fabric.

I started out by layering my light coffee fabric and dark coffee fabric with two layers of batting. (one layer could be the insulated batting if you choose) and made a quilt sandwich. I then quilted my piece with lines about one inch apart. You could also use a meandering design too. I then trimmed it up to measure 6 1/2" by about 12". If I had to do it again, I would start with more of an 8" x 14-15" piece. (bigger potholder)

Cut a strip 2 1/2" by width of quilted piece. Fold in half wrong sides together and press.

Sew onto one of the ends of the quilted piece.

Fold over and top stitch in place.

 I thought I had taken a picture. The next step is to fold the bound end over to form a pocket. I folded it over enough so that the quilted piece was a 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" square. If you have a wider piece such as 8" etc. you would fold it over to make an 8" square. I used a couple of wonder clips to hold it together so that I could bind the edges.

To bind: Cut 1 2 1/2" by WOF strip and fold in half lengthwise and press. The on the back side of your pot holder sew like you are binding a quilt, mitering the corners. If you want to make a hanging loop. When you begin- fold binding end under 1/4" and start sewing your binding 1/4" away from the corner. I know this sounds confusing and goofy but I hope it makes sense when we get to the end..... After you get all around your potholder leave a 4" tail of binding. Again, I wish I took a picture... But fold this tail over on itself folding over the raw edge to the inside a 1/4" and stitch close to the edge. When you get to the 'potholder' topstitch you binding in place as if you are machine binding a quilt.

Remember to miter your corners....

Remember that folded over end on the binding? Well the end of the loop gets tucked under that final edge when you bind your potholder. 

The little hanging hoop is totally optional. I like to sometimes hang my potholders on the knobs of my cabinet doors.

I had enough leftover fabric from my 10 minute table runner to make two pot holders. They were fun to make for a change of pace.

If I make these again, I would make them bigger. The size works well for my hands, which are small but for the men in the family they are dinky. It was a fun project and a great way to use up my fabric that I had leftover. 

Hope you have a great day and find some time to do some stitching!

Happy quilting,

Cindy and Belvedere

Mark your calendars- I'll be vending and doing a mini trunk show....

Country Quilters Guild Biannual Quilt Show

The biannual Quilt Show is the major fundraiser for educational and philanthropic programs. It is held on odd-numbered years. The 2017 Quilt Show featured 400 traditional, antique, contemporary and fiber art quilts. More than 200 door prizes were given away during the show.

Dates for the 2019 Quilt Show: "Quilts for All Seasons"

Saturday, September 28, 2019 - 9 am to 5 pm

Sunday, September 29, 2019 - 11 am to 4 pm

Admission: $5 / Quilt raffle tickets $1 each

Location

Willmar Civic Center, 2707 Arena Dr. NE, Willmar MN 56201

September's Block for the Garden Sunshine BOM

Happy September! The leaves are just starting to change here in Minnesota. The evenings are getting cooler and I'm enjoying having the windows open to let the cool breeze in. It's hard to believe that summer is over and it's Labor Day Weekend. All of the kiddos are back to school on Tuesday. I'll enjoy telling the time by when the school buses drive by my house again. It's also the last weekend of the Minnesota State Fair. I think hubby and I are going to try to fit that in this weekend. I'm looking forward to my pork chop on a stick and some ooey gooey cheese curds and a bucket of Sweet Martha's Cookies. A friend of mine won a few ribbons for her quilts. I'm thrilled for her and want to go see them. One of them I saw while it was in process so it'll be fun to see it finished with it's blue ribbon! Sew exciting!!

This month's block will be easy compared to last month's sunshine block. It's a pieced block named 'Square and a Half'. It's a traditional block and reminds me on a scrappy quilt I might have seen on one of grandma's beds. I made my block purple, with a white background and accents of yellow and green with a red star. You can have fun with it and make it any color.

These are the fabrics I'm using for my block this month.

Following the directions on the pattern sheet cut all of your pieces out. Please note- in the directions I'm having you cut white rectangles instead of the trapezoid shape I've got and purple squares. So please disregard what is pictured for those pieces. I decided to use a different technique for those shapes that would be easier to achieve for the beginner quilter.

 It is helpful to lay the pieces out as they will be sewn in the block while stitching along.

 • Sew red triangle C and yellow triangle C together along the right angle side, right side sides together. Press. Make 4. 

• Sew red triangle C and purple triangle C together along the right angle side, right sides together. Press. Make 4.

• Sew the C pieced triangles together to form an hour glass block.

• Following the diagram and picture of the block, sew the D and pieced C (hour glass blocks) together to form the center star of the block.

• Sew the purple triangle A and green triangle A along the diagonal edge right sides together. Press. • Draw a diagonal line corner to corner on the ‘A’ squares. Then line up the A square and B rectangle  right sides together and sew corner to corner on the line. Trim away the excess fabric. Press. Repeat on the other end to form an A/B rectangle. Then sew the remainder of the block together. Finished size is 12 1/2" x 12 1/2" (with seam allowance).

~Square and a Half~

The monthly FREE pattern will be available on my website. I have a special 2019 BOM section on my website. Each month the FREE pattern will be posted. But as soon as the new section or block is out the old block pattern will no longer be a freebie. But it will still be available for a small fee on my website or in my Etsy shop. If you want to share your finished blocks, feel free to post them on Facebook Group (Quilt Doodle Designs Garden Sunshine BOM 2019) and tag me or post them on Instagram tag Quilt Doodle Designs. I love to see everyone's progress as we stitch along together. 

As a reminder... if someone asks for the PDF or where it is on the Facebook group, please do not post the PDF directly onto the site. I appreciate you referring them to my website or to the blog. Thank you!

 Hope you are having a great day, remember August's block is no longer FREE. It can be found in my ETSY shop and also on the Quilt Doodle Website for a small fee. To get this month's block, head on over to Quilt Doodle Designs... remember this block is only available this month as a FREE PDF download. 

Happy Quilting!

Cindy and Belvedere

Patches and Scat

Shhhh…… the leaves are turning.... I'm sweeping leaves off my deck that have fallen from my oak and maple trees. I think it's too early, but when I look on the calendar, no not really. September and back to school is in a week.... fall is almost here. Before I know it, I'll be pulling out the fall decorations. So to celebrate the upcoming fall I have a new design that can be found in my Etsy shop. An adorable goofy pumpkin named Patches and his friend Scat the black cat. I was able to complete this in an afternoon. My sample was put on tea towel from Dunroven House. But you can have fun with this design and turn it into a fall pillow, mug rug or a fun Trick or Treat bag. I know it seems to be early to work on a Halloween project, but it will be here before we know it. The big bags of candy are starting to show up in the store. I did pull out a plain pumpkin decoration and put it up on a shelf...

I made this design using my usual heat and bond applique method. Here I have all of the pieces all  cut out and ready to arrange and iron on to my tea towel.

Then I ironed them in place using a hot, dry iron.

Using a dark brown thread I machine stitched around everything.

Time for some hand stitching! I cut out the pumpkin's circle eyes and nose out of some black wool that I had on hand. Felt would work just as nicely. As you can see, I stitched X's for the pumpkin's mouth. Then I sewed a small button on top of the smaller felt circle to tack it in place.

Then I tacked the larger circle with a larger button for the other eye.

Don't you just love his googly miss matched eyes! Reminds me of a jack-o-lantern my younger son once carved when he was small. I just loved the miss matched awkward eyes! To make the nose I just tacked the small wool/felt circle in place with my pearl cotton. It's hard to see but I stitched an X across the circle after I tacked it with a small stitch.

~Patches and Scat~

I'm back from vacation, and we had a wonderful time. I did have phone service although there was no wi-fi so we weren't completely cut off from the world. My phone did decide to jump in the lake for a swim. Luckily hubby was able to retrieve it with a fishing net. My phone then spent a couple days in a tub of rice. It does work now so I am very grateful. I guess karma was telling me to get off the phone... We saw a lot of wildlife, eagles, deer, racoon and beavers. But the highlight was seeing a mama bear and her three cubs. The cubs were absolutely adorable as they scampered behind mama bear. I hope that we are able to visit this area again next year. We all returned home feeling tired but mentally refreshed, we all needed the break.

I hope that you enjoy the new design, Patches and Scat. It can be found in my Etsy Shop as an instant PDF download.

Happy quilting!

Cindy and Belvedere

Hanging Out at the Cabin

~Cabin Sweet Cabin~

As you read this, I am either bobbing around on the lake in my pool floatie or totally freaking out that there is no WiFi, Starbucks or pizza delivery. I'm really not sure how I'll do since I know I am totally dependent on technology. I haven't been on a vacation where I am totally cut off from the cyber world in a very long time. I know that there was a time that I was ok with it. In fact, while the boys grew up we always spent time at a cabin where there was no TV, radio, no phone service etc. So I know it's not out of the realm of things, we will survive. It's only five days up north.... time to fish, time to play cards with my family, sleep in, read a book (a real book).... I'm planning on some uninterrupted design time with my sketch pad. I'm a little freaked out as I pack, what if it's too quiet, traffic noise lulls me to sleep. I'm not used to total quiet. Good grief.... what if I see a bear.... I once spent a whole vacation sitting on a porch since I heard there was a bear sighting on the walking path... what really freaked me out that time was the huge paw and nose prints on the windows every morning. My oldest son tells me bears and moose are mystical creatures like a unicorn.... not to worry. I will keep that in mind! Gotta go and pack the suntan lotion and mosquito repellant. Remember, Minnesota's state bird is the mosquito!

I thought it would be fun to revisit a bunch of my cabin, camping themed designs. They are cozy and fun to applique onto towels, pillows, combine them all for a cabin-woodsie themed quilt! Gosh, what a cute quilt it could be, made out of some yummy flannels... plain blocks with the applique mixed with some log cabin blocks. Adorable! Just think a lap sized cabin themed quilt draped over your favorite chair by the fireplace.

~Northwoods~

~Santa's Little Reindeer~

Don't let the title fool you, this is a cute design that can be used year round up at the cabin.

~Camper Sweet Camper~

~A Sweet Little Tent~

These designs can be found in my Etsy Shop. Many of them are instant PDF downloads.

Happy quilting!

Cindy & Belvedere

It's Our Anniversary!

It's our anniversary month! Quilt Doodle Designs was born during a quilt retreat nine years ago... and has it ever been a fun adventure so far! So to celebrate I'm having a little sale in my Etsy Shop on my patterns. Wow the time has sure flown by so far and I still have all sorts of quilty fun to share with you this next year! The most exciting thing that happened this year was the release of my first BOM program and Snowmen Snow Globe Panel thru Marcus Fabrics. Remember, the Snow Globe Panel is available in my Etsy Shop for purchase. I also have the Star Gazing pattern that uses the panel. It's not too soon to start on a wintery themed quilt!

Belvedere and I are going to go out for some ice cream, a tradition I started with Wilson when we celebrated our first Quilt Doodle anniversary. It's a great way to celebrate!

I also want to thank all of you that have been quilting along with me! I look forward to sharing all sorts of quilting fun this next year too! Thank you for your purchases, hosting me at your quilt guilds, sharing your Quilt Doodle projects with me and stopping by to say 'Hi' at Quilt Market.

I hope that you have a wonderful day and find some time to enjoy a sweet treat.

Happy quilting,

Cindy and Belvedere 

August's Block~ Sunshine!

Happy August! Summer sure is flying by isn't it! Just got back from a tiny vacation I took with mom to North Dakota to meet her 'California' cousins and see her last surviving uncle. I was hoping to see some sunflower fields while we were there but, alas, no sunflowers. I remember sunflower fields that would go on for miles back in the 70's, but I guess the farmers aren't growing them much anymore. We enjoyed driving out to the old homestead where my grandparents lived and driving by the old school house where mom went to school. It was a beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in the sky.

This month's block will be challenging. It's the hardest block in the quilt but it is also my favorite block. This block combines traditional piecing, paper piecing and 'applique'. Let me show you how I made this month's block. It is helpful to save all of your leftover bits of white (background) fabric and see if any of it can be used in the paper piecing of the suns rays of sunshine sections. Any strips of yellow that are leftover from the quilt so far work well for the paper piecing also.

To begin with, print up your pattern pieces and gather up your fabric scraps that will be useful for the paper piecing. Remember paper piecing feels totally opposite of normal piecing. If you are unfamiliar with paper piecing I would watch a couple of videos or tutorials before you begin.

Following the directions. Layout your orange and yellow 2 1/2" squares to form a nine patch block and sew them together. Iron and set aside.

·         Cut the foundation/paper pieces out, do not cut directly on the outer section edge. Leave roughly a 1/8 – ¼” edge. We will trim it up later.

·         Position the fabrics right sides together on the blank/unmarked side of the foundation paper with the edge of the fabric ‘past’ the seam line on the foundation paper. (It helps to hold your paper piece and fabric up to the light to see if it lines up)

·         Stitch on the sewing line between the numbers using a very small stitch. (1.5)

·         Continue stitching in numeric order until the sunshine rays section is completed. Trim away the fabric so that it is even with the outside line of the foundation section.

·         Make four sunshine ray sections. Sew them together, this will form the outer rays circle for the sunshine.

·         Remove foundation paper.

·         Sew a 1/8^th stitch around the center and outer edges of the circle.

·         Fold the inner edge under ¼” and press. Position the inner circle on top of the nine patch square and stitch in place using a blind stitch.

I pinned it in place before I did the blind stitch.

On the back side, trim away the excess fabric on the nine-patch block center.

·         Fold the outer edge under ¼” and press. Position the sunshine section on top of the 12 ½” x 12 ½” square and stitch in place using a blind stitch.

I pinned it in place before I did my blind stitch.

The block measures 12 1/2" x 12 1/2" with the seam allowance.

~Sunshine~

The monthly FREE pattern will be available on my website. I have a special 2019 BOM section on my website. Each month the FREE pattern will be posted. But as soon as the new section or block is out the old block pattern will no longer be a freebie. But it will still be available for a small fee on my website or in my Etsy shop. If you want to share your finished blocks, feel free to post them on Facebook Group (Quilt Doodle Designs Garden Sunshine BOM 2019) and tag me or post them on Instagram tag Quilt Doodle Designs. I love to see everyone's progress as we stitch along together. 

As a reminder... if someone asks for the PDF or where it is on the Facebook group, please do not post the PDF directly onto the site. I appreciate you referring them to my website or to the blog. Thank you!

This month's block is challenging but worth the effort! Hope you are having a great day, remember July's block is no longer FREE. It can be found in my ETSY shop and also on the Quilt Doodle Website for a small fee. To get this month's block, head on over to Quilt Doodle Designs... remember this block is only available this month as a FREE PDF download. 

Happy Quilting!

Cindy and Belvedere