Songbird Holiday

 I love to embroider, I learned how to embroider when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. I remember mom giving me a crewel kit from Bargello to work on. Remember those? It had everything you needed to embroider a picture or Christmas sock. I remember using yarn and wool to embroider with and learned a number of different stitches while doing the kit. I don't really remember much about the item I worked on except I know it was a fall design full of autumn colors. I think stitching with the yarn and larger needle helped me learn since I'm sure my stitches were big and clunky compared with my stitches now. Growing up I also remember my grandmother embroidering on dishtowels and pillowcases. I have a set of each that she made for me as a bridal shower gift. I have them tucked away and only use them once in a while since I treasure the stitches that she made. I hope that as my granddaughters get older that I'll be able to hand down some of these skills to them. 

On my panels I don't get too fancy with my stitching, I mainly use a back stitch, lazy daisy and French knots to complete most of my designs. Sometimes I use a satin or chain stitch for texture. I have some short how-to videos posted on my Instagram account. I thought I would feature a couple more projects using my Songbird Holiday panel. It's available now for purchase in a quilt shop near you. It can also be found on my website and Etsy shop. 

Panels are fun to work with, not only can they be used as is, I enjoy cutting them apart for smaller projects such as table runners and pillows. It's always stressful to cut something apart. Measure once, measure twice and sometimes a third time doesn't hurt before you get the rotary cutter out.

I have several free patterns available to go with this panel, they can be found on my website.

~ Quick as a Wink Quilt ~

Quick as a Wink Quilt is a free PDF pattern download that is available on my website. It uses my strip it fabric to create the scrappy border. The only blocks that are pieced are the Ohio stars corner blocks. I have more fabric on the way so you can preorder Quick as a Wink kits for this holiday season. Shhhh, I didn't embroider the panel for this quilt.

~ Ohio Star Table Runner ~

The Ohio Star table runner pattern features two of the Songbird Holiday blocks fussy cut from the panel. It can be embroidered or left as is, it's up to you. I like using my strip it fabric to create a scrappy border without the extra piecing. It's a great little cheat!

~ Songbird Holiday Table Runner ~

This is a sweet table runner pattern that features four of the blocks from the Songbird Holiday panel that I fussy cut and then sewed together to make a large rectangle. I didn't embroider these, so this is a quick and easy beginner project.

I hope that you enjoy my free projects that go with this sweet fabric. I have more fabric on order and panels are available again in my shop.

I hope you have a great day and find some time to stitch!

Happy quilting!

Cindy, Josephine and Bonaparte

Songbird Holiday Cardinal Wreath Table Runner

Have you seen my Songbird Holiday panel yet? It's lovely and perfect for celebrating winter and the holidays. The panel and coordinating fabric can be found in quilt shops and online now. I have several free patterns available to go with this line and they can be found on my website as a FREE PDF download. Today I'm going to show you one of the cute table runners I made using extra blocks and portions of the panel that I fussy cut.

When I made the Quick as a Wink and Songbird Holiday Festive Bows quilts, I cut extra blocks knowing that I would use them in some extra projects. I figure why not chain sew and get it all done at once while watching a series on my iPad or listening to an audio book. I try to multitask when I can, lol. 

These lovely Ohio Star blocks made it easy for me to work with to come up with some free projects for you. What's nice about these free patterns, you could easily substitute any of the designs to fussy cut to personalize your project. For the Cardinal Wreath Table Runner Pattern, I feature the cardinals with the wreath from the panel. I took the time to embroider the block but that is totally optional since the design is colored to match the fabric already! For the embroidery on the block I used a combination of DMC and Valdani threads and handstitched it. The listing of thread recommended can be found on the quilt pattern listing under the supplies. 

 

After I got the top all pieced together, I layered it with my backing and batting and used my embroidery feature on my machine and machine quilted a single pass holly quilt design. Repeating it across the entire table runner. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

 

~ Cardinal Wreath Table Runner ~

This sample will be at the Missouri Star Birthday Bash in the Marcus Fabrics booth if you would like to see it up close along with the Quick as a Wink Quilt and the Songbird Holiday Festive Bows Quilt. I'm excited that I will be there on Thursday afternoon and on Friday walking about. Hope to see you there too! If you see me, make sure to say Hi!

Hope you have a wonderful day and find some time to stitch,

Cindy, Josephine and Bonaparte

Black Cats and Halloween

When is the correct time to start decorating for Halloween? September first? October first? I have been chomping at the bit to pull out my fall items and start decorating. I haven't yet, but there was a chill in the air this morning and the leaves are just starting to turn so I know fall is right around the corner.  I did buy some mums the other day to adorn my front doorway, and I'm tempted to go back a buy a few more for my patio. As many as you know, I love Halloween. I love the cooler days and crisp nights, the changing of the leaves and pumpkin spice everything! I think it's time to pull out some of my favorite projects to work on and put them on display. All of these cute patterns can be found in my Etsy shop, or my website.

I enjoy putting this table runner featuring a black cat
waiting for the Trick or Treaters...

 I made a cute wall hanging featuring an adorable
black cat peeking out of a Jack o Lantern.... I'm
in love with the striped binding!

Out of some of my scraps I made this
wonky pumpkin coaster, or mug rug. I used
different sized buttons to add to the wonky-ness.

To make this wonky little pumpkin, I started out with a 6" square of orange fabric. Then I did a flip and sew with black fabric to make the 'corners'. I didn't pay attention to keeping it even, this adds to the wonky shape! I used heat n bond light and yellow fabric for the pumpkin's smile and nose. For his goofy little eyes I used two mismatched yellow buttons. A yo-yo embellishes his head for the stem. I used a 6" square of black fabric for the backing, and a piece of scrap batting. I had just enough left over binding for my mini coaster. It's a fun quick and easy project that uses up those little bits you may have left over from you fall, Halloween projects!

Halloween isn't complete without Witchy Poo's Shoe....

I hope that you find some time to do some stitching for fall and Halloween.

Happy quilting,

Cindy, Josephine and Bonaparte

September's Block

I can't believe it's September and it has certainly snuck up on me! Hubby and I spent a day at the State Fair last week and enjoyed a beautiful day and seeing all the displays.  We enjoyed our pork chop on a stick and our glasses of lemonade. Summer is officially done and the kids in my neighborhood are back in school. It's pretty quiet during the day. We are now getting ready for a trip to Wisconsin for fishing and some ATV trail riding. That's going to be so much fun!  Towards the end of the month, I'm looking forward to popping in at Missouri Stars Birthday Bash. My friends at Marcus Fabrics will be there and I'm looking forward to visiting their booth on Friday during Missouri Star's birthday celebration. I've been there a couple of times and am always in awe at all the fabric and sewing goodies that they have to offer! My Songbird Holiday fabric can be found at Missouri Star. Hope to see you there! Stop by and say Hi!

Now let's think about this month's block...  this block is the last block pattern. Now here's the catch... you will make 12 of these blocks! Yes 12! It'll be a sewing marathon. The last block is the tree block, and you will be stitching up a forest! You can make you trees all the same color green, or you can switch it up and make them all scrappy. Remember I am challenging you to use your fabric stash and I'm sure you have enough green to make these blocks. You should have a healthy stack of tree blocks when you are done to add to your snowmen blocks. Next month we will sew the blocks together!

Here's a quick recap, if you are just discovering this year's block of the month, it’s sort of a mystery and I am encouraging everyone to use fabric from their stash. You will want the same background color for the quilt to tie it all together but, other than that the sky’s the limit. So, to begin with go dig thru your fabric stash and look for the following. 

      Pair together blue B square with green F triangles, right sides together. Sew corner to corner on the diagonal edge. This forms a flying geese block when you are done for the top of the tree block.

Press to the dark side.

     Sew the D strip to each end of a G square, press to the dark side.

Sew one C square diagonally to each end of the E strip, trim away the excess to a ¼” seam. Press. Make 3 of these sections for each tree block

       Following the block layout, lay out all pieced rectangle sections to form the tree block.  Press.

     Sew the A strip to each side of the block, press. Sew an A strip to the top and bottom of the block. Press.

     Trim the block up to measure 9 ½” x 11 ½”. (This includes the seam allowance.)

Tree Block

Fabric Requirements

Blue background fabric- 2 yards

white fabric (snowman faces) - 1/2 yard

green (trees) - 3/4 yard

pieced border - red- 3/4-yard, pink - 1/2-yard, light green- 1/2-yard, light blue- 3/4-yard

orange- snowman noses

scrappy hats- 10 plus fat quarters or a combination of fat quarters and fat eights in a variety of colors such as red, blue, yellow, pink, green, purple. 

Now let's get stitching!

 

Tell your friends! Spread the word! Post the button on your blog!

 Each month's pattern is a free PDF instant download. If you miss a month, the patterns are available for $2.50 on my website and also in my Etsy shop.  

If you don't have a printer, you can purchase a PRINTED copy of the monthly patterns.

HERE

 There's also a Facebook Group, please join and post your progress! It's also fun to see everyone else progress too! Make sure to post your blocks so far! 

 I hope that you have a wonderful day and find some time to stitch.

Have a wonderful day,

Cindy, Josephine & Bonaparte

Stitching in the Dark

 Here is my personal PSA on sight. Don't take it for granted! Eat your carrots and spinach. Wear your sunglasses and see your eye doctor when you can. I have been struggling with my newest glasses when it comes to reading and stitchwork. I mean really struggling with seeing while doing any sort of handwork, mainly embroidery. It didn't matter if I had an Ott light, bright light or sunlight, hold the hoop close, hold my hoop away from me, my eyes would focus for a half hour or so and then everything would go blurry. So frustrating. I thought my stitching days were over! Now you need to know, I see my eye doctor annually and I'm older. In my early 60's. My eye doctor knows that I quilt and design for a living and has tweaked my prescription many times. This last visit he mentioned he could make me a single vision lens using my bifocal prescription, what my husband calls his computer/reading glasses. I was really skeptical and held off on getting a pair. Well, I got to a point that I couldn't stitch easily at all... so I bit the bullet, took in an older pair of frames from my previous prescription and asked for the single vision lens using my bifocal numbers and let me tell you, it's a game changer! I can easily see what I'm stitching regardless of the lighting conditions. My reading/quilting/ embroidery glasses are worth every penny. So,
if you're struggling, talk with your doctor and see if they can help.

Have a wonderful day and find some time to stitch!

Cindy, Josephine and Bonaparte

August's Block

 

Happy August! It's hard to believe that summer is almost coming to an end. We just got back from our family vacation to Swan Lake a couple of weeks ago. We had a wonderful time; the weather was perfect. It was a great break from the day to day and our vacation flew by too quickly. Did you know August is my anniversary month for Quilt Doodle Designs. Fourteen years ago, I started designing patterns, the idea came to me at quilt retreat. I had no idea that doodling drawings to make appliques at retreat would lead me on this great adventure. I've met so many talented quilters and have had the chance to visit quilt shops and guilds. I look forward to all of the adventures to come! I'm looking forward to popping in at Missouri Stars Birthday Bash in September. My friends at Marcus Fabrics will be there and I'm looking forward to visiting their booth on Friday during Missouri Star's birthday celebration. I've been there a couple of times and am always in awe at all the fabric and sewing goodies that they have to offer! My Songbird Holiday fabric can be found at Missouri Star. 

Now let's think about this month's block...  this block is the last of the snowmen blocks. You should have a healthy stack of snowmen blocks, thirteen total. 

Here's a quick recap, if you are just discovering this year's block of the month, it’s sort of a mystery and I am encouraging everyone to use fabric from their stash. You will want the same background color for the quilt to tie it all together but, other than that the sky’s the limit. So, to begin with go dig thru your fabric stash and look for the following. 

Fabric Requirements

Blue background fabric- 2 yards

white fabric (snowman faces) - 1/2 yard

green (trees) - 3/4 yard

pieced border - red- 3/4-yard, pink - 1/2-yard, light green- 1/2-yard, light blue- 3/4-yard

orange- snowman noses

scrappy hats- 10 plus fat quarters or a combination of fat quarters and fat eights in a variety of colors such as red, blue, yellow, pink, green, purple. 

Now let's get stitching!

Snowman Hat Rectangle- Sew a background 2” square onto the top two corners right sides together corner to corner. Trim excess fabric leaving a ¼” seam. Press.

Trace 1 noses onto the paper side of the Heat N bond fusible web. (Or whatever fusible brand you prefer) Iron onto the back side of the orange fabric. Cut out all the carrot noses. Iron on carrot nose onto the snowman block using the quilt on the front cover for placement. Applique stitch using orange or brown thread around the raw edges of the carrot design. I like to use a small buttonhole stitch.

August's Block

We will wait until the quilt is completed and then quilted before we put on the snowman faces, which will use either buttons or yo-yos.

 

Tell your friends! Spread the word! Post the button on your blog!

 Each month's pattern is a free PDF instant download. If you miss a month, the patterns are available for $2.50 on my website and also in my Etsy shop.  

If you don't have a printer, you can purchase a PRINTED copy of the monthly patterns.

HERE

 There's also a Facebook Group, please join and post your progress! It's also fun to see everyone else progress too! Make sure to post your blocks so far! 

 I hope that you have a wonderful day and find some time to stitch.

Have a wonderful day,

Cindy, Josephine & Bonaparte

July's Block!

 

It's so hard to believe that it's July! It has been a dryer week so far and I'm so happy to see the sunshine. Hubby spent the weekend fortifying our garden fence while I replanted green beans. I think it's the bunnies that are enjoying the fresh vegetable plants. I've never in my life bought green bean plants, I've always planted by seed, but I am determined to have fresh green beans this year. I've given up on kohlrabi... this year and I'm starting to question how much I'll really get out of the garden. We've had so much rain that the plants were drowning before the sun came out this week. I am truly hoping that I'm swamped with produce by September. I enjoy canning tomatoes and stocking up our freezer with veggies. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

July is a fun busy month, we have the 4th of July, our wedding anniversary and our family vacation. I know that summertime is busy for everyone! So, we only have one snowman block this month so that you have time for all the other stuff. 

Here's a quick recap, if you are just discovering this year's block of the month, it’s sort of a mystery and I am encouraging everyone to use fabric from their stash. You will want the same background color for the quilt to tie it all together but, other than that the sky’s the limit. So, to begin with go dig thru your fabric stash and look for the following. 

Fabric Requirements

Blue background fabric- 2 yards

white fabric (snowman faces) - 1/2 yard

green (trees) - 3/4 yard

pieced border - red- 3/4-yard, pink - 1/2-yard, light green- 1/2-yard, light blue- 3/4-yard

orange- snowman noses

scrappy hats- 10 plus fat quarters or a combination of fat quarters and fat eights in a variety of colors such as red, blue, yellow, pink, green, purple. 

Now let's get stitching!

Snowman Hat Rectangle- Sew a background 2” square onto the top two corners right sides together corner to corner. Trim excess fabric leaving a ¼” seam. Press.

Trace 1 noses onto the paper side of the Heat N bond fusible web. (Or whatever fusible brand you prefer) Iron onto the back side of the orange fabric. Cut out all the carrot noses. Iron on carrot nose onto the snowman block using the quilt on the front cover for placement. Applique stitch using orange or brown thread around the raw edges of the carrot design. I like to use a small buttonhole stitch.

July's Block

We will wait until the quilt is completed and then quilted before we put on the snowman faces, which will use either buttons or yo-yos.

 

Tell your friends! Spread the word! Post the button on your blog!

 Each month's pattern is a free PDF instant download. If you miss a month, the patterns are available for $2.50 on my website and also in my Etsy shop.  

If you don't have a printer, you can purchase a PRINTED copy of the monthly patterns.

HERE

 There's also a Facebook Group, please join and post your progress! It's also fun to see everyone else progress too! Make sure to post your blocks so far! 

 I hope that you have a wonderful day and find some time to stitch.

Have a wonderful day,

Cindy, Josephine & Bonaparte

~ Bonaparte~ 
(Bonaparte's nickname is 'Bone')