Two Woodland Bears...

Ever since our vacation last year when I saw a mama bear with her three cubs I have been in love with bears. I'm excited to go up north again to Northern Minnesota in hopes that I will see a bear again. Don't worry, I don't plan on getting up close and personal in my encounter. I don't plan on searching for these big animals. I hoping for a chance sighting while in the boat or driving in the car. These clumsy creatures fascinate me and was the inspiration for two new fusible applique patterns. Let me share with you these two sweet bears.I put my designs on a couple of towels from Dunroven House but you could put them on a quilt block, table runner or pillow. Really anything .... have fun with the design!

I used fabric scraps that I have in my scrap basket. (I keep scraps in a large basket by my sewing machine just for appliqué projects) I traced all of the elements for the designs onto the paper side of my fusible web. I like to use flexifuse but it’s really personal preference as to what fusible web you use. After I trace everything, I then iron the sections onto the wrong side of the fabric by color and the cut everything out.

 

Then peel the paper off the back of your fusible pieces. Using the pattern placement sheet as a guide, layer your pieces in place. Notice how the beehive is nestled into the bear’s arm. When you are pleased with the placement, then press everything in place with a hot iron being careful not to shift any of the pieces.

I used a cream thread to machine stitch my buttonhole stitch around the bear’s muzzle. I also used the cream thread on the bees 🐝. This helps give the design some contrast. Remember to stitch slowly and pivot around the corners of the design. 

Here’s a close up of my stitching. 

TIP- It is hard stitching black on black, so I took a white pencil and marked the edge of the bear’s face so that I could see where to stitch.

-Honey Bear-

Here I have my Woodland Bear pieces laid out and ready to be pressed.

This design is easier to stitch out, not as many little pieces to go around. I just love how this bear is peeking out from behind the pine tree.

-Woodland Bear-

Aren't they cute, these two bears, they are fun to make and super fun to display at the cabin. (Or give as a hostess gift to a friend with a cabin!) I hope you had fun following along today. Both of these patterns are available as a PDF download in my Etsy Shop and also on the 

Quilt Doodle Website. As you read this, I'm actually Up North with hubby. He has a business trip this week. While he's at work, I thought I would take the quiet time to do some design work and hand stitching. Since we both work from home now, I'm looking forward to the quiet time, shhhhhh, it's our secret! I may venture out and find a quilt shop to visit, I just don't know what's open right now. I'll have to do a little searching online. 

Happy Quilting

Cindy and Belvedere

 

July's Block

Welcome July! I feel like summer is getting away from me. July always flies by quickly for me. It's a busy month, we have a lot on the calendar to make the month fly by... 4th of July, our anniversary, a trip to the cabin and then the day to day shenanigans to fill in between. Although the 4th will be a little quieter then usual, we still plan on celebrating with a picnic and fireworks in our own backyard. 

This month's block is based on the classic Ohio Star block. You will need three different fabrics. My block below shows three different reds. You can use different colors, A dark, medium and light toned fabric. It's up to you! Make the quilt your own. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's variations of the same block. Remember to pop over to the Quilt Doodle Website to download your July directions for this month's block. You will find all of the cutting directions there.

You will make four Ohio Star blocks....

For each Ohio Star block you will need 4 of the triangle square blocks.

And then sew the four Ohio Star blocks together to  make one large 20 1/2 " x 20 1/2 " block.

 I hope you have fun making this month's block.  Remember the goal is to use fabric from your stash!

The monthly FREE pattern is available on my website. I have a special 2020 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 Grandmas Attic BOM 2020) and tag me or post them on Instagram tag Quilt Doodle Designs. I love to see everyone's progress as we stitch along together. 

Well, I'm off to go and check on the gardens. We've had so much rain here over the last few days. (7" last Sunday night) My poor plants are drowning, I'm hoping on a couple of hot dry days to dry the ground up a bit. The dahlia bulbs I planted last month are all up and thriving, I'm looking forward to when they bloom. The rain knocked all my zinnias and sunflowers over. I'm going to see if I'm able to stake them up so they can stand tall again. Then I'm going to hide out in my sewing room and get some stitching done!

Happy quilting! 

Cindy and Belvedere

Cabin Life

As you all know, I love my Lumberjack Primo Plaids, love, love, love the colors and have been having fun stitching with them. They are my go to colors, the colors that I love to work with. I have designed a new pattern to go with the Woodland Getaway Panel using these soft, yummy fabrics, Cabin Life. My inspiration comes from all the vacations we've taken up north to go fishing. There's always a morning or two that we wake up freezing and this will be the perfect quilt to pack along for our next trip. I usually pack a few quilts for those cod mornings.

I enjoyed quilting the center panel. I have a domestic machine with an extra deep throat that I use for quilting. I enjoy doing free motion quilting. I find it relaxing. The quilting makes the design pop a little bit. The quilting added some texture to the panel. I did not embroider the panel for this particular quilt, but you sure could if you wanted to.  I'm  thinking of adding some gold star buttons to the night sky for an added touch.

Cabin Life is a fun scrappy quilt to make. It features the words Cabin Life, Friendship Stars and Bear Paw blocks. The Log Cabin blocks are easy to stitch together and frame the Woodland Getaway Panel. I did not embroider the center panel on this quilt, but it can be embroidered if you so choose to. The finished quilt measures 68" x68", a great size to drape over a chair, roll up and pack in a travel bag or folded at the end of a bed. 

When I quilted this quilt is important to note that I used a thin cotton batting. I used a thin batting for quilting to reduce the bulk because the Primo Plaids are woven plaids and thicker then what we think of as flannel. The Primo Plaids are luxurious to work with and I love the results. I do not match up plaids to create a primitive look, which I love, especially for the cabin.

I have a limited number of quilt kits for Cabin Life available on the Website. I've picked out all of the plaids that you need to make the quilt as pictured. Everything is included except the backing and batting. The Cabin Life pattern is included! There is also FREE shipping in the USA.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and find some time to do some stitching.

Happy quilting,

Cindy & Belvedere

Let’s Toast Marshmallows!

I hope that you all had a relaxing weekend last week. I spent some time in my sewing room over the weekend and worked on a project that I’ve had planned in my head for awhile. I finally got it all written down on paper and made it. I’ve been spending the last few weeks showing you how I’ve been embroidering my Woodland getaway panel so today let me show you how I used those elements to make my banner/table runner. The complete pattern for this banner can be found on my website and in my Etsy shop. 

As you can see in this photo, I have embroidered different sections of the design. Remember the embroidery is optional but I love the added dimension the stitching adds to the design. 

I did all of the stars with a satin stitch with this banner design in mind. Following the pattern, I fussy cut the stars for two of the banner strips. The stars will NOT be centered on my banner, I had to squeak every little bit of fabric that I could to have enough length. It’s okay if it’s not centered, it will add to the overall charm of the mini quilt.

Following the pattern directions, I’ve fussy cut the panel pieces and sewn them onto the flannel strips that I’ve cut. In the pattern I’ve used green as my main color. You could switch it up and use brown, gold or red. I’m just really fond of greens for my banner. 

To add a little something extra I have you make two pieced strips for the top and bottom of the banner. 

 If when you sew your strip on and it’s a little long, do not fret, just trim it off to be even with the width of your banner/table runner.

I then sew the side strips on , and then the top and bottom.

Now it’s time to make your quilt sandwich by layering the top, batting and backing. Quilt as desired.

I did not put a hanging sleeve on mine. If you want to hang it using an Ackfeld hanger you may want to put a hanging sleeve on the back. The pdf pattern has the hanging sleeve directions included. You will want to put on the hanging sleeve before you bind your banner/table runner.

I just love how this turned out! I am displaying it here hanging on a display metal hanger from Ackfeld wire. (I cheated by pinning my mini quilt to it using a couple of safety pins) I did free motion quilting on the panel sections. Also quilted in the ditch between the fabric strips. For the border I free motion quilted a holly border. It gives it sort of a woodsie feel.

Both the pattern for this project and Woodland Getaway Panel from Marcus Fabrics can be found on my website or Etsy Shop. I hope that you enjoyed my project today, it was a fun one to put together. 

Happy quilting,

Cindy & Belvedere

Hubby caught this monster on Father’s Day.

Embroidery 101-5

Welcome to my fifth installment showcasing different embroidery stitches. Today I’m going to show you a threaded running stitch and a variation on a buttonhole stitch. I used them both on my Woodland Getaway panel but I think you could also experiment with these stitches on my other panels too. I’m using a #12 pearl cotton from Valdani thread for my stitching.

I used this variation on the wheel of the camper. I thought it would be a fun stitch to color in the tire... let me show you how easy this stitch is...

To start, bring your needle up at the outer edge.

Then poke the needle down in the center rim of the wheel and back up on the outer edge wrapping the thread around like you would a buttonhole stitch. The difference is, you are keeping the stitches close together to fill in the space.

Continue stitching around....

I'm about halfway... notice that we ignore the 'lines' inside the wheel. Remember these will be covered up with our stitches.

…. almost done!

All done! A red button could be added for the center on the wheel for an added accent.

The next stitch I'm going to show you is a threaded running stitch. It's super easy and a great substitution to a backstitch or outline stitch. I am using a variegated #12 Valdani thread for my stitching, but you can use any embroidery thread of your choice.

To start this stitch, do a running stitch on the printed line.

Then you will use the loops of the running stitch to thread your stitches through.

Here is a great close up of both the stitches that were featured today.

I hope that you enjoyed my little embroidery tutorial today. We're getting close to the lazy days of summer and embroidery is a great take along project for in the car or at the lake. It's so peaceful to sit under an umbrella, in the cool breeze with a large glass full of iced tea stitching a few stitches as I wait for my boys to get back from fishing.

Happy Stitching,

Cindy and Belvedere

Sleeping Under the Stars

I just love the added designs on my Woodland Getaway panel and making mug rugs is a quick and easy project. The camper and tent design would make great mug rugs. As you can see in the photo that I have embroidered sections of the panel. I’m going to use the camper section for today’s project. I’m saving the tent and words sections for a special project, can’t wait to show you! But for today I’m making an adorable mug rug, the directions are below... you don’t have to embroider the panel, it can be left plain too. 

For my mug rug, I used fabric scraps I had left over from working on my Woodland Getaway BOM quilt. I used a green and gold plaid fabrics to match the panel. Mug rugs are also a great project to practice free motion quilting. A small project like a mug rug or table runner are easy to manage for free motion quilting. It’s a great opportunity to try out a new border design like the holly leaves I quilted in the border of my mug rug. To set it off I bound my mug rug using a red plaid. I just love how it turned out.I hope you enjoy this little freebie pattern using my Woodland Getaway panel. I love making mug rugs.  This mug rug is the perfect size to display in a camper or at the cabin. I don’t have a camper or cabin up north but I have a million memories of time spent fishing at a resort cabin. Having this sweet mug rug out on display reminds me of many fond memories and a few fish tales.  I do have the Woodland Getaway fabric panel available in my Etsy and Website Stores. The panel is also available in many local quilt stores too!

Happy quilting,

Cindy & Belvedere

Woodland Animals Table Runner

Hubby and I spent the weekend with a quick trip up north, Northern Minnesota for the giggles of it and checked out some land for sale.  We’re tinkering with the idea but far from serious at this point. Thinking about the future and dreaming a bit, but mainly getting out of the house and escaping quarantine.   It was fun to drive around and see the pine trees , lakes etc. Didn’t see any bear this time, not if you count the wooden bear statues outside along Main Street. Didn’t even see any deer, but did see some eagles. That was fun... oh and the state flower, Lady Slippers. My Woodland Getaway BOM and panel was inspired by our many trips with our family. I thought I would share with you this fun table runner pattern that uses two of the animals that are featured on the panel. I used the Bear on my quilt so I had the moose and deer left for my table runner. It’s a great project to use up extra bits left from working on the BOM quilt.

I hope you enjoy this little freebie pattern using my Woodland Getaway panel. It’s the perfect table runner to put out at your lake home or cabin. Or if you're like me, I love the North Woods theme and have decorated my family room downstairs with bears, deer and moose. I do have the Woodland Getaway fabric panel available in my Etsy and Website Stores. The panel is also available in many local quilt stores too!

The boys are going fishing tomorrow, I've got to go get the cooler and think about what I'll send with my boys for their day on the lake. I'm thinking chips, beef jerky, cookies, sandwiches.... 

Happy quilting,

Cindy & Belvedere