US Blog Tour!

Today is the first installment of the Around the Block US Tour! Our first stop on the tour is Dragonfly's Quilting Studio for the state of Massachusetts! Remember to join us each week (Sunday), you will find the link HERE to visit the current weeks designer so you can get the block. I hope that you have fun with these blocks and enjoy traveling along across the US!

Happy quilting!

Cindy and Belvedere

August's Block Grandma's Attic BOM

Happy August! This month's block features flying geese. Flying Geese are one of my favorite quilt blocks to make. You can make your blocks using all the same fabric or you can switch it up and make it scrappy. It's totally up to you! I've named this month's block, Fly Away Home. 

After you download the this month's pattern and cut out all of your block pieces, it's time to start stitching your Fly Away Home blocks.

Draw a diagonal line on the back of B squares.

With right sides together, align 1 B square with the upper right corner of 1 cream/white C rectangle. Note the direction of the diagonal line. Sew from corner to corner. Trim away excess fabric, leaving 1/4" seam allowance. Press.

Repeat the steps above, this time in the upper left corner of the rectangle. Not the direction of the diagonal line.

Trim away excess fabric. Press. You now have a Flying Geese unit. Make 16 Flying Geese units total.

Sew 4 Flying Geese units together to make a Flying Geese strip. Press.

Sew a cream/white A strips to each side of the Flying Geese Strip. Press. Trim the block to measure 10 1/2" x 10 1/2" , make 4 blocks total.

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

~ Fly Away Home ~

 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. 

Today we will be celebrating my nieces graduation, outside with lots of social distancing. Looking forward to a beautiful weekend with some summer sunshine. I hope that you have a great weekend too. Remember to post your blocks onto the Facebook Group, I'm thinking of having another little giveaway.

Happy quilting! 

Cindy and Belvedere

US Tour Block of the Month

Have you heard? There is a fun BOM planned starting August 2nd, and then every Sunday! There will be free blocks representing each state, giveaways and all sorts of fun facts about each state presented to you by many of your favorite designers! (Including me!) Each week a new block has been designed for each state across our US Tour.  Zip back and forth across the country on a unique virtual voyage, complete with complimentary 6.5″ blocks, state & designer trivia and stories,  giveaways and bonus blocks too! This will be so much fun! I can't wait for the fun to begin. Make sure to buzz on over to the US Tour BOM page and sign up for our emails, then you are sure not to miss any of the blocks!

Around The Block US Tour

Click the above link to sign up!

I look forward to showing you my block along with why I love my state of Minnesota so much.

Happy Quilting,

Cindy and Belvedere

Star Gazing at the Cabin

I have an idea! I think it's a wonderful notion... let me tell you all about it. Remember last year I showed you my Snowman Snow Globe panel and I wrote the 'Star Gazing' pattern. It's a super easy quilt to piece together using a Rail Fence block and some applique snowflakes.

What if you substituted the Lumberjack Primo Plaids for the blues and used the Woodland Getaway panel? I think it would make for a wonderful winter themed quilt.

What do you think? I'm thinking I need to make one! Here's how I would go about it.

I would substitute the Lumberjack Primo Plaids for colors # 1-4, the center block background, binding and borders. The Snowman Snow Globe is fussy cut into a circle and appliqued onto the center square. Working with the Woodland Getaway would be so much easier. The panel would be cut down to measure 24 1/2" x 24 1/2" and then with the center background fabric, I would cut that into a 2 1/2" border strips to go around the center Woodland Getaway panel. The panel could be left plain or embroidered. I would use a cream cotton fabric that matches the cream on the Woodland Getaway Panel, but I'm pretty sure an off white would work too since the snowflakes and the panel are not close to each other on the quilt.

To make it easy to follow along with the fabric substitutions, make sure to label your fabric for reference. It's fun to take a pattern and think outside the box and use different fabrics. It's not too soon to start those winter projects and Christmas gifts. 

Happy quilting!

Cindy & Belvedere

The Primo Plaids, Star Gazing Pattern and Woodland Getaway panel can all be found in the

 Quilt Doodle Designs Website

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