Happy New Year! January's Block is Out!

Happy New Year! It's time to start a new BOM and I have a sweet one for you. It is called Garden Sunshine. It's a bright sunny quilt out of 1930's reproduction fabric but you can use anything from your stash. Let's have fun with it! It's a mystery quilt. Before we start, let's do a couple of things to make this BOM go easier. First pick out the fabric listed below, and number the fabric 1 to 16 excluding the background fabric and binding. Colors 4 and 15 need to be a yellow or gold color, all of the other colors are negotiable. I have fabric kits available in my Etsy shop. I also have yardage of some 1930's prints if you need to add to your stash. Now another decision.... if you are going to applique or embroider the added designs to some of the blocks. If you applique, you can dig thru your stash for the applique pieces, I am using a combination of 1930's fabric and solid fabrics. If you choose to embroider the designs you will need pearl cotton or DMC floss in several coordinating colors for the designs. This is a scrappy quilt with many different blocks.

Each month we will work on a different section of the quilt. This quilt will take us all year to do. Sometimes you will have one block, sometimes two. Some blocks stand alone with no further applique or other embellishments, some will have extra design features. I am no longer posting monthly patterns on Craftsy. 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 it 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 you finished blocks, feel free to post them on Facebook and tag me or post them on Instagram tag Quilt Doodle Designs. I love to see everyone's progress as we stitch along together. 

Now let's begin! This month's blocks are called Birds in the Air. You will make two of the basic block, each will have a different applique design. You will use color number 16 and the cream/white background fabric. One block features a birdhouse and the second block features a couple of bluebirds. 

This is the fabric I am working with, I am making two versions. An appliqued one and an embroidered one.

Following the pattern I have my pieces all cut out and ready to sew together using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Here I am sewing a small background triangle and pink triangle together right sides together. I am sewing along the long diagonal edge. This will form a triangle square block. You will make three for each block.

I find it helpful to lay my block pieces out on my cutting board before I sew everything together. During this step you will sew together the triangle square to the pink triangles to form a large triangle section.

Then you sew the pieced triangle section to the large background triangle along the diagonal edge using a 1/4" seam.

Make 2 blocks. This is the base for the applique designs.

Trace the bird house design onto your heat n bond and iron the shapes onto the wrong side of you fabrics. I'm using a combination of fabric scraps and solid fabrics.

Then cut the shapes out, peel off the paper and arrange them on the large triangle section as shown. Then iron in place. Remember to keep the design within the 1/4" seam allowance.

I am using dark brown thread to stitch around all of the raw edges of the applique design.

For the flower center and birdhouse opening, I have decided to use buttons. I dug thru my button jar and found a couple that work perfectly. You could also make a couple of small yo-yos too. 

Trace the bird design onto your heat n bond and iron the shapes onto the wrong side of you fabrics. I'm using all solid fabrics.

Cut your pieces out and arrange onto the large triangle section of the block. Notice the block in laid out differently for this design. It takes a little fenagling to get everything to fit.

Here's a handy dandy tip to transfer your block to your ironing board after you have everything placed just so..... gently slide your 12 1/2" square OLFA ruler under the block and voila! An easy way to transfer your block safely. Remember to gently remove the ruler before you iron your design in place.

Notice that the tip of the birds wing and the branch overlap onto the 'other' half of the block.... it's okay.... 

I am using dark brown thread to stitch around all of the raw edges of the applique design.

The leaves are a bit of a challenge to stitch around, just go slow and remember to pivot the design. This is the most complicated applique design out of all of them.

I hope that you enjoy making these two blocks. It was a pretty long posting today for being New Years Day. Happy 2019 everyone! I'll see you February 1st for the next block. Remember to have fun and feel free to share with me your finished blocks. I will make a suggestion. Store your finished blocks in a scrapbook container or bin. There's no sewing blocks together until the very end....

I'm still working on the embroidered blocks for this month. I will post them in a day or two. They are equally as cute!

Happy quilting!

Cindy and Belvedere