Bulls Eye!

Sometimes it just feels good to grab fabric out of your stash and just start stacking and wacking away at it. It's a great stress reliver. Sometimes I just need a mindless sewing project, no formulas, no color palette, no idea what size I'm making. Just when I'm done, I'm done. Have you ever sewn that way? I have a tendency to stitch like this when I need a break...

 I was introduced to the bullseye quilt at a friend's retreat open sew day. My mom and I go twice a year and visit the Kasson Quilters. Well I was intrigued when shown a bullseye quilt during show and tell. Why have I never seen one before. What? No real measuring, just rough cut 8", 6" and 4" circles and layer and sew them onto a fabric square. Cut them apart and sew the squares back together again?! Leave the raw edges?! OMG how wonderful, making circles with no, I mean NO curved piecing.... I'm in! So when I got home from my quilting weekend with mom, I dove into my stash and pulled out as many stray fat quarters, scrap, ugly, odd colored pieces of fabric I knew I would never use again and started cutting away. I then grabbed every piece of cream, white or tan piece of fabric I could find, leftovers from quilts and backings and cut a bunch of 10 1/2" squares and then sewed away, stacking circles on squares, trimming away excess fabric as I stitched along. This is an awesome stash buster! I started out thinking I would make a lap sized quilt but had so much fun that this quilt is turning out to be a bit bigger than that!

Rough cut 4", 6" and 8" circles, they don't have to be perfect.

I started out with 10 1/2" light colored squares. First I top stitched the large circle in place. Trimmed away the excess fabric on the back. Then topped stitched the 4"circle in place. Trimmed away that excess fabric on the back. Lastly, I stitched the 4" circle in place. I did not trim away the excess, but you can if you want to. A also didn't fret about perfectly centering the circles, I just eyeballed it.

Then cut the block in half both directions to form four smaller squares.

Then have fun mixing up the bullseyes!

Sew the blocks together.

I totally got carried away and had a blast making these blocks! They are addicting!

Sew the blocks together.... 

And Voila! A beautiful quilt top... 

This is a great way to use up some of your fabric stash. I am totally in love with this quilt. It used up my ugly, forgotten, odd colored fabric fat quarters and scraps I had and turned them into an absolutely beautiful quilt top. My quilt top is nine by eight blocks, with four blocks left over for a table topper. I'm going to use the table topper to try out how I want to free motion quilt the quilt top together. This would also be a great pattern for using fabric that you've inherited or to make a 'memory' quilt using shirts etc.  I've seen so many different versions of this quilt on Pinterest, so many fun layouts and possibilities! 

Happy quilting,

Cindy and Belvedere

Plaids in Quilting

Plaids.... I love plaids, always have. So when I designed the Snowman Snow Globe quilt I was giddy to work with plaids. Marcus Fabrics Primo Plaids are so yummy to work with. They are soft and such rich beautiful colors, a joy to work with. 

While working on the Snowman Snow Globe design, I did not bother to match plaids. If you learned how to sew garments before learning to quilt, you paid very close attention to matching plaids and stripes when sewing. I remember lining up plaids while cutting out shirts or skirt patterns when I would sew clothes. I still do when I sew blouses for myself. But when working on a quilt, I throw that rule right out the window! I know that this goes against anything you may have learned but on a quilt, especially when piecing small blocks, it's insane to match those lines. Add a piece that's cut on a diagonal and spin it around in a block and you might as well check yourself into the, nice place with the padded walls. 

I find that the unmatched lines add interest and charm to a quilt. Remember when quilting was a necessity and not a hobby, there was little attention paid to matching a plaid. Or having all your 'blue', 'red' or whatever your main color fabric was come from the same bolt of fabric. 

 I love how the unmatched plaids add charm to the Snowman Snow Globe quilt. Remember, when you stand back and look at the quilt, it's consistent in appearance. So don't fret about plaids in your quilt blocks. Have fun and create!

Now, let me throw a curveball.... I do match the plaids when I cut strips for a border or try to cut a continuous piece for a border. Especially if the fabric has a pronounced stripe or plaid to it.

I hope this helps you not shy away from working with plaids in a quilt, any quilt. Treat the fabric as a solid 'color' not as a plaid or stripe. When cutting, rotary cut your fabric as you would normally do for a quilt.

Happy quilting!

Cindy and Belvedere

A list of the participating Quilt Shops can be found on the Marcus Fabrics Website.

Check out if there's a shop close to you!

National Embroidery Month

Happy National Embroidery Month! It seems quite fitting for the month of February, especially in Minnesota. It has been cold and snowy here all month. Since Punxsutawney Phil declared an early spring, Minnesota has been in revolt! I have been enjoying afternoon's stitching by the fireplace with Belvedere curled up next to me. While getting my Snow Globe quilt ready to be shipped off to the photographer for Marcus Fabrics,  I stitched up a special label. While I was doing this I thought that this extra little detail adds a lot of charm to a finished quilt and it's so easy to do but quite often overlooked. 

I used a basic back stitch, running stitch and French knots for the snowman's eyes and buttons.  Many of these stitches I learned when I was a young girl. Mom taught me how to embroider. I remember her pulling out one of her hoops and showing me where she kept her floss. I don't remember what my first project was but I'm guessing it was a flour sack towel or pillowcase.

I then used my sewing machine's lettering function to sign names, add dates etc.

So included with the main Snowman Snow Globe panel from Marcus Fabrics are three smaller designs that can be used as mug rugs or as a label for the back of your quilt! They can be left as is or  you can use the design lines as a guide for embroidery. You can either embroider the whole design or just highlight certain elements in the design.

Snowman Snow Globe Panel

Available from Marcus Fabrics

Happy stitching!

Cindy and Belvedere

Bundle Up Llama

Oh my gosh... it's still snowing here in Minnesota..... again. It has snowed more in the last two weeks then it has all winter. I'm pretty sure it's at least a foot of snow out there now after all the storms we've had lately. Belvedere has learned how to frolic like a reindeer to get around in the deep snow with his stubby little legs! It's pretty cute to watch... I've pretty much have turned into a hermit and have stayed indoors. I have managed to do a little sewing. Bundle Up Llama is my new design, a wintery design of a llama wearing an adorable ski hat and scarf. It's still winter here in Minnesota! My niece, Cassi, loves llama's.

I get a lot of questions about layering for applique. So I thought I would show you the layering process for this particular design. Sorta step you thru it... I think it would help for you for not only this design but it would help you look at my other designs differently when it comes to layering.

The first step for any of my designs is to trace the design shapes onto your heat n bond, or whatever fusible web you are using. Iron it onto the back side of your fabric scraps and then cut the shapes out. You can see I have all of my llama pieces ready for layering.

Looking at the photo of the finished design, I can see that the hat sits behind the ears and the pink ear pieces would go on top of the white ear area of the face. I peel away the paper off the heat n bond as I go, but I do not fuse anything in place until the very end.

I then look at the llama and notice that the hair sticks out of the brim of the hat. So I put the hair in place next.

….and then I put the hat brim and pom-pom in place!

The final part of the design is the llama's scarf and neck. Looking at the picture I see that the scarf is tucked under the llama's face and that the scarf is overtop the neck area. When I get my design over to the ironing board, I fuss and fidget things into the correct position and then press everything in place.

I used my usual small blanket stitch/button hole stitch on my machine. I used white thread for around the llama's face, ears and body.

I used a grey thread this time to stitch around everything else. I like the softer look it gives the design. It's a nice change over the darker thread I usually use.

Now it's time to embroider the llama's features. I'm going to use some teenie tiny buttons for the eyes, but a couple of French knots would look just as nice.

Using a backstitch, stitch the llama's mouth and nose. I am using a Valdani #12 pearl cotton.

I just love how this sweet llama turned out. A great winter applique design. A fun way to use up some of your wintery scraps. I put my llama on a cream tea towel from Dunroven House. This design would be adorable on a baby blanket, sweatshirt, made into a pillow, whatever you heart dreams up. Let's have some sewing fun and enjoy winter a little longer. I can't do anything about the snow still falling outside, but I can still stitch up some wintery fun inside.

Happy quilting!

Cindy and Belvedere

You can find the PDF pattern HERE.

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and here in Minnesota I needed a fun project to brighten up my day. It's soooo gloomy outside. So I spent the afternoon making a couple of 'Love Bug Mug Rugs'. This was a quick and easy project. I dug thru my stash and found a couple of fat quarters, one pink and one blue. (Just for fun!) I was able to make two mug rugs, along with the binding out of these two fat quarters. I found some scrap fabric for the design that matched my fabrics. This goofy bug reminds me of those fun classroom valentines that I received from my classmates. I wish I would have saved some of those cheesy cards from my childhood. I know that if I dig in my closets I will find Valentine's from when my two boys were in school!

Most of my projects use heat n bond lite. It works

best with my sewing machine. Here you can see I have

been cutting out my pieces and laying them out onto my mug rugs.

I use a dark brown thread to do my blanket stitch around my ironed on

pieces. I use a stitch setting of 2.5 for both length and width.

Feel free to play around with you stitch settings to get a stitch

that you like best.

I'm all ready to make the binding. I cut 2" strips from my fat quarters

to make the binding. Of course I will have to sew a few strips together to have enough

length to go around each mug rug.

I'm all ready to do some hand stitching in front of the TV.

Love Bug Mug Rug is a fun little project to give to your family and friends. I'm sure if you dig thru your fabric stash you will find some fun colors to work with. Mug rugs are also a great way to use up batting scraps from those larger projects. So I hope you have some fun this afternoon and find the time to make up some Valentine mug rugs for the sweeties in your life.

Have a wonderful day!

Happy quilting,

Cindy and Belvedere

Love is in The Air!

Looking for a cute project for Valentine's Day?

These are quick and easy mug rugs that

will be fun to give to your family and friends!

PDF instant downloads are available for these cute designs.

Happy quilting!
Cindy and Belvedere

Snowman Snow Globe

Being pretty excited doesn't even come close to how thrilled I am feeling! I can finally talk about a project that I have been working on for Marcus Fabrics.  I have been privileged to be able to design a special panel. The panel will be available to a quilt shop near you June 2019! Let your favorite quilt shops know if you want it! I am very proud of this sweet design. I was inspired by my childhood memories of playing in the snow and making my first snowman with my dad. What I love about this panel is that you can embellish it with embroidery.... add snowflake buttons to it... take some gold fabric and reverse applique the star for an extra focal point. There's so many opportunities to be creative with this panel. Not only do you get the sweet Snowman Snow Globe but also included are three sweet designs that you can use as mug rugs or use as a quilt labels. The cozy sayings can also be used whole or 'cut up' into strips and sewn into a log cabin block! 

R19 Snowman Snow Globe 

Panel measures 27" x FW

 Many of you have followed along with my Block of the Months quilts over the years. I have combined the Snow Globe panel with Marcus Fabrics Primo Plaids New Blues to create this wonderful Block of the Month Quilt! This Block of the Month quilt is a quilt shop exclusive program... so help spread the word! 

Info for the Snowman Snow Globe Block of the Month Quilt can be found on the Marcus Fabrics website.

~ Snowman Snow Globe Block of the Month Quilt ~

The Primo Plaid fabric adds to the coziness of this quilt. I just love how yummy this quilt feels when it's finished! The perfect quilt to snuggle up with and watch the stars sparkle. So grab a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy the snow a little longer!

Happy quilting,

Cindy and Belvedere

February's Block!

Happy February everyone! The February block for Garden Sunshine is all ready. I have been enjoying seeing everyone's blocks from last month! Seeing the spring birds and birdhouse blocks have been brightening my day around here. Especially since I have been living in a deep freeze over the last week. I'm tired of looking for jumper cables and bundling up. Oh how I am longing for the days of summer right now. Wind chills were a -56 the last couple days. Today's -26 felt like a heat wave! The weathermen are forcasting upper 30's for the weekend, geez, it's time to break out the capri pants and flip flops! No kidding! I hope that where ever you are you are nice and comfy warm. 

At least the weather is perfect for hanging inside and quilting. Last month we had two blocks that were pieced and either embroidered or applique. This month is a pretty easy month, just one block! A variable star block...  I have fabric kits available in my Etsy shop. (Just in case you need some fabrics) They are on sale right now.  I also have yardage of some 1930's prints if you need to add to your stash. For those of you just joining this month, the list of fabrics needed can be found below.

 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. 

Let me show you how I made this month's block. I am using colors #3,#6 and #15 in case you have your fabrics numbered.

Here I have all my fabric pieces ready and all cut out.

To make the center square on point, you sew the green triangles on two opposite sides, iron.

Then I sew the triangles onto the other set of opposite sides and iron.

I like to lay all the block elements out on my cutting board before I start to sew the block together. It helps me minimize mistakes. 

Then I stitch all the sections together to form my variable star block.

~ Variable Star ~

This month's block goes together pretty quickly, gives you time to work on another project. Or if you're like me, I'm making two of these quilts, one applique and one that is embroidered! Hope you are having a great day, remember January'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 FREE PDF download. 

Happy Quilting!

Cindy and Belvedere