November is here and our year is quickly coming to a close! It will be New Year's Eve before we know it! This time of year just flies by with all of the family gatherings for the Holiday Season, I am including Thanksgiving in this list! It just seems like the weekends fill up with gatherings and holiday preparations.
This month's block features a Catbird. I have seen them on my bird feeders and just thought of them as small crows. When listening to their song online, I know I have heard them too. They have a pretty song. I am featuring them with some fall leaves and a birdhouse gourd. My dad grew birdhouse gourds, and my sister shared a box of them at our retreat. I took a few to paint. I like to paint them to look like pumpkins for the fall. I plan on painting a few to look like snowmen, I may also try painting one to look like a gnome. I think that would be super cute! My dad used to varnish them and drill a hole in them for a birdhouse. They are so pretty when they are varnished. I have one that dad made years ago on display in my coatroom. The gourd birdhouse that dad made me is too precious to put outside. I thought it would be fitting to include a gourd in November's design. Dad has inspired this year's quilt. I have his bird watching book and have been selecting birds out of it for this year's quilt. I also want to say thank you to all of you that have been sewing along with me this year! I have enjoyed seeing your progress. Stay tuned I will be announcing the 2023 Block of the Month quilt soon. It's going to be cute!
So let me show you how I have made this month's block. Go on over to the Website and download the PDF pattern. The links are below towards the end of the posting. Make sure that your email is correct so that the link for the pattern is sent to you. Also, if you don't find it, check your trash or spam folder just in case it ended up in there....
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| Print up the pattern and gather your fabric for your applique block. |
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| Trace the applique shapes onto the paper side of your fusible web. I use Flexifuse. I then group the shapes using the same color with the fabric. |
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| Group the shapes with the fabric colors. Following the manufacturer directions, I then iron the fusible web onto the backside of my fabric. |
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| Cut all of the shapes out. Following the pattern placement sheet, position all the applique shapes on the cream background rectangle. Notice how some of the shapes overlap. Iron everything in place. I used a pencil; you can also use a water soluble or heat pen to mark your embroidery for the branches and gourd vine. |
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| Your block is now all ready to be appliqued. I used dark brown thread and an applique buttonhole stitch to stitch around everything. I used an outline stitch on my machine to stitch the branches. Machine stitching is a big-time saver for me. I also test stitch my buttonhole stitch on a piece of scrap fabric before starting on my applique. |
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| ~ Minnesota Catbird ~ |
Isn't it a fun design? I love it! This would be a cute design on a tea towel too!
Announcement!!!!
I will be releasing the other pieces and parts that you need to complete this quilt throughout this month. Stay tuned! Visit the Quilt Doodle website for the free PDF downloads for the quilt blocks and sashing directions.
Each month will feature an applique design, I have a stash of basic colors that I use for applique, I bet you do too! You will also need a basic cream or white for the applique blocks. You will need 1 3/4 yards of a cream/white background fabric. It can be a tone on tone or neutral print. This cream fabric will also be used for the top and bottom boarders along with some pieced cornerstones. You can also get scrappy with your cream fabrics! The applique blocks will measure 8 1/2" x 10 1/2" (this includes the seam allowance).
It's an adorable quilt when it is done. The finished size of the quilt is 58" x 65" 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 pattern
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 will be ending this year's BOM with some giveaways. Make sure to stayed tuned for that!
I hope that you all have a wonderful day and find some time to do some stitching! I'm off to my sewing room to quilt a scrappy Christmas quilt that I pieced while on retreat.
Happy quilting,
Cindy and Josephine
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