Baby Bear Trio!

 I know, I know..... more bears. This is the last of my bear designs. I just needed to make a design with three baby bears playing in the woods. They could be playing peek a boo, or hiding from their mama. Last year when I saw this trio, they were crossing the road hubby and I were taking to go home from a vacation at the lake in Northern Minnesota. We saw mama bear cross the road first and then her babies, one by one. I was so excited I couldn't hold onto my phone right to take a picture! Hubby was keeping a close eye on the mama bear who was standing on her hind legs in the road ditch next to us. These bears were mere feet away from our vehicle and they appear cuter when you're in the safety of your car and not out on a walk. I didn't get a picture, the bears disappeared into the woods by the time I got my phone ready to take a picture. My phone was very glitchy since it had also gone for a swim in the lake earlier in the week and then spent the rest of our vacation sitting in a container of rice.

To make this design, you first will have to trace all of your pieces onto the paper side of your fusible web, I'm using Flexifuse so that I can use my printer to print the shapes onto the paper side, it's a great time saver. I then roughly cut the shapes out and iron these onto the wrong side of the fabric. Then I cut all of the pieces out as pictured above.

There's a little tricky bit on the bear that is climbing the tree. When you lay the bears body onto the towel, the bears little paws will wrap around the top of the tree and the remaining sections of the bear's body will tuck behind the tree.

Following the page layout sheet, I position all of the pieces onto my towel and then press everything in place with a hot iron.

Working black on black is never easy,  especially at my age. So a little trick I use is I draw along the edge of the top shape with a white pencil. This particular pencil line will disappear with a hot iron. 

Drawing along the edges of the bear's head and nose really makes a difference when it come to stitching. It makes it so much easier to sew the buttonhole stitch along all the raw edges, especially where it's dark fabric on dark fabric.

I did my stitching using a dark brown thread using a buttonhole stitch that is on  my machine.

~ Woodland Trio ~

To finish this design, I embroidered the bear's eyes using the French knot stitch. I used a black pearl cotton for my stitching, Three strands of DMC floss would work just as well. This would be a cute design made into a pillow or collect all of my bear and cabin designs and turn this fun design into a lap sized quilt. 

I hope that you enjoy this new design. It is available on the Quilt Doodle Website and also in my Etsy store, or a quilt store near you!

Hope you have a great day!

Happy quilting,

Cindy and Belvedere

Papa Bear

 Many of you know that I am in love with bears. I saw another bear just recently when hubby and I were on a trip up north in July. We were driving home on a rural road after visiting a shop that sold wild rice. I always try to pick up a pound or two when ever we are in Northern Minnesota. The bear was quite some distance away, but still a thrill to see! He had disappeared back into the woods by the time we were close enough to see him. While doodling the other day, I came up with this fun design of papa bear in a canoe. He’s al ready to go out and do some fishing. Let me show you how I appliqued this design onto a towel.

Trace all of the Papa Bear shapes onto the paper side of your fusible web. I like to use Flexifuse fusible web just because I can run it thru my printer instead of tracing all of my shapes. I like to save time where I can. After all of your pieces are traced, iron them onto the wrong side of your fabrics following the manufacturers directions.

The cut all of your shapes, then following the layout sheet, position everything onto your towel.

There's a little trick with the bear's hat. The hat tucks behind the bears ears, but over his forehead.

Here I have everything in place and all ironed in place. I'm now ready to stitch around everything.

~ Papa Bear ~

To finish this design, I embroidered the fishing line and hook using a running stitch. To make the bear's eyes and buttons on his pockets, I stitched French knots. I used a black pearl cotton for my stitching, Three strands of DMC floss would work just as well. This would be a cute design made into a pillow or collect all of my bear and cabin designs and turn this fun design into a lap sized quilt. 

I hope that you enjoy this new design. It is available on the Quilt Doodle Website and also in my Etsy store, or a quilt store near you!

Hope you have a great day!

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

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

Embroidery 101-4

I hope that you are having fun experimenting with different embroidery stitches. Today I’m going to show you a couple of stitch techniques that can be used to color in large spaces with stitches. It’s a great way to add texture and detail to your panel. Today I am working on my Woodland getaway panel from Marcus Fabrics.

I will be stitching on the tent and camper sections of the panel. If you are doing the Woodland Getaway BOM then these are extra pieces that you can have fun and experiment with. I will being showing you how I use a ‘long-short’ stitch and a diagonal filling stitch. So grab a comfy chair, pop in a favorite movie and let’s get stitching.....

I am using the long short stitch to fill in the main body of the tent. I am using a variegated #12  Valdani pearl cotton. I also used the same thread for a satin stitch that I did for the flaps of the tent. I used a tweed #12 thread for the ‘inside’ of the tent.

I love the texture this stitch added to the tent design. My tent reminds me of camping with my younger son when he was in Boy Scouts. I am not a good camper and didn’t sleep a wink in our canvas tent. I need hard sides and a door that closes to be a good camper.... 

Now I can certainly camp in this adorable camper.
To embroider the curtains of my camper I am using a variation of the diagonal filling stitch. Instead of working on the diagonal, I am stitching straight on with the design. I start by stitching lines evenly spaced horizontally in the design.

I then stitch lines vertically on the design. Once all of my lines are done I then secure where the lines intersect with a little seed stitch.

I stitch  up and down the rows.

Here the section is completed. To finish the curtain off, I added a back stitch along the bottom of the curtain.

I hope that you try out the long-short stitch and the diagonal fill in stitch. I have Valdani thread kits for the Woodland Getaway panel available in my Etsy Shop and also on the website along with the Woodland Getaway panel. My next posting will be for the next installment of the Grandma’s Attic BOM and then I’ll post some more panel fun. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and find some time to relax and do some stitching.

Happy stitching,

Cindy & Belvedere