December's Block!

OMG.... it's December.... and it seems Christmas is right around the corner! Now... I have been agonizing over a dilemma the last couple months... While going over my notes and recapping the blocks that we have done so far, I realize that I have forgotten TWO blocks.... Since I am the captain of this ship, I have made the decision to extend this BOM into 2020 for the month of January and then start a new BOM project in February. I thought it would be unfair to spring two additional blocks on you with the holidays just around the corner! So with that, let's celebrate that the fun is extended one more month! Woot Woot! This month's block is an easy one. It is called Christmas Gift.

I used the cream background fabric, red and green Aunt Grace 1930's fabrics. Following the directions cut all of your block pieces out.

Draw a diagonal line corner to corner on 6 background 3 ½” squares. • With right sides together pair cream 3 ½” square and red 3 ½” square. Sew from corner to corner on drawn line. 

Trim away excess fabric. Press. This forms a triangle square. Make 6 total.

 Sew the green, red and white 3 ½” x 3 ½” squares to form a nine patch block.

Sew the block together.

~ Christmas Present ~

The monthly FREE pattern is 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 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 Garden Sunshine BOM 2019) and tag me or post them on Instagram tag Quilt Doodle Designs. I love to see everyone's progress as we stitch along together. 

As a reminder... if someone asks for the PDF or where it is on the Facebook group, please do not post the PDF directly onto the site. I appreciate you referring them to my website or to the blog. Thank you!

 Hope you are having a great day, remember November'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 as a FREE PDF download. 

Happy Quilting!

Cindy and Belvedere

September's Block for the Garden Sunshine BOM

Happy September! The leaves are just starting to change here in Minnesota. The evenings are getting cooler and I'm enjoying having the windows open to let the cool breeze in. It's hard to believe that summer is over and it's Labor Day Weekend. All of the kiddos are back to school on Tuesday. I'll enjoy telling the time by when the school buses drive by my house again. It's also the last weekend of the Minnesota State Fair. I think hubby and I are going to try to fit that in this weekend. I'm looking forward to my pork chop on a stick and some ooey gooey cheese curds and a bucket of Sweet Martha's Cookies. A friend of mine won a few ribbons for her quilts. I'm thrilled for her and want to go see them. One of them I saw while it was in process so it'll be fun to see it finished with it's blue ribbon! Sew exciting!!

This month's block will be easy compared to last month's sunshine block. It's a pieced block named 'Square and a Half'. It's a traditional block and reminds me on a scrappy quilt I might have seen on one of grandma's beds. I made my block purple, with a white background and accents of yellow and green with a red star. You can have fun with it and make it any color.

These are the fabrics I'm using for my block this month.

Following the directions on the pattern sheet cut all of your pieces out. Please note- in the directions I'm having you cut white rectangles instead of the trapezoid shape I've got and purple squares. So please disregard what is pictured for those pieces. I decided to use a different technique for those shapes that would be easier to achieve for the beginner quilter.

 It is helpful to lay the pieces out as they will be sewn in the block while stitching along.

 • Sew red triangle C and yellow triangle C together along the right angle side, right side sides together. Press. Make 4. 

• Sew red triangle C and purple triangle C together along the right angle side, right sides together. Press. Make 4.

• Sew the C pieced triangles together to form an hour glass block.

• Following the diagram and picture of the block, sew the D and pieced C (hour glass blocks) together to form the center star of the block.

• Sew the purple triangle A and green triangle A along the diagonal edge right sides together. Press. • Draw a diagonal line corner to corner on the ‘A’ squares. Then line up the A square and B rectangle  right sides together and sew corner to corner on the line. Trim away the excess fabric. Press. Repeat on the other end to form an A/B rectangle. Then sew the remainder of the block together. Finished size is 12 1/2" x 12 1/2" (with seam allowance).

~Square and a Half~

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 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 Garden Sunshine BOM 2019) and tag me or post them on Instagram tag Quilt Doodle Designs. I love to see everyone's progress as we stitch along together. 

As a reminder... if someone asks for the PDF or where it is on the Facebook group, please do not post the PDF directly onto the site. I appreciate you referring them to my website or to the blog. Thank you!

 Hope you are having a great day, remember August'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 as a FREE PDF download. 

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

Garden Sunshine Facebook Group!

It has been fun to see the blocks that have been made so far for this years BOM. I have decided to make a Facebook group for us so that we can share our progress. This group is meant to be a positive space where we can support each other while we work on this years 'Garden Sunshine' quilt. I am hoping that we can inspire each other with our progress. I am looking forward to seeing everyone's blocks each month. When I first started sharing a BOM I used to set up a Flicker Group. Over the years this site has been difficult to manage, especially when I loose or forget my password, or it gets hacked into etc. I miss sharing our progress so thought I would give a Facebook group a try. You can find the Facebook Group for 'Garden Sunshine' BOM 2019 HERE

I have also been asked about a supply list... here it is again. Remember this is merely a guide... if you are using 1930's fabrics or fabrics from your stash, you will need two yellows.... hint..... hint.... there's a 'beehive' block in the quilt..... but this is only a guide, remember no quilt police will come and get after you if you use different colors. I've been asked if it can be done all in reds or blues... I don't see why not.... I create these designs to inspire you... your finish quilts also inspire me! I love to see my designs interpreted in different fabrics and colors.

I've also given you the freedom to either applique or embroider the designs.  I'm doing one of each... 

I hope that I was able to answer a few questions. Looking forward to seeing everyone's blocks as they get them done.

Happy quilting!

Cindy and Belvedere

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