June's Block is Out!

I have been busy trying to do some gardening in between all of the Quilt Market craziness. Do know that my gardening attempts have been feeble.... almost laughable.... I've cheated and bought hanging baskets, cut the hangers off and have plunked them into my urns that I have outside around the house. This is shameful since I had worked for many years for a local greenhouse before they closed down.  I was one of the go to gals on gardening. Something I like to think that I inherited from my grandma. She had such a green thumb. She grew most of her flowers from seed, something that I have not quite mastered. It's not from a lack of trying! I do so much better buying the little four packs of flowers that are ready to bloom. I've been working on my perennial garden in hopes to attract bees and butterflies. It's been a challenge since my flowers also need to be deer resistant. So one of this month's designs is a butterfly. I hope that you have fun and enjoy making your butterfly bright and colorful!

The second design for this month is a little pony. When growing up, my grandparents surprised me with a Shetland pony named Lucky one summer. (Lucky was on loan from my aunt's family) I was seven years old. It was a little girls dream! I had my very own pony to ride and take care of for three weeks. Lucky was a gentle pony and was very patient with me. We rode on  many adventures around the farm. I've been tearing the house apart looking for the one and only picture I have of Lucky and me. But I put it in such a safe spot that I can't even find it! It was an adorable black and white picture of me in my cat eye glasses and cowboy hat on the saddle. I'm sure Lucky was looking forward to me going home so that he could get some rest. I used to sneak down to the 'Chicken Coop' and feed Lucky apples and carrots after dinner. Old George, (my grandparent's farmhand) used to shoo me back to the house and tell me that it's Lucky's bedtime. One of my fondest memories of Old George was riding circles around him, shooting him with a squirt gun. George would just laugh. In the evening George would sit at the dining room table and play solitaire. I would spy on him thru the heating grates in the bedroom floor, he would wave and give me a wink. Those are the childhood days I fondly remember and wouldn't mind reliving them time and time again.

This year's BOM is a very traditional design using 1930's fabrics. These fabrics remind me so much of grandma and her cotton dresses. I hope that you have fun with this pattern. April's pattern has everything you need to complete these two blocks. You will get the directions on how to make the Dresden plate block. Feel free to make all 12 Dresden circles if you would blocks are set on point. The supply list can be found on my website along with this month's directions. April's directions are only FREE this month, then after that they will be found on my Etsy site for a small fee. You can also find the directions in my Craftsy Shop too. So let's get started....

HINT: I have been throwing all of my scraps as I cut 'plates' into this little bin on my cutting table.

Why? It's been very useful for some of my applique pieces. But also, we will use some of these towards the end of the quilt....

Using the blade template cut 1 blade for each fabric.

16 different fabrics total for each block.

You will make 12 blocks all together for this quilt.

Fold the blade in half lengthwise, right sides together and sew a quarter inch seam along the short straight edge (Top edge). This will form the 'point' when you turn it right side out.

Here I have all my blades pressed for one block.

Sew your blades together in pairs, right sides together. Continue to sew blades together along the long side until you form a 16 section plate.

I love the scrappiness of this 'plate'.

I ironed the circle in half, then in half again. And one more time so that I have 'markers' for lining up my circle with my plate section.

I line the seam up with the folded marking and ease my circle and plate section together.

I hold it all together with pins. A lot of pins...

I sew the two together with a 1/4" seam.

The center is the perfect spot for an applique!
HINT: The circle will 'lay down smoother if--- iron the Dresden plate from the back side and iron the circle seam out towards the points.  Then press the front side of the Dresden block.
I don't know what it is, but the block will iron out so much better when done this way.

I set my machine for a 2.5 length and 2.5 width for my blanket stitch.

This is the last set of Dresden plates for this quilt. Next month we will move onto another design element for the quilt. Can't wait to show you!

I have not appliqued my Dresden plates onto my 12 1/2" white squares yet.

Patterns can be found on the Quilt Doodle website and on Crafty (Not until the 1st of the month):

Fat Quarter bundles of 16 fat quarters are available in my Etsy store to get you started.

Tag me on Instagram with your photos #quiltdoodledesignsBOM2017 #quiltdoodledesigns @quiltdoodles
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's butterflies and ponies.

My favorite picture of grandma and I, taken in front of her flower garden.

          Let’s have some quilty fun!
Cindy

May's Block are Out!

May is my favorite month,  it's my birthday month! Growing up my birthday was extra special because I got to share my birthday month with grandma. Our special days were only a day apart! I didn't always live close to my grandparents. Not until I was 15 did we live close enough to see them for every holiday and birthdays. Before that we lived pretty far away and would visit them in the summer for three weeks and they would come visit us for Christmas. So on birthdays we usually got a special package in the mail and a phone call from grandma and grandpa. Mom and dad always made our birthdays pretty special growing up. There was always cake, made from scratch cake! Yum!!! Quite often there would be an angel food cake too...

I found some fun pictures, dad lighting my candles for what I

think is my 6th birthday. Love the picture of mom and I and the picture

of my grandparents...

Mom made two cakes for my 13th birthday... my awkward teenage years... ugh...

When Mark and I were first married, we were lucky enough to live seven miles away from my grandparents. I remember the first year we were married I drove out to the farm to visit my grandparents and they had a beautiful lilac bush blooming. I never knew it was a lilac bush because I was never at the farm growing up when it bloomed. (If I was, I don't ever remember it blooming) Anyway, I love lilacs! They smell glorious! I remember asking grandma if I could pick a couple to take home. Grandma filled my truck with lilacs, I had enough lilacs for a vase for every room in my house! Oh my goodness, it smelled so good! I'm not sure what Mark thought, but I loved it! Whenever my lilacs bloom, I think about that day picking lilacs with grandma.

This year's BOM is a very traditional design using 1930's fabrics. These fabrics remind me so much of grandma and her cotton dresses. I hope that you have fun with this pattern. May's pattern has everything you need to complete these two blocks. You will get the directions on how to make the Dresden plate block. We are almost done with making the Dresden Plates.  There's still time if you would like to join the fun. The supply list can be found on my website along with this month's directions. May's directions are only FREE this month, then after that they will be found on my Etsy site for a small fee. You can also find the directions in my Craftsy Shop too. So let's get started....

Using the blade template cut 1 blade for each fabric.

16 different fabrics total for each block.

You will make 12 blocks all together for this quilt.

Fold the blade in half lengthwise, right sides together and sew a quarter inch seam along the short straight edge (Top edge). This will form the 'point' when you turn it right side out.

Here I have all my blades pressed for one block.

Sew your blades together in pairs, right sides together. Continue to sew blades together along the long side until you form a 16 section plate.

I love the scrappiness of this 'plate'.

I ironed the circle in half, then in half again. And one more time so that I have 'markers' for lining up my circle with my plate section.

I line the seam up with the folded marking and ease my circle and plate section together.

I hold it all together with pins. A lot of pins...

I sew the two together with a 1/4" seam.

The center is the perfect spot for an applique!
HINT: The circle will 'lay down smoother if--- iron the Dresden plate from the back side and iron the circle seam out towards the points.  Then press the front side of the Dresden block.
I don't know what it is, but the block will iron out so much better when done this way.

I have started sewing my Dresden plates onto my white squares.

I have them 'on point'. I will be doing a blog posting explaining this in

more detail in the coming days.

After you make your Dresden circle for this month, then trace your design pieces for the Angel food cake and lilacs onto your heat n bond. Then iron the shapes onto the wrong side of your fabrics and cut the pieces out. Iron them onto the center circle. After that, it's the time to sew around everything using a small button hole stitch.

I set my machine for a 2.5 length and 2.5 width for my blanket stitch.

Lilacs

Angel Food Cake

Patterns can be found on the Quilt Doodle website and on Craftsy (Not until the 1st of the month):

Fat Quarter bundles of 16 fat quarters are available in my Etsy store to get you started.

Tag me on Instagram with your photos #quiltdoodledesignsBOM2017 #quiltdoodledesigns @quiltdoodles
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's angel food cake and lilacs. After writing so much about cake, I am now craving angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream. I think I'll go and make one for dessert for Mark and I. I'm going to cheat today and use a cake mix.

          Let’s have some quilty fun!

Cindy

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Grandma's Mixing Bowl and a Purple Cow...

First I must apologize for the delay of this month's blocks. If you follow me on Instagram, I'm sure you know that I have the mother of all colds. I haven't been this sick in years. I find it funny because working at a school, I was swimming in a petri dish and was hardly ever sick. Now that I no longer am working at school, I catch the crud from my hubby and I've been hacking the last two weeks. I have been living on cough drops and chicken soup. I visited mom a couple days ago and I instantly felt better when she made me tomato soup and grilled cheese, and she even cut my sandwich in triangles. I felt instantly five again and it was like being wrapped up in my favorite blankie. Thank you mom! Now onto this month's blocks... grandma's mixing bowl and a purple cow! Visiting my grandparent's farm, mom and grandma spent a lot of time in the kitchen whipping all sorts of yummy recipes. There was always a plate of fresh baked cookies on the counter, a pot of coffee brewing and loaves of fresh bread rising for dinner. Grandma's kitchen always smelled so good.

Several years ago we put together a family cookbook, here's grandma's bread recipe from our cookbook. The sweet little toddler in the picture is my mom.

I decided to make a purple cow... why not! My grandparents had dairy cows when my mom was young. Mom talks about milking cows and 4-H. When I was growing up, grandpa no longer raised cows but I had to have a cow on my quilt. Purple cows from what remembered was a grape soda float. But then there was also this fun saying too that I remember ...

I never saw a Purple Cow,
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.

Then there's also cow tails, that yummy rope of caramel that I used to buy from the five and dime when I got to go to town with grandma and grandpa. I used to love buying cow tails!

This year's BOM is a very traditional design using 1930's fabrics. These fabrics remind me so much of grandma and her cotton dresses. I hope that you have fun with this pattern. April's pattern has everything you need to complete these two blocks. You will get the directions on how to make the Dresden plate block. Feel free to make all 12 Dresden circles if you would blocks are set on point. The supply list can be found on my website along with this month's directions. April's directions are only FREE this month, then after that they will be found on my Etsy site for a small fee. You can also find the directions in my Craftsy Shop too. So let's get started....

HINT: I have been throwing all of my scraps as I cut 'plates' into this little bin on my cutting table.

Why? It's been very useful for some of my applique pieces. But also, we will use some of these towards the end of the quilt....

Using the blade template cut 1 blade for each fabric.

16 different fabrics total for each block.

You will make 12 blocks all together for this quilt.

Fold the blade in half lengthwise, right sides together and sew a quarter inch seam along the short straight edge (Top edge). This will form the 'point' when you turn it right side out.

Here I have all my blades pressed for one block.

Sew your blades together in pairs, right sides together. Continue to sew blades together along the long side until you form a 16 section plate.

I love the scrappiness of this 'plate'.

I ironed the circle in half, then in half again. And one more time so that I have 'markers' for lining up my circle with my plate section.

I line the seam up with the folded marking and ease my circle and plate section together.

I hold it all together with pins. A lot of pins...

I sew the two together with a 1/4" seam.

The center is the perfect spot for an applique!
HINT: The circle will 'lay down smoother if--- iron the Dresden plate from the back side and iron the circle seam out towards the points.  Then press the front side of the Dresden block.
I don't know what it is, but the block will iron out so much better when done this way.

Tracing all of my shapes onto my heat n bond for iron on applique.

Here my shapes are all cut out and ready to be ironed on the the circle centers.

All ready to machine applique...

I set my machine for a 2.5 length and 2.5 width for my blanket stitch.

Grandma's mixing bowl block

Purple Cow Block

I have not appliqued my Dresden plates onto my 12 1/2" white squares yet.

Patterns can be found on the Quilt Doodle website and on Craftsy (Not until the 1st of the month):

Fat Quarter bundles of 16 fat quarters are available in my Etsy store to get you started.

Tag me on Instagram with your photos #quiltdoodledesignsBOM2017 #quiltdoodledesigns @quiltdoodles
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's bowls and cows.

My favorite picture of grandma and I, taken in front of her flower garden.

          Let’s have some quilty fun!

Cindy

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