August's Block~ Sunshine!

Happy August! Summer sure is flying by isn't it! Just got back from a tiny vacation I took with mom to North Dakota to meet her 'California' cousins and see her last surviving uncle. I was hoping to see some sunflower fields while we were there but, alas, no sunflowers. I remember sunflower fields that would go on for miles back in the 70's, but I guess the farmers aren't growing them much anymore. We enjoyed driving out to the old homestead where my grandparents lived and driving by the old school house where mom went to school. It was a beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in the sky.

This month's block will be challenging. It's the hardest block in the quilt but it is also my favorite block. This block combines traditional piecing, paper piecing and 'applique'. Let me show you how I made this month's block. It is helpful to save all of your leftover bits of white (background) fabric and see if any of it can be used in the paper piecing of the suns rays of sunshine sections. Any strips of yellow that are leftover from the quilt so far work well for the paper piecing also.

To begin with, print up your pattern pieces and gather up your fabric scraps that will be useful for the paper piecing. Remember paper piecing feels totally opposite of normal piecing. If you are unfamiliar with paper piecing I would watch a couple of videos or tutorials before you begin.

Following the directions. Layout your orange and yellow 2 1/2" squares to form a nine patch block and sew them together. Iron and set aside.

·         Cut the foundation/paper pieces out, do not cut directly on the outer section edge. Leave roughly a 1/8 – ¼” edge. We will trim it up later.

·         Position the fabrics right sides together on the blank/unmarked side of the foundation paper with the edge of the fabric ‘past’ the seam line on the foundation paper. (It helps to hold your paper piece and fabric up to the light to see if it lines up)

·         Stitch on the sewing line between the numbers using a very small stitch. (1.5)

·         Continue stitching in numeric order until the sunshine rays section is completed. Trim away the fabric so that it is even with the outside line of the foundation section.

·         Make four sunshine ray sections. Sew them together, this will form the outer rays circle for the sunshine.

·         Remove foundation paper.

·         Sew a 1/8^th stitch around the center and outer edges of the circle.

·         Fold the inner edge under ¼” and press. Position the inner circle on top of the nine patch square and stitch in place using a blind stitch.

I pinned it in place before I did the blind stitch.

On the back side, trim away the excess fabric on the nine-patch block center.

·         Fold the outer edge under ¼” and press. Position the sunshine section on top of the 12 ½” x 12 ½” square and stitch in place using a blind stitch.

I pinned it in place before I did my blind stitch.

The block measures 12 1/2" x 12 1/2" with the seam allowance.

~Sunshine~

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!

This month's block is challenging but worth the effort! Hope you are having a great day, remember July'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

Garden Gnomes

I love garden gnomes. I have a 'miniature' set of them in my flower pots. It got me thinking about the history of garden gnomes. Did you know some of the first terra cotta garden gnomes were produced around 1841 in Germany. Garden gnomes, or gobbi's have been around even earlier than that, as early as the 1600's. Gnomes are a symbol of good luck. I think my love of gnomes comes from my Norwegian ancestory.  I found this folklore about the Norwegian 'gnome';

"The Norwegian "Nisse" is not like his American relative Santa Claus. The Norwegian "Nisse" differs from both Santa Claus and St. Nicholas. In modern Norway we actually have two types of "nisser".
The name  "Nisse" probably derives from St. Nicholas. But "nisser" - which are elves (or gnomes) are old figures which existed long before the birth of Christ. There are several types of "nisser" in Norway. The most known is the "Fjøsnisse" which is a "nisse" who takes care of the animals on the farms. The "Fjøsnisse" is very short and often bearded and lives in a barn or a stable. He wears clothes of wool and often has a red knitted hat. The "Fjøsnisse" often plays tricks on people. Sometimes he will scare people by blowing out the lights in the barn or he will scare the farm dog at night. You can hear the dogs bark! He can become very friendly with the people that live on the farm, but one should never forget to give him a large portion of porridge on Christmas Eve - or else he will play tricks for example move the animals around in the barn, braid the horses' mane and tail, and other tricks like that.........

(http://skygnome.blogspot.com/2012/05/norway-and-gnomes.html)

I also read about 'gnoming', where groups of people rescue garden gnomes from lawns and return them back to the wild. My dad's set of gnomes disappeared years ago, he was heartbroken over their disappearance. Maybe they were victims of a gnoming group. 

I love them so much that I've designed a sweet little gnome applique pattern this spring. It's cute on a tea towel, but it's super cute as a mug rug.

To make a mug rug, I used some leftover fabric and cut a 7 1/2" x 10 1/2" square

one for the front, one for the back and then one piece out of batting. Iron the gnome pieces onto the front and layer it all together. I like to applique thru all of the layers using a buttonhole stitch. Then add on the binding. Sew on some buttons and embroider on the eyes. It's a quick and easy project, makes a wonderful gift paired with a coffee mug.

 I hope that you enjoyed my little bit of folklore and gnome project.

Happy quilting,
Cindy

Playing in the Dirt!

I love planting flowers and this year I have more time to devote to my gardening. My beloved greenhouse that I loved to work at part-time in the spring has closed. After 125 years of business, the family decided to close up shop last fall. I really miss my favorite greenhouse this year. Change is good, right, the closure is forcing me to discover new places to shop for plants. I have visited a few different places searching for my favorites. I was so spoiled. Tomato plants have disappear off the shelves by Memorial Day.... who knew, not I! (I was so used to buying them right off the truck as I unloaded them) I was unable to locate any of my tried and true tomato plants, so I'm trying out some new varieties. Actually I had no choice, I bought the last four packs of tomatoes.  I'm sure they will be wonderful, I love tomatoes. We will be planting our veggie garden on Monday. Last weekend I planted flower pots and started pulling weeds out of the perennial gardens. (It's going to take me all summer to get the perennial gardens looking great again) Let me share a few pictures of my progress so far.

First springtime bloom this year!

My favorite place to drink my coffee....

Gnome garden... this year I planted Irish Moss, Rosemary, Lavender and Chamomile in
my gnome pot. I think it missing something, so later today I'm going to make a gazing ball
using a golf tea, marble and some silver wire.

Herbs in pots, and more Garden Gnomes...

Wilson enjoyed hanging outside with me as I gardened...

I brought my Pineapple plants out for the summer.

I'm too embarrassed to take pictures and show you the state of my perennial gardens. I'll take pictures after I do a bit of weeding. Right now they are a total mess! It's also my birthday this weekend. I'm going to eat some cake and do my favorite things. Spend time with my family, do some gardening, some quilting, drink some coffee on the deck and take Wilson for a walk or two. In celebration of my 29th plus tons of experience birthday, I have a 50% off coupon available in my ETSY shop. Remember to enter in the code BIRTHDAY to get your discount.

Have a wonderful weekend,

A Day Of Gardening...

It has been a day of gardening while my husband strips wallpaper off the mud room walls. My youngest is graduating this year, providing he passes this one class... he's keeping us in suspense... gotta love him. As I plan everything to be in his school colors, I'm hoping he's turning in his late work. Yesterday I got his senior poster done and his Grad announcement/invitations ready to be ordered from Shutterfly. I feel like I'm somewhat organized. Today was the perfect day to relax and garden.

I've always wanted to make a terrarium. This was a lot of fun to put
together. Yup, that's 'Sandy' from Sponge Bob.... I  couldn't
resist putting it in the bowl. It made me chuckle....

Another look at my succulent arrangement.

The view from above....

I also replanted my pineapple plant into a larger pot.

I planted this planter for outside on my deck.  Red and White.... red impatiens and Diamond Frost.
I think it'll look nice once it fills in a bit.

I know it looks sparse right now. I'm hoping it will fill in and look beautiful by
June 29th, when we are having Thomas' open house.

I found this on Pinterest.... this is what I'm hoping my red and white pots will look like....

The only pot that doesn't look goofy is this lovely
Martha Washington Geranium that I got from my
mom and dad on Mother's Day. My dad made the birdhouse
for me many years ago. Many wrens have raised babies in it.

I hope that you are having a wonderful day and finding some time to relax...

Happy quilting  Gardening,