Cutting a Panel - Part 2

 Today's project is super easy! Great for a beginner... There's no seams, just some cutting. Once I slice into a panel, the next few cuts seem to come easier. Believe me, I still measure once then measure twice. But it's a little easier. So, grab a panel, I'm using my Snowfolks panel. And fussy cut a small design out, I am using the snowfolks snowman who is ice fishing. Talking about ice fishing, this particular design was inspired by my sons who go ice fishing during the winter up north, way up north in the Lake of the Woods area. Oh, don't worry about how cold it is, they are pretty spoiled and spend their time in an ice castle watching football, playing cards, eating smoked ribs. Okay back to this fun, quick project... which would work with my Snowfolks panel or even my Birds and Bees panel which will be in stores in October! Its also a great way to use up scrap batting and fabric left over from other Snowfolks projects. 

I fussy cut my ice fishing snowman and I'm using a nine patch block I made a few weeks ago.

Make a quilt sandwich with you batting, backing (my nine patch) and the snowman block, then quilt as desired... It's a good project for practicing your free motion quilting. When you are done, square your block up using a ruler and rotary cutter.

Bind your mini quilt as desired.

Ta-da! Super cute mini quilt to keep or give as a gift. A perfect little quilt to decorate your home with. Use it as a candle mat, mug rug whatever your heart desires.

I've got one more project to show you, using my snowfolks panel. 

I hope you have a great day and find some time to cut a panel apart and make some quick mini quilts!

Happy quilting,

Cindy and Josephine

Guess Who's One!

Well, we had a special birthday over the weekend. Someone special turned one years old. Our sweet Belvedere is now one... I even baked him a birthday pup cake. My hubby just shook his head and smiled. Yes, I have turned into the crazy dog lady in my neighborhood... I admit it. Belvedere has me totally wrapped around his little paw, and he knows it.  Now I didn't have the full blown puppy birthday party with puppy party hats... so I'm not totally off the edge or lost the cheese off my cracker... I have to admit it was fun just making a homemade muffin for my big ol' sloppy basset hound. I found the recipe HERE. I did leave the vanilla out, I just didn't think Belvedere would really mind. I also cut the recipe in half. He sure loved the treat but wasn't too sure about the birthday candle.

 I also had fun this weekend making a new design that features a sweet little basset hound going on a truck ride. He's on his way to the 4th of July parade! I have two versions of this pattern, one is on a striped tea towel and the other is an adorable mini quilt. It was a fun project to whip up to decorate for the 4th of July. I'm planning on leaving mine up... it's a cute patriotic design. I just love decorating with seasonal items. So here is how I made this summertime design featuring Belvedere the basset hound...

I was super blessed with a bundle of wool from Marcus Fabrics. I thought some of the colors would be perfect for this project. You don't have to use wool for these designs, you can also use fabrics from your stash! I traced the design elements onto my Wonder Under. I've trace two of everything because I am working on two projects.

I cut all the pieces out using my applique scissors from OLFA. Let me just say, my boys better leave these scissors alone! You all know what I mean.... the last thing I want this baby to cut is some insulation or oily old twine in the garage. These scissors are super sharp and perfect for cutting applique designs.

I have layered all my pieces referring to the pattern placement on the pattern. Notice how the flag pieces over lap. (I laided the white piece first, then the red strips, blue piece and gold flag pole) I carefully ironed everything into place.

Because I am working with wool, I decided to do my stitching with Lana Wool from Aurifil. But you can you a dark brown thread too. It's up to you.

I like to machine stitch my buttonhole stitch instead of hand stitching with wool. I'm not a great hand stitcher and am still practicing. But this can certainly be a hand stitch wool project.

I embroidered Belvedere's face using Valdini 12 wt pearl cotton.

~Parade Day!~

I have ~Parade Day~ on display in my mud room off the entryway. I don't always put tea towels on display in the kitchen. I like to tuck them here and there around my home. Draped out of a basket, used as a table runner or as shown here, draped over the door of my pie safe.

I also decided to put together a mini quilt featuring the same design that is on the tea towel. I also used wool for my applique pieces but you could use fabric too. The flag design overlaps a little into the border. I think it looks cute so I left it. 

I machine appliqued around all of the pieces before I layered it with the batting and backing. 

My mini quilt is on display on a side table in my dining room. I added my basset hound salt and pepper shakers to the display for an added touch. If you look closely at my mini quilt you can see that I have quilted stars along with my meandering stitches. I also used yo-yo's for the truck's tires. I like the added dimension that the yo-yo's add to the design.

~ I Woof the USA! ~

Both designs are currently available in my Etsy shop as instant downloads. The tea towel design is called 'Parade Day' and the mini quilt is called 'I Woof the USA!'.

I hope that you enjoy these designs as much as I have making them!

Happy quilting,

Cindy and Belvedere

An Adorable Fox!

I've been having fun working on some projects using my applique designs on something other than tea towels. So today I'm going to share with you a fun project! A super easy project! An insulated pot holder! Now this is not your loop de loop type of pot holder like we made at girl scout camp or home ec class.... although those are cute too. No, this is an adorable fox pot holder that would be adorable to have for when you go camping or up north to the cabin. It would be a sweet hostess gift for your cabin loving friends too! My grandma used to have cute pot holders on display in her kitchen hanging on a hooks near her stove. She didn't usually use them, they were for decoration because they were so adorable. What happened to those days? Let's put some potholders on display again just because they are cute! 

I used this years Minnesota Shop Hop fabrics. I had leftover pieces left in my layer cake that I bought. I picked out two 10" squares for the front and back of my potholder. Then I traced my fox pieces out onto my heat n bond lite and ironed them onto my fabric pieces for my design. Cut them out and ironed them onto the front square for my potholder. I ironed my design on at an angle so when the potholder hangs from the corner loop the design will be 'upright'. I then layered my backing, batting and front together to make a batting sandwich. I used Insul-Bright Needlepunched Insulated Lining for my 'batting' for my quilted Garden Visitor potholder. You can find Insul-Bright at most quilt shops, Walmart, Connecting Threads etc.

Using brown thread and my machine's buttonhole stitch, I machine applique around the design, sewing through all three layers. A quick way to quilt your potholder!

I've got all the applique done in this picture. I'm ready to sew on the binding.

I sewed on the binding by machine and added a loop for hanging. If you leave the loop off, it makes a really cute trivit. (Although I would never want to put a hot pot on it!)

Now onto the fun part! Let's sew on the buttons for the fox's eye's and nose. I also add buttons for the flowers center, yo-yo's would also look cute! I couldn't just stop there, I added a yo-yo to the hanging loop.

I love how my potholder turned out! I don't think I can give it away, it's mine!

I hope that you take some time to make some potholders. Have some fun! It's a great way to use up some leftover pieces of fabrics from those bigger projects. My quick potholder tutorial would work with any of my tea towel designs. Let's display cute potholders again like our grandma's did!

Happy quilting!

Cindy

Monkeyshine!

This has got to be one of my favorite projects that I worked on this winter. It gave me the giggles as I sewed along. I was giddy with excitement at times too, my family thought I had finally lost it. The truth is, I love sock monkeys... don't know why, just do. It was no surprise that when I asked for testers, a ton of you jumped right in with both feet with enthusiasm. I am thrilled with the results, so I thought I would share the photos that they sent me on their progress as they tested the quilt....

Amy's Monkeyshine quilt pieces all ready to sew and applique

Monkey block all done! Beautiful stitching!

Love the bright colors that Amy used! So cheerful!

Cathy's finished quilt top. Love it!!!

Gale's finished Monkeyshines quilt, love it with pink too!

Here is Gale's quilt while she was working on it...

A sneak peek at the back... I really love the pieced back. I think this is
a great idea. Her label is nicely done too! There sure is a lucky little one out there!

Heidi's striped fabric and a monkey block... great fabric!

Heidi's applique is very nicely done, changing thread colors takes time
but is certainly worth the effort.

Love the quilt paired with a sock monkey, this would be a great gift idea!

Love this picture from Heidi, it just gave me the giggles!

Karen's quilt top turned out great!

Here's a close-up of one of Karen's blocks. Beautiful job with
the buttonhole stitch... love it!

Close-up of Rose's block. Great fabrics!

Rose's finished quilt top...

I owe these generous quilters a huge THANK YOU for their hard work and wonderful craftsmanship. If you are looking for a fun quilt to make for a little one, this is a good one! Use fabric from your stash or buy special fabric, this is a great pattern. I know I had fun making it and these ladies enjoyed the pattern too! A PDF copy of this pattern can be found on Etsy and also on Craftsy.

Happy quilting!

Source: Monkeyshines Quilt #125 via Quilt Doodle on Craftsy

August's Giveaway!

I can believe that it's already August! Wow the summer is sure flying by! I hope that you are still having fun with the block of the month club so far. I know that for many of you last month's block was a challenge. If you really hate paper piecing and haven't gotten your block done yet, I'm giving you permission to skip doing this block and substitute it with a different block. But I will encourage you to give last month's block a try, remember, I'm only an email away! I promise it's the only paper pieced block in the whole quilt.... 

Keep posting those August Log Cabin blocks to the Flickr Group! Seeing everyone's progress on the quilt is so much fun.  I have a wonderful giveaway for this month's block. Ellen from Clever Craft Tools has sent me a 'Grip and Stitch' quilting tool to give away! What a generous donation!  I got a set too. Can't wait  to try them  out! They look easy to use and what I like, no gloves! Remember you need to post your blocks to the flickr group for a chance to win! I will be picking a winner on September 1st! Keep posting your blocks!

Several videos can be viewed here to check out this awesome product.

Along with the Grip and Stitch I am also including a baggie of fabric swatches that I received in the mail. They are fun and bright colors and would be fun to use in any scrappy quilt project.

Bright and colorful!

Here are some of this month's 'Log Cabin Blocks'

Happy Quilting!