Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope that you have a wonderful time with your family and friends. As I gather with my family over the next few days, I hope that I am a blessing to others as I reflect on all of the things I am thankful for. Now I'm off to look for a piece of pumpkin pie and some turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Cindy and Belvedere

Holiday Savings!

Holiday savings just for you to help you get those Christmas projects done!

Remember this is in my ETSY shop only. No coupon code is needed!

Minnesota Winter Wonderland QAL - March

March is finally here! Some of our biggest snowstorms have been in March. Just when you think winter could almost be over we get slammed with a huge snowstorm. When my kids were small, I loved those snowstorm days. I made hot cocoa and popped popcorn. We'd watch Disney movies and just hang out. Now when a big ol' storm hits, we text each other and ask 'how much snow do you have'. This month we will be working on a big pine tree. It'll look great next to the cabin that we made last month. The fun thing about this quilt is you can choose to do it scrappy or not scrappy, I'm doing a little of both. It's a great project to use up some of your stash. This month we will work on a block that I have named 'Big Tree'. A cozy cabin needs a big tree to shade it. The block is the same size as the Cozy Cabin block. One thing to keep in mind is to do the background the same or similar fabrics as you did for your Cozy Cabin block. This will also be true with the blocks for May and September. (We will get back to making 'strips' next month.) 

Here are my fabrics all cut and ready to go.

To form the triangle square blocks I sew corner to corner...

My stack of triangle squares, sewn... but I need to trim the extra fabric and iron.

I find it helpful to have a large work space to lay this block out.

Everything's in place and ready to be sewn.

All of my 2 1/2" squares are sewn, now just to add the bottom 2 1/2" strip.

'Big Tree'

Quilt Doodle BOM 2014 Quilt Layout

 If you blog about it, please email me a link so that I can attach it to the Pinterest Board I have going for the Minnesota Winter Wonderland QAL. I hope you have fun with this section of the  quilt. It can easily be done in a weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's trees! You can post photos on Instagram and tag @quiltdoodledesigns or #quiltdoodledesignsqal

It'll be fun to see everyone's blocks! If you haven't joined in on the fun for this years QAL you can still join the party. All you need to do is purchase the Minnesota Winter Wonderland pattern. It can be found in my Etsy shop and also on the Quilt Doodle Designs website.  We will work on the next section on April 14th.

Happy Quilting,

Cindy and Belvedere

February's Section Minnesota Winter Wonderland QAL

February is here! I hope that you had fun with the Chilly Silly Snowman row.  The fun thing about this quilt is you can choose to do it scrappy or not scrappy, I'm doing a little of both. It's a great project to use up some of your stash.  This month we will work on a block that I have named 'Cozy Cabin'. Imagine, sitting in a nice cozy cabin with the fireplace going.... some chocolate, a good book, maybe a little glass of 'something, something'.... sounds perfect doesn't it. I love spending time at a cabin. It's so peaceful. 

I've added a couple of tone on tone fabrics with the
background blue I have picked out.

Here are all of the pieces and parts cut out for the Cozy Cabin block.

Here I am sewing corner to corner to form the triangle square 2 1/2" blocks

It took me an afternoon to complete this block, from
start to finish.

Trim away the excess and iron...

After you piece the triangle square blocks and rectangle square blocks, lay them out
to form the Cozy Cabin block. Take it slow to sew all of the pieces together
making sure to match up seams as you go. It's important to stay
consistent with your 1/4 inch seam allowance from the start to finish of your quilt.

The squares are all sewn together... I made my cabin
scrappy, but you can choose to make it all in the same brown.

Add the 2 1/2" x 22 1/2" cream/white strip along
the bottom of the block. Iron.

Cozy Cabin
(The snowflakes in the picture represent the cream~
white yo-yo's that will be added later on, I have a thing for yo-yo's!)

Minnesota Winter Wonderland Quilt Layout

 If you blog about it, please email me a link so that I can attach it to the Pinterest Board I have going for the QAL. I hope you have fun with this section of the quilt. It can easily be done in a weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's Cozy Cabins! We will work on the next section March 10th. It's not too late to join in on the fun with this QAL. The pattern can be found on the Quilt Doodle Website and also in my Etsy shop. Hope you can join us as we quilt along!

Happy Quilting,

Cindy and Belvedere

Bed for New Puppy...

Since the loss of our sweet Wilson last winter, the house has been not quite the same. I miss our goofy boy and Maddie could use a companion too. Although I know that we can't replace Wilson, our family has gotten used to being a two dog family.  We miss juggling two dogs for our morning walks. I miss Wilson talking to me like Scooby doo when he needed something. Our home just isn't quite the same. So.....we have decided to get a new puppy and have been on a waiting list for a basset hound since April. Our family has been waiting patiently for a new puppy to join our family. I've become a bit of a stalker with the breeders website... looking for birth announcements and pictures. We hope to be able to pick out our newest family member in a couple of weeks and a new four legged friend will join our family mid August. I feel like an expectant mommy and have been thinking about our new little puppy constantly. To pass the time I've been buying basset hound memorabilia, I have a new basset hound mommy mug, a couple sets of salt and pepper shakers and even a cookie jar. My husband just smiles. Oh yeah, hubby got a basset hound themed t-shirt for his birthday. We've even picked out names.... Belvedere, being at the top of the name list. My hubby likes the idea of yelling...." Belvedere... come here boy...." Remember the looney toons cartoon.... Why a basset hound? Well, my hubby has always been fond of them and it's his turn to choose since I picked out (rescued) the last two family dogs. Basset Hounds are adorable with their floppy ears and wrinkles. I am charmed by their long ears, sad eyes and wrinkles... this is going to be one spoiled rotten puppy. (Or well loved...)

To pass the time I even made a doggy bed for the new puppy. It was super easy to do and it turned out adorable! All it took was an old pillow, a charm pack and a couple of accent fabrics... and just a free afternoon. I put a spin on a burrito pillowcase to make the dog bed.

This is the perfect fabric charm pack for my

pillowcase - dog bed...

These are my accent colors... the dark is the trim and the

light color is the cuff...

Sew the 5" charm pack squares together, remember to mix the fabrics up a bit...

I made a 5 square by 8 square rectangle...

Lay the 1/3 yard cuff fabric out right side up.

Then lay a 2" strip wof (folded in half and ironed) on top...

Lay your rectangle sheet on top right sides and 'long' side together.

Pin in place....

Trim excess cuff and trim fabric....

Tightly roll up the body of the pillowcase.

(Pieced rectangle)

Fold the cuff up around the rolled up 'body' and pin in place

matching up the edge.

Sew a 1/4" seam.... 

Turn your pillowcase inside out...

Iron.

With wrong sides together sew the side and bottom seam

of the pillowcase.

Turn inside out and then sew a 3/8" seam along the side

and bottom of pillowcase. Turn right side out, iron.

You're done!!!

"This isn't quite big enough for me... are you making another one?"

The perfect little dog bed... waiting for a perfect little puppy...

Its a great way to repurpose an old pillowcase and this way the pillow and doggie themed pillowcase are washable. It is a puppy after all. A sweet little hound dog... 

A pdf copy of this adorable pet bed, pillowcase can be found in my Etsy shop and also in my Craftsy shop. This is a great project for a beginner or young quilter. A really fun project for the experienced quilter too! Now I'm off to check the breeder's website and do some more nesting... The puppies are about 3 weeks old now and completely adorable!

Happy Quilting,

Cindy

Connecting Threads...

Here are a few of my patterns available for purchase
as instant PDF downloads.

I'm thrilled to announce that Quilt Doodle Designs can now be purchased on the Connecting Threads website. I'm so excited, it's time to celebrate  and indulge with a Cafe Latte and a piece of cake! Connecting Threads has been around for as long as I remember and I always look forward to getting their catalog in my mailbox. Their fabrics are fun to work with and quite reasonable in price. If you fall in love with a fabric line, I will warn you they sell out very quickly. I've missed out on some fabrics for waiting too long to purchase it. I have purchased fabric and thread from them over the years. It's my go to place to shop for my mom, who also loves to quilt. So grab a cup of coffee and sweet treat and celebrate with me, have fun checking out the site.  (and OMG! Quilt Doodle Designs is now available for purchase at Connecting Threads!) Have fun! There are tons of fun patterns and fabrics to oogle over. 

Happy quilting,