Panda Bear

"Panda" Testing Helper

About a month ago, I saw that one of my favorite designers, Lorna of Sew Fresh Quilts, had asked if anyone was able to help her test out some of her newest designs. Aren't they cute!!    Luckily,  I was able to give a bit of help to Lorna , by testing out  her upcoming "Panda" Quilt pattern !

Sew Fresh Quilts newest patterns... HERE
Photo by Sew Fresh Quilts

Now ,  there is something really cool about this pattern.  It has so many size options!!

You can make a mini panda block , as well as  a full sized panda block. And, Lorna has measurements to  make up a mini quilt... all the way up to a regular sized quilt!!  I love having  all of the size options.

Panda Block     design by Sew Fresh Quilts   {click HERE}
Mini sized block   approx 7.5" across x 6.5" tall

I  found this bright, forest-like background fabric first.  Then I saw my black and white polka dot fabric, and couldn't resist using that for this little panda!   (Lorna's designs are perfect with solids, and have a modern look!)

Next, I made up another little panda to be the buddy for the first bear. And of course, they had to have some foliage to munch on!

The pattern includes how to make the leafy rows.  ( I left out the center stems... giving it a more abstract background... like the pandas are  in a forest among the leaves. ) 

This cute pattern makes me smile... and reminds of when I saw the real pandas at the San Diego Zoo.  

Pandas and leaves     

As I put these blocks together, I thought they would make a cute pillow!

I simply added a 2.5" sashing around the block....

A Mini Panda Pillow         made by Susie's Sunroom

Panda Pillow size:   approx  17 " across x 16" tall

Quilting:   straight line  1"  quilting, vertically ,  in lime !   (for a modern look)

Panda Pillow        by Susie's Sunroom

I love black and lime colors together... and made a covered zipper for the back of the pillow.  (I learned how to make this covered zipper from the tutorial by Amy Made That!  {here}  )

Back of pillow        love the covered zipper

Keep checking  Sew Fresh Quilts  for the release of this cute Panda Pattern!  (It should be soon. )   You'll want to check out all of her adorable patterns, in her Etsy store, too!

(Remember my Dog Gone Cute quilts?  {  here  }  and {  here } )

A Panda-icious Pillow !!

I'm off to my sewing room!

Linking up at:                      Let's Bee Social  @ Sew Fresh Quilts   and
                                         Building Blocks Tuesday @ Quilter In The Closet  and
                                          Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story  and
                                          Fabric Frenzy Friday @  Fort Worth Fabric Studio  and
                                       Can I Get A Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict  and
                                       Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts   and
                                          TGIFF @  Chezzecook modern quilts

  

A Woodpecker Pillow

Pileated Woodpecker Pillow


Recently,  my husband and I took a little trip, and visited his brother and wife, up in New York state.  We had lovely weather during the  weekend visit.
I discovered that one thing that "the brothers" share in common, is the love of  watching  birds in their backyards.  (They also both hate the squirrels, but we won't talk about that now!)  While we were visiting on their patio, it didn't take long for a Pileated Woodpecker to eat from their suet feeder.

They had this same feeder, that holds the  suet , and supports the tail of the woodpecker while it feeds.

This is a special woodpecker feeder for birds like the Pileated Woodpecker {here}

We even saw an adult woodpecker feed its young.... just like in this photo.

An adult feeding a baby  (from this site)

When I got home, it came to me that  I had filed away a pattern for a paper pieced woodpecker awhile ago. If I remembered correctly, I figured I could make a few changes on it, to make it resemble a Pileated Woodpecker.

The Pattern :   Woodpecker PP Block  by Julianna @ Sewing Under Rainbow

           It was designed for the ForestQAL

           Size:  12" x 12" block

Woodpecker pp block here

Janelle, at Emmaline Bags, made this  beautiful woodpecker in the QAL
  (photo by Janelle)

And here is my Woodpecker Block:            

                 

Woodpecker    made by Susie's Sunroom

I didn't have to change a single line on it.  It just needed the right fabrics!
(Don't you love that background fabric.... it's Andover Fabric 's Alison Glass- Sticks & Twine)

The Pileated Woodpecker   photo from Wikipedia

I made my block into a pillow.... for their window seat.

Pileated Woodpecker pillow   

Of course the back has the covered zipper !

Pileated Woodpecker      by Susie's Sunroom

I got two big hugs when I gave them their pillow at our family reunion last weekend.

                                              I just love to quilt!

I'm off to my sewing room!

Linking up at:    Can I Get A Whoop Whoop! @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict  and
                         Fabric Frenzy Friday @ Fort Worth Fabric Studio      and 

                         Let's Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts

Cute Pets Designs

The Cat's Whiskers

It had been awhile since I made a pillow for myself... so when Janeen, of Quilt Art Designs, asked me to sew up her cute cat block for the issue 9  of  "Paper Piecing 1/4" " digital magazine, I immediately knew I would make this block into a pillow.


Pattern-   The Cat's Whiskers     design by Janeen @ Quilt Art Designs
Size:    14 inch finished   paper pieced foundation

This is the design... with the pieces of the block before they were sewn together. I did make some changes in the colors , to look more like my Whiskers.

The Cat's Whiskers pattern.....  a paper pieced design 
in issue 9  Paper Piecing 1/4" digital magazine  {here}

Here are the  fabrics used :    Blueberry Park  by Karen Lewis / Robert Kaufman (black with the doodles)   This is a new favorite!!!!
                                            Quilters Linen  Charcoal  /Robert Kaufman
                                            P & B Textiles -  for inside ears
                                            Stash fabric-  white and blue for background
 

The Cat's Whiskers      made by Susie's Sunroom

                            
Here is my model:     Whiskers

Whiskers and her look alike pillow

I love the details on the face of this sweet cat pattern ...  of course I had to include embroidered whiskers.   Our Whiskers looks at Daddy like this when she wants him to give her some treats!

"Pleeeeeeaaaase, Daddy.... can I have some treats?"

Our little kitty may be small, but she is full of energy and  is very playful.  So I made the back of the pillow to match her personality....

I really love how my Cat's Whiskers pillow turned out.  
I think a pet pillow is a fun gift idea  .... check out the other pet patterns in this issue 9-

Click here to go to

Stop by soon to see the other pet pattern that I made!  

I'm off to my sewing room!

Pattern provided by QAD Publishing

Linking up at:     Sew Cute Tuesday @  Blossom Heart Quilts   and

                          Let's Bee Social  @ Sew Fresh Quilts    and 
                         Fabric Frenzy Friday @ Fort Worth Fabric Studio  and
                        TGIFF  @  Celtic Thistle Stitches

A Doxie Pillow

A Geometric Doxie Pillow

You may have noticed that I love to make projects with cat patterns.

Cats Projects     made by Susie's Sunroom

This week, I had the pleasure of testing a new  dog paper pieced pattern for Kristy @ Quiet Play.    Kristy has been designing the cutest geometric patterns lately !  See this adorable Geo  Little Cat block that I made earlier-

 Geometric  Little Cat pattern  ... I made mine a Fig Tree Fabrics Calico Cat

The brand new pattern:   Geometric  Doxie   will be in her pattern shop at the end of January.  ( here)


Pattern:     Geometric Doxie    - a 12 inch block   by  Kristy @ Quiet Play

My Geo Doxie block    by Susie's Sunroom

My parents had a  reddish brown miniature Dachshund, when I was growing up. So, I decided to make this block into a pillow for my mother's birthday in February.   I dug deep into my Fig Tree stash   piles for some fabrics that reminded me of our little Frauline.

Fabrics used:   Fig Tree Fabrics-   Patisserie, Millhouse Inn ( the red), and Buttercup ( the chain link),  and a brown blender from my stash ( the dark brown)
1 - 14 inch pillow form

I love using fabrics from my fabulous Fig Tree  stash!  { Are any of you crazy about Fig Tree fabrics like I am , and also have a big stash of it? }

I added a 1 inch sash on all four sides  (Buttercup)

For the quilting:  a bit of outline quilting around the pup, and a few "wiggle lines" to suggest some tail movement.    The  background fabric , with the tiny flowers, in Patisserie  Butter Cream, is one of my favorites!  It is even prettier in person.

The back has a covered zipper.... of course.  

The back of my pillow... mixing Patisserie with Millhouse Inn

I think that Frauline is looking for Whiskers....

Have a wonderful weekend!  

I'm off to my sewing room!

Linking up at:   Can I Get a Whoop Whoop! @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict  and
                       Fabric Frenzy Friday  @ Fort Worth Fabric Studio   and

                             TGIFF  @  Quilt Matters   and
                      Let's Bee Social  @ Sew Fresh Quilts

Pillows

Barn blocks and more Farm Girl Vintage Blocks

Sewing up 2 blocks every week
 with Bee In My Bonnet on #FarmGirlFridays

I have so enjoyed making a few blocks per week, along with the sew along at Bee In My Bonnet's Farm Girl Fridays!  We use the book , Farm Girl Vintage , by Lori Holt.  I just love these patterns!!

The Old Red Barn Block   Farm Girl Vintage book

Last week, we had a family reunion.  I was in the middle of making some of the barn blocks, and had an idea to make a pillow as a thank you gift  for my aunt and uncle.   ( My aunt and uncle live on a farm, and have hosted reunions for many years in the past.  We all watched our first Evening Primose open up to bloom, before our very eyes, at a reunion in the year 2000. Many of us now continue to grow these ugly weeds, that create a beautiful and delicate  yellow flower. The Evening Primrose has become the unofficial symbol of our reunion. )

Evening Primrose blossoms from my back yard... they only last one evening

This is the pillow that I put together with a barn block from the Farm Girl Vintage book:

Silo Barn Block  and an appliqued Evening Primrose blossom

I used some black denim for the back.  And the Covered Zipper back  ( using Amy Made That! 's  easy tutorial!  { Get the tutorial Here}

The Covered Zipper Backing 

My pillow beside the Evening Primrose blossoms from the night before.  They will be gone by afternoon.

Isn't this a fun barn block?

I also made a second larger barn block...the Quilty Barn Block:

   by Susie's Sunroom

I like this red ticking fabric.  I tried to make it look like barn boards.  (It was a scrap that found a home with me!)    I looked around and found a paper pieced pattern  that looks like a Evening Primrose.  { Claudia's Quilts blog- Flower Power block 3 )  And that's a   FGV Milking Day block beside it!   This will be made into a pillow for me!


I also made two pillows for another two special aunts, who have hosted past reunions, and arranged for the revival of the 2015 family reunion.  They live in historical towns, so I made them a tall house block to go along with their Evening Primrose blocks.

Evening Primrose pillows      by Susie's Sunroom

I have more Farm Girl Vintage blocks to add to my finished block page (in my Flickr Group .)

Apron Strings block:

Autumn Star block:

Baby Chick block:

Baking Day block:

Butter Churn block:

Canning Season block:

Chicken Foot block:

Churn Dash block:

Cool Threads block:

Corn and Tomatoes block:

Country Crossroads block:

Crops block:

Egg Basket block:

Farm Fresh Flower block:

Farmhouse block:

Feed and Seed block:

Fresh Pears block:

Furrows block:

Gingham block:

Grandma's Quilt block:

Haystack block:

Kettle's On! block:

Kitchen Window block:

Mama Hen block:

Milking Day block:

Old Glory block:

Old Red Barn blocks:

Out to Pasture block:

Patchwork Pumpkin block:

Here's the connections for my blocks:   My Flickr Group { Here}
                                                        #FarmGirlFridays
                                                         #FarmGirlVintage

I hope to work on finishing up the quilting on a baby's quilt this weekend!


Linking up at:     Can I Get a Whoop Whoop! @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict  and

                                Fabric Frenzy Friday @ Fort Worth Fabric Studio

I'm off to my sewing room!