bear paw
Showing posts with label bear paw. Show all posts
The Quilter's Field Guide to Color ~ Context
This is not just any book about colour, this is The Quilter's Field Guide to Color by Rachel Hauser. I am not exaggerating when I say that this book is a game changer for me. I have learnt so much from reading it and not only through the practical advice Rachel gives but the actual EXPERIENCE of working through the exercises in the book. It's so much more than just information about colour (although it has got lots of that), it is packed full of genuinely helpful topics around colour. With excellent examples, tips and exercises to get you inspired to work with your fabric and create well thought out colour combinations and palettes. The book even contains a pull out of colour swatches that you can cut up and keep in the handy envelope at the back of the book, allowing you to play about and use them with the exercises Rachel gives. It is the most thought provoking and mobilising quilting book I have encountered.
Today is my stop on the book hop and I chose the exercise 'Context'. This is about the relationships fabric form. Ever notice how one fabric print can look completely different paired next to other fabrics or colours? That's context.
I started with a print that I like but hadn't yet used in a project, the mustard/yellow/pink floral - Little Honey, Folk Song by Anna Maria Horner. From there I chose similar prints with yellow / gold colour (not the exact same shade), some paler prints, some brighter prints with bits of pink and a couple of greeny/blue prints. OK so I also auditioned plums, browns, brighter blues and possibly more. After some time spent using the colour swatches and pulling out most of my stash from the cupboard this is what I picked...
+ quilts + makes
Three quilts, three cushions and a table runner are the makes I'm showcasing today, that I've demoed recently on Sewing Quarter. All finished, despite the fact I didn't always photograph them once I was done. I did manage to take pictures of the interesting aspects or features I wanted to share though so that's good!
This Big Plus quilt is deceptive, the pieces are big and the quilt is a single bed size. The pattern comes together really quickly but you have to keep the columns organised so the pluses fit together correctly.
Red and white
I have a stash of red fabric that I had been collecting for a different pattern but since that's got pushed down the list I decided to break it out for the Classic Meets Modern QAL. I also had some of the lovely Lakehouse dots left over from my S is for Stitch quilt blocks so I decided to use that for the background.
I remember Janine mentioning about making a red and white quilt and I loved the idea of using that classic colour combination for a sampler quilt.
So here's my first block the Polar Bear Paw:
I remember Janine mentioning about making a red and white quilt and I loved the idea of using that classic colour combination for a sampler quilt.
So here's my first block the Polar Bear Paw:
The red fabrics are: centre - Voltage Dot in red, Chicopee by Denyse Schmidt; main paw - Charles in rich red blue, Bloomsbury by Liberty Lifestyle; claws - Scrolling Ditzy in orange, Daisy Mae by Denyse Schmidt (this is possibly my favourite print ever... or one of them!).
Looking forward to seeing what February has in store!
Head over to Erin's if you'd like to join in:
baby bear paw quilt
I got a bear in my bonnet last night and decided I wanted to finish the bear paw quilt.
I had a play around with the layout, I didn't like it all random so I just played with moving the colours:
keeping it real, there were toys all over the floor!
I'm super happy with the end result, I love it.
I used prints from the Stash Stack Club bundles and low volume prints from a swap organised by the lovely Rebecca
The backing is from Winter Wonderland by Jay McCarroll and the binding is McKenzie stripe by Dena Designs.
I can't even remember where I got it and I wish I'd bought tonnes of it because it is so awesome and adds a fun element to the quilt. I like that it sort of looks like a zip too!
**This quilt is listed for sale in my Etsy shop!**
It is the first finish off my FAL list for this quarter!
Linking up:
bear paw block tutorial
Here's a quick tutorial to show how I make bear paw blocks...
Paw fabric: cut one 5" square and one 5 3/4" square
The reason these measurements are a little 'odd' is because I wanted to make half square triangles (HSTs) the easy way and it just was simplest to start with 5" squares for me. It does mean you can use charm squares but beware that you need a bigger square of fabric for the largest part of the paw.
The block will end up (a very random) 8 1/4" but I'm doing a whole quilt of them so it doesn't matter much. It wouldn't be too hard to resize.
Start by putting the 5" squares right sides together and sewing 1/4" around all the edges, then cut on the diagonal both ways so you end up with 4 HSTs.
It is made of two parts (shown by the dotted white line) that you then sew together.
To make sure the seams match nicely press the two sections in different directions and butt the seams together:
Press the seams of the HST blocks towards the 'paw fabric' and press the joining seams open to reduce bulk.
So that's my method. Once you've done a couple you can chain piece the different sections.
It's a little addictive! Happy sewing!
It's a little addictive! Happy sewing!
bear with us?
The wonderfully creative Janine of Rainbow Hare totally inspired me the other day with talk of a Bear Paw quilt.
I have always wanted to make one, so has she, and so I jumped in.
We are both going to try to make one by next summer.
I found some fabric (from my Pink Castle Stash Stack Club FQs and my Low Volume swap hosted by Rebecca):
And got to it:
I'm making paws. Just paws. Not a full bear paw block though I might try that next!
Want to bear with us?
Make a bear paw quilt, traditional blocks or more modern interpretation?
Have you already?
If you like, grab a button and join the Flickr group, where you will find lots of inspiration.
This is NOT a quilt along, there's no prizes or giveaways... so really no incentive to make anything except for the fact that bear paw blocks are so beautiful!
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/2205846@N20/" title="Bear Paw" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z475/Lucy_Brennan/bearpaw_zpsde0dcfbb.jpg" alt="Bear Paw" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
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