Friday, June 19, 2020

Bear Paw Baby

Wow, two finishes in one week! This one was still in the blocks stage, with only four of the five bear paw blocks finished, and no sure plan as to how it would become a flimsy. Well, clearly things need to percolate on the back burner of my brain, and this is a great example of how letting them do just that, works!

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge colour for the month of June is pink, so it is fitting that this little quilt get finished in a pink month. It started as a test block for using the Bear Paw Block on Board die I got last year from AccuQuilt. I liked the colour combination so much that I decided I needed to make a baby quilt to sell in my Etsy shop. I used every last piece but for a 2.5" by a few inches piece of the Anna Maria Horner burgundy. The pink is a vintage piece of cotton, used to make quilted chair cushions for my oak chairs I had in Alberta, and Kona bone is the background.

Originally I had thought to set the five block on point, but that would leave a lot of negative space, no worries for me, except for lots of cream negative space in a baby quilt was maybe not such a great idea. I sewed the blocks as leader/enders over the making of the actual bear paw quilt, Bear Paw Dance, which I made last October. It mostly sat, picked at here and there ever since.

I picked up this backing a little while ago, (I think maybe from Bernie at Needle & Foot Fine Fabrics, but I could be wrong), and with the thumbs-up approval of Brianne, used it for this quilt. Another large floral was a contender too.

So the layout I came up with happened on the design wall when I was playing around with the blocks. I thought what about overlapping them a bit... and thus the alternate blocks became rectangles, and a simple half square of the pink and the burgundy went into the centre of the rectangle. The overlap isn't obvious, but it's the corner squares that sit right on top of each other instead of the edge of each block aligning.

I think it gives it a modern flair, and is unique!

I didn't want to lose all those beautiful points, made easier thanks to the AccuQuilt die (and now you know I love their HST dies when this is not affiliated with them in any way), so I put the widest of borders of the AMH print I could with what little was left. 1 1/8" cut! I could've used the pink there, but I didn't have enough AMH to bind the quilt, and the pink just didn't give it that bit of oomph the AMH does as a frame.

Simple, but not as good as Lorna's, wavy lines had it quilted up in about a half hour! Once again, Essential cotton thread from Connecting Threads (affiliate link) sewed up like a dream. I used Cream 20867 and it blended in so well across all the fabrics. btw a quick note that they have a 30% off sale on books right now...

I sewed the binding to the back and top-stitched it down on the front. I knew I had an Aurifil soft pink, and it was 28 wt, just perfect to show the stitches on the binding!
Spot my initials! Don't you just love that AMH? And doesn't the vintage pink work well with it? I love when I can mix vintage fabrics with new, traditional blocks in a new layout.

Here is the entire back, and I actually remembered to sew in my label....something I omitted to do in the Grace Once Again quilt, so I will be unpicking and inserting and re-sewing the binding for it!

There is a wonderful tree in which to pose a quilt on my favourite lake lot at the end of my street. How I love these 100+ year old sentinels throughout my neighbourhood.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern: Original design with Bear Paw block
Size: 39.5" x 43.5"
Fabric: Kona Bone, Fibs & Fables by Anna Maria Horner, Collectibles by R.E.D. Designs
Backing: Modern Tyke by Kim Diehl and Molly Diehl for Henry Glass
Batting: Hobbs Premium 80/20% cotton/polyester
Quilted: on Avril; 28 709 stitches
Threads: pieced with various cotton threads on my 1947 Featherweight and on my Bernina; quilted with Essential 100% cotton 50 wt; The Bottom Line in the bobbin

This is one of the items on my Q2FAL List, so it feels good to check off another! It is for sale in my Etsy shop.

18 comments:

  1. Adding the thin border to preserve the points also gives the finish a bit of a flange binding vibe, too. Congratulations on another finish this week!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Sandra! Great quilt and I love the two colors you chose for the bear paws. They compliment each other so nicely. I absolutely agree that the dark AMH fabric was the perfect choice for the narrow border, and the wavy lines?! FAB! As Yvonne said, that thin border does give it a bit of a flange look. I'd say this is a winner winner chicken dinner in my book. ~smile~ Roseanne

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful quilt. I love the thin burgundy border. It not only frames it well but saves those pretty points. Congrats. Love the quilting, too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. WOW two finishes in one week! I agree with Yvonne that narrow border sets it off and gives the appearance of a flange. A beautiful quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a sweet quilt! Isn't it wonderful that magic happens when you just let ideas percolate for a while? The layout is definitely inspired; much more interesting than a straight "nine patch" layout. The AMH fabric is perfect, as is the vintage pink. Before I read the story, I was thinking, "That's a wide flange", but then I learned it was a point saver (like a light sabre, only better for a quilt). Hope it finds a good home.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great week you've had, with two finishes. Good on you! This is a sweet quilt, I love bear paw blocks, and the addition of the rectangles is very fun. That wavy quilting is so pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great quilt! You sure got a lot done this week....feeling like a slouch over here. OK we weren’t here for 2 days so that counts for something. Have a great weekend, such as they are.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, I want to make a Bear Paw Quilt for one of the beds at our cabin. Yours is lovely! Fun fact: I bought that same backing fabric from Bernie awhile back!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Aw, so sweet and pretty! Those "vintage" pinks have a softness to them that is so appealing for a baby quilt. Adding the modern burgundy brings it back to 2020. I'm sure this one will sell fast to comfort someone's new bouncing bundle of joy :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. A lovely quilt & such pretty colours. I'm a bit gob-smacked with everyone knowing so much about fabrics & their provenance. I made my first quilt 43 years ago & still occasionally use bits from way back for Scrap quilts or find a larger piece lurking in the scrap tub to use with a much newer fabrics. Well done on 2 finishes & I do like your bear paw "modern". Take care, stay safe & huggles.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Well done. Kudos for a second finish this week. Thanks for linking up with Thank Goodness it's Finished Friday.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love the small border, and your quilt is a beauty! Pretty quilting, and very sweet colors, I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lovely! I really like this use of the bear paw block, and that it's pink without being overly frilly.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love the thin border and the wavy quilting! It's a very lovely finish, Sandra!! To be surrounded by 100+ year old sentinels - how amazing!!

    -Soma

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh that is awesome - a Twofor!!! Great backing !

    ReplyDelete
  16. A beautiful finish! It does have a very modern vibe to it. Congrats on finish number 2 for the week.

    ReplyDelete
  17. So pretty! I like how one is the reverse of the other four.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Gorgeous! Such a fun and effective baby quilt. I too love to mix different, surprising fabrics too. The quilting is great - I like the sound of half an hour and it's done!!

    ReplyDelete