Mod Bear Paw Quilt - A WIP on the Design Wall

I've been posting some of my progress on this quilt on Instagram, but I thought it might be good to document it here too. This is a quilt much like the SAHRR (Stay At Home Round Robin) where I'm creating it on the design wall as I go, letting it evolve. It is such a satisfying and rewarding and yes, surprising process! 

Here’s where I’d got to on November 19 following Lorna’s pattern. 

I was so pleased! After I’d made the head section, I had a chat with Ann of @laughinggasquilts on Instagram who made this quilt about five years ago. I decided to take inspiration from her and add in some partial bear paw blocks behind and beneath my bear to enhance the layered effect.

SAHRR Round 5 “Four”

This round’s directive was given to us by Gail at QuiltingGail. She said the theme this week is ‘4’. We could do whatever we want but it has to have an element of four in it. I decided to make 4-patches, and my first plan was to put them in the four corners. Here is how my quilt ended up:

Read on to find out how it got there.

WIP - Shift

This is another goal on my Q4 list, Bento Box, one for my nephew, Callum, that I wanted to get made last winter for his new home, but found out I had the wrong colour scheme in mind.  Ordered new fabric and shopped a little around town (darn, hate that, don't you?!), and by the time we headed back north to home, I had the new fabric pile all ready.

Bella's trademark stamp of approval pose--that or "Give me some attention! Look how adorable I am! pose

Current Project with a Reminder or Two

This quilt is going to a very close friend in need of a quilty hug.  Here it is on the design wall on Sunday:

I've known I need to make this quilt for a couple of months.  I just didn't know, or feel exactly what, other than lots of pink.  I've since found out aquas are her favourite, along with rich tropical hues.

I saw a quilt on Midget Gem Quilts, made by Helen for a cousin of hers, which is gorgeous, and I knew instantly, this was the quilt.  Helen and I have been chatting back and forth over the past few weeks thanks to us each having joined the New Bloggers Hop.  She has a great blog, great sense of humour as well as a great sense of colour.  Enough greats for you to go check her out? I hope so.  When I asked if I could use her design as the basis for a quilt for my friend, she said go for it.  Mine is a bit different: I used 4.5" squares, whereas she used 5", and also mine is slightly differently-shaped.  All of the fabric, except for the backing, which I bought yesterday at Guildcrafters Quilt Shop, is from my stash.  There are some scraps (for example: wave fabric from Cloud 9, Tula Pink aqua fabric, hot pinks from my daughter Brianne's second quilt), some that was destined for kaleidoscopes (ex: circles fabric, second last row, centre, and "fireworks" aqua and black fabric, third row from bottom, second from right), and some bought just because I loved it (ex. Australian fabric 3rd row exact centre square)

Yesterday I only had a half hour or so of sewing time, so here is where it currently sits:

Reminder of a previous Tip:  I'm using the "Book It!" method for this quilt which is so awesome in keeping all the squares organized.  I wrote a tutorial which you can find under the tab up top or click here.  I'm on Step 6 right now, where I'm beginning to piece the "books" aka pairs of squares, into columns.  Because the heart is not a square shape, I pieced as much of the square part as I could with that method, and I've got the bottom three rows sewn into rows, attached with a chain of thread holding each set together so they don't get out of order.  For the background, I plan to add in big squares and a couple of strips as opposed to filling in everything with more white 4.5" squares.

And one more reminder, a day late.  After a 2-week break, the New Bloggers Hop is back for Week 3 with more wonderful prizes to be won.  Here are the 4 quilters in my hive

posting their "All About Me" post this week, which you will be taken to by clicking:

Julie of Pink Doxies
Carrie of The Zen Quilter
Lori at Sew Psyched
Cindy at Sewing Moxie

The other 3 hives with their new blogger posts can be found at:
Meadow Mist Designs
Quilting Jet Girl
Childlike Fascination

Happy Reading!  I'll be linking this post up with Stephanie's Tips and Tutorials Tuesday at Late Night Quilter, and also with Nicky's Scraptastic Tuesday at Mrs. Sew and Sow.

I'm also linking to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts.  :-)

What's On My Design Wall Today

Well, on the mainstage of my design wall that is!

Two blocks done of nine!

This is Grande Scrappy Tiles, and it's a pattern I'm testing for Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs.  For the post that describes how I chose the fabrics for this sweet scrappy quilt, go here.  I'm pretty happy so far with how the prints play together, as well as the colours and the values.

There was a fair bit of cutting, and because I went shopping only in my stash, I didn't have just fat quarters, but some leftovers from other projects and some pieces that I had bought together with a future quilt in mind.  So this randomness added to the cutting.  Where I was able, I would cut a fat quarter and stack 2-3 and then cut as per the pattern.  I like that!  Three!  Three pieces in one!  (that will date me for those who know the mints commercial I'm parodying...didja get it?!)

Here is how I kept my pieces organized at first:

Seeing this on my sewing table makes me HAPPY!! Bubbles of quilty possibilities bouncing around in my chest...you know!

Once I had them all cut, which was right after I took the photo, I separated them into stacks of same-size shapes.  (ha, now I see the alliteration there...trying saying that 3 times in a row!)

And let the fun begin!  Here was the first block:

And....that's where I stopped last night because I was doing some um, dumb things which meant some reverse-sewing was in order, and I thought, 'Okay. Time to stop and start fresh tomorrow!'  The second block went together without a hitch.

So now I am building two blocks at a time on the design wall, so I can get the 21 different fabrics distributed evenly.  I can just see with my luck, having 3 or 4 pieces of the same fabric right in the last block or two!  You only use 15 of the 21 fabrics per block, as you can see, so I am going to control, control-freak that I can sometimes be, the scrappiness!

Layout for block #3

You might have noticed a couple of new buttons on my sidebar, one of which is the New Quilt Bloggers group I've joined this year.  This should be fun and informative for me!  Last year I was too shy to join in, had like 3 followers, lol, but through linking up in various linky parties and joining in with (my favourite) Scrap-a-Palooza over the summer, I met some amazing, just amazing and genuinely wonderful people, and have had my quilting life, make that my life, so enriched.  So...here's to a whole bunch more enrichment about to happen, and improvements about to be made.  Hang on to your hats!  I'm hanging on to mine!  I'm off to write my intro to the group right now!

Linking up with DWM at Patchwork Times.  It's always fun and inspirational to see what others are up to.

Cue Black Sabbath

Or Alice in Chains.  Or Tool.  Metallica isn't always hard core enough for this man...

These bad boys lovely fabrics arrived in the mail today from Elkabees's Fabric Paradise.  Wow.  Speedy delivery, and promptly answered email queries!  Is that flame fabric not to die for?  Even if you're not a skull and crossbone and badass-themed type of guy.  Guy.  I've intended to make a throw-sized quilt for my husband for many years.  Even got some outdoor-themed fabric once to start...it ended up as curtains in a motorhome we had back then.  Here are the ones he recently found, and one I added in as a nod to his third daughter, our Rottweiler, Naala.

There are some more pieces on the way.  And I have a non-conventional, not quite symmetrical quilt pattern idea that he is okay with, as he is definitely not the "follows the crowd" kind of guy.


Cue Vivaldi.  Maybe some Enya.  A little Coldplay or Garou even...

These were my additions to the purchase.

This was on sale and the last .83 yard they had.  It is my Bella! Sassy/disgruntled, then purring contentedly.  It will be added to the growing stash of black and white fabric.

Speaking of growing...

After I wrote yesterday's post, I thought I'd just start two more blocks, so I'd have a leaders and enders project on the go.  Oops, four entire blocks later, and I now have six in total!  I'm quite liking this latest Scrap-a-Palooza quilt, from August of last year.

Brrrrr Park (yes, there are 5 r's in it) was frozen, ha, as far as being worked on over the weekend.  Sadly, it will not make it into my hoped-for finishes for the First Quarter Finish Along.  The deadline is tomorrow.

I'm linking this post to Design Wall Monday over at Patchwork Times.  First time for me for this party!  And also to Free Motion by the River, button on sidebar.