Fall is coming and we are cooking up something good with this month’s theme of careers for September 2022. You will find many different occupations in this month’s blocks. Our complimentary block of the month for Quilt Block Mania, during the month of September 2022, Cook’s Tools, is a great one for making a wall hanging or large potholder for the kitchen. If you like receiving the complimentary blocks from Quilt Block Mania, please share this with your quilting friends on social media (please ask them to sign up for their own copy) so the designers can continue to do this every month. The designers thank you for your support, through your purchases of other patterns, which allow us to offer these complimentary block patterns each month.
GS Cover
FOL Cover
During September 2022, we are offering 20% off two of our newest patterns. They are The Good Shepherd pattern and the Festival of Light pattern. The link to these patterns is here: downloadable-patterns/
Quilt Block Mania has 14 talented quilt designers creating blocks for this month’s theme- careers. There were no theme colors this month.
Cook’s Tools Block
This is the Cook’s Tools block. This block features a red cooking pot with a tan wooden spoon on a white background.
The Cook’s Tools block would makes a great wall hanging, or a pot holder with a 1″ finished black outer border.
Cook’s Tools border
As a suggestion for how you could use this block, you could make a table runner with two blocks and then put an appliqué block or fancy quilting in the middle.
CT table runner
How to get the block
If you are new to our website and are interested in downloading a complimentary PDF pattern of our Cook’s Tools block for September, all you have to do is look for the box on our blog, on the right hand side, that says “Like this content? Sign up for free updates” and sign up to receive our newsletter. When you have done that, you will receive a welcoming email from us that will contain a coupon code and a link back to the complimentary pattern. You will act as though you are purchasing the pattern and in the cart, you will apply the coupon code, which will make the pattern free. You will need to fill out contact information, but no payment method will be necessary. Don’t worry, we do not send out newsletters very often and we never sell email addresses or contact information. Here is what the pattern looks like. It is in a format very similar to most Blue Bear Quilt patterns, so if you see what you like in this complimentary pattern, you will like our other patterns as well.
Please note: This pattern will only be complimentary during the month of September 2022.
CT Cover
Current newsletter subscribers, don’t despair! You will be able to download the complimentary pattern as well. You have already been sent a newsletter on September 6th which gave you the coupon code.
Be sure to follow us on our Instagram page, @bluebearquilts, as that is where we occasionally have giveaways.
Be sure to look at my last blog post, which has the details for my August project as an Island Batik Ambassador, where I made a mini quilt for Blue Bear as he is always complaining that the quilts I make are too large for him. This quilt is only 12″ square. He is happy now.
BB Mini quilt
Throughout the year, there will be tutorials, blog hops, giveaway, etc. I love batiks and I am so excited to share the projects that I make throughout the coming year with you. If you like my August Project, stay tuned for my September project which will be a making a 60 degree triangle quilt with a Studio 180 ruler and it will be revealed on my blog on September 22nd. It is a fall looking quilt and has a masculine southwest theme.
Please follow me on social media so you don’t miss a thing.
Also, please check out our Tik Tok and YouTube Channels (Blue Bear Quilts) for more quilting fun and inspiration.
We are so happy that you stopped by to visit us in the Quilt Block Mania hop and we hope that you like our block. Please stop by to see all of the other designer’s wonderful blocks.
career themed quilt blocks
You can click on the links to the other blocks here.
This is my August 2022 project as an Island Batik Ambassador. This month’s challenge was to make a mini quilt using any technique and Island Batik fabric. The quilt could be no larger than 24″ x 24″. I designed this quilt on my computer using Electric Quilt 8 software. This size of this quilt, which is perfect for Blue Bear, is 12″ x 12″.
Blue Bear’s Star Mini Quilt
I chose to use fabrics from the Island Batik collection called “Jewel Carvings” and I also used their solid black. These colors are so delicious.
Jewel Carvings
When designing a quilt, it is important to make sure that you have a proper mix of light, medium and dark shades in your quilt. One way to determine this is to take a monochromatic picture of your fabrics to more clearly see the shades. Notice how the values go from dark to light when looking at the fabrics from left to right. In the completed quilt, I wish there was a little more value change between the purple and blue. Those are the two fabrics farthest to the left in the monochromatic image, followed by the green and yellow.
monochromatic image
This quilt is comprised of 1-1/2″ unfinished squares and half square triangles. I used a method of making 8 half square triangles at a time. You can find many articles for how to do this if you do a google search. I wanted 1-1/2″ unfinished half square triangles, so that meant that I needed to start with 4-1/2″ squares. For example, if I wanted to make the blue/green half square triangles, I would need to place green and blue 4-1/2″ squares right sides together. The nice thing about using Island Batik fabrics for this project is that you don’t really have to worry about right and wrong sides, even though technically there is a right side. Then I drew lines horizontally, vertically and diagonally in both directions in the middle of the square. Next, I sewed 1/4″ on either side of the drawn diagonal lines.
drawn and sewn lines
Next, I cut on the horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines I drew. You don’t cut on the sewn lines. This creates 8 half square triangle units.
8 half square triangles
Next. I needed to press the half square triangles and I chose to press toward the dark side. When the units are lined up for sewing, you may need to press some of them the other way so that they will nest and not create as much bulk in the seams.
press to the dark side
In order to successfully sew a quilt with such small pieces, it’s important to maintain the proper squared-up size of the unfinished units, which in this case is 1-1/2″. I used the small 1-1/2″ Bloc-Loc ruler to accomplish this. This ruler has grooves on the back of it that slide along the ridge of the pressed over fabric and it allows you to trim up 2 sides of the unit at a time.
Bloc-Loc trim up ruler
I have a YouTube video showing how to to trim up these units using the Bloc-Loc ruler. Here is a link to that video: https://youtu.be/hUHR_SmPLe8
YouTube video
Once the units were all squared up, I laid them out in the positions they would be in the quilt. This is where you would look at which blocks are being sewn together and determine if you need to press them the other direction so that seams will nest.
units lined up
Sewing the units together, I slowed my Janome 6600 down and used a quarter inch foot so that I could obtain an accurate 1/4″ seam. This is crucial when sewing a mini quilt as if you are off by an 1/8th of an inch, that adds up quickly and your quilt will no longer be the correct size. I sewed one row at a time and pressed each row in the opposite direction. When sewing the rows together, I pressed the seams open to reduce bulk. Here is a picture of the back of the quilt and you can see that there are a lot of intersecting seams, which is why all of these measurements being accurate is so important.
row seams are pressed open
Finally, I made a quilt sandwich by placing a piece of Hobbs 80/20 black batting between the quilt top and a piece of black backing. I pinned the layers together to prevent shifting when quilting the layers together. I used Aurifil 50 weight cotton thread in several different colors on the top. I loved how easy it was to find shades of thread color that matched the Island Batik fabric. I slowed my Janome 6600 down again and used the dual action walking foot to stitch in the ditch, which was a breeze. I love domestic machine quilting on a project this size. It’s so easy!
stitching in the ditch
I machine stitched on the black binding. Here is a picture of the completed quilt and a close up of the stitching in the ditch.
Star Mini Quilt
Mini quilt close up
Blue Bear’s Quilt is finished. I think he loves it! He is so thankful as he finally has a quilt that is his size. He can’t use the big people’s quilts. He will now have his own quilt to snuggle up with at night and he loves the fact that the quilt has blue stars that are the same color as him.
Blue Bear with his quilt
Be sure to follow along and subscribe to all our social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Tic Tok) as I will be making a beautiful Southwestern themed 60 degree star quilt using the Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 Star 60 ruler next month. You won’t want to miss it.
Island Batik
The supplies I used to make this project were provided by:
Island Batik Jewel Carvings collection for the top.
The other Island Batik Ambassadors have also been busy creating Mini quilts in their August projects. If you would like to see what the other ambassadors have been up to, check out their projects by clicking on the links next to their names to be directed to their blog posts.
It’s hot and we are ready for some cool breezes with this month’s theme of jungle for August 2022. There are some really cool jungle theme blocks this month. Our complimentary block of the month for Quilt Block Mania, during the month of August 2022, Teal Gorilla, is a fun and playful one for making a child’s quilt. If you like receiving the complimentary blocks from Quilt Block Mania, please share this with your quilting friends on social media (please ask them to sign up for their own copy) so the designers can continue to do this every month. The designers thank you for your support, through your purchases of other patterns, which allow us to offer these complimentary block patterns each month.
Hearts Cover
BB cover
In August 2022, we are offering 20% off two of our previous block of the month patterns. They are the Hearts Aflutter Block pattern and Budgie on a Branch pattern. The link to these patterns is here: downloadable-patterns/
Quilt Block Mania has 12 talented quilt designers creating blocks for this month’s theme- Jungle. Here are the theme colors this month.
Teal-Gorilla
This is the Teal Gorilla block. This block features a teal gorilla with a light blue body on a melon green background.
Here is a photo of the Teal Gorilla block made with fabrics from my stash.
stash block
The Teal Gorilla block makes fun 32″ x 32″ small quilts or wall hangings with 4 Teal Gorilla blocks, a 1″ finished gray inner border and a 3″ finished dark teal outer border. These would make such fun quilts for a child or grandchild’s room.
Gorilla Go Round
Spinning Gorillas
Mirror Gorillas
How to get the block
If you are new to our website and are interested in downloading a complimentary PDF pattern of our Teal Gorilla block for August, all you have to do is look for the box on our blog, on the right hand side, that says “Like this content? Sign up for free updates” and sign up to receive our newsletter. When you have done that, you will receive a welcoming email from us that will contain a coupon code and a link back to the complimentary pattern. You will act as though you are purchasing the pattern and in the cart, you will apply the coupon code, which will make the pattern free. You will need to fill out contact information, but no payment method will be necessary. Don’t worry, we do not send out newsletters very often and we never sell email addresses or contact information. Here is what the pattern looks like. It is in a format very similar to most Blue Bear Quilt patterns, so if you see what you like in this complimentary pattern, you will like our other patterns as well.
Please note: This pattern will only be complimentary during the month of August 2022.
Teal Gorilla Cover
Current newsletter subscribers, don’t despair! You will be able to download the complimentary pattern as well. You have already been sent a newsletter on August 2nd which gave you the coupon code.
Be sure to follow us on our Instagram page, @bluebearquilts, as that is where we occasionally have giveaways.
Be sure to look at my last blog post, which has the details for my July project as an Island Batik Ambassador, where I made a quilt featuring the Accuquilt Tree of Life Die.
Tree of Life From the Underside
Throughout the year, there will be tutorials, blog hops, giveaway, etc. I love batiks and I am so excited to share the projects that I make throughout the coming year with you. If you like my July Project, stay tuned for my August project which will be a making a mini quilt.
Please follow me on social media so you don’t miss a thing.
Also, please check out our Tik Tok and YouTube Channels (Blue Bear Quilts) for more quilting fun and inspiration.
We are so happy that you stopped by to visit us in the Quilt Block Mania hop and we hope that you like our block. Please stop by to see all of the other designer’s wonderful blocks.
QBM August Jungle
You can click on the links to the other blocks here.
This is my July 2022 project as an Island Batik Ambassador. The first part of this month’s challenge was to use the Accuquilt Tree of Life die to create a unique project. Accuquilt provided the Tree of Life die, and Island Batik provided fabric, to the Ambassadors so they could create their projects in this challenge. This die is a BOB or block on board. What that means is that you are able to cut all of the pieces you need to complete a tree of life block with one pass through the cutting machine.
Tree of Life Die and Fabric
The die has metal blades set in foam and when you place the fabric on the die and cover it with a mat, there is a roller in the cutter that presses down on the fabric and cuts out the needed shapes. Here is a Tik Tok video I did showing how I cut out the fabric.
I designed the quilt in Electric Quilt and this is the design I came up with. It is a bright and colorful design, orienting four tree of life blocks toward the outside corners. The blocks are uniquely colored to create the graphic design of the quilt. It almost has an Art Deco feel to it.
I needed some wonderful solids to make this quilt. Did you know that Island Batik has solids? Well, they do! I chose solids in red, blue, yellow, orange, green and lime. I used stash buster strip rolls for the colors and accented them with white and black to make them shine. The stash busters are 5″ wide strips and are great to work with on this type of project as they are already cut into a smaller size to be able to use with the Accuquilt Die.
Here is how I laid out the blocks after I had cut all of the desired shapes. It is really helpful to lay out your block ahead of time to keep everything organized. The half square triangles were sewn in rows and then the rows were sewn together. The Accuquilt die has great instructions for how to sew the block together.
block lay out
As mentioned above, a great thing about cutting out your shapes with the Acccuquilt Tree of Life die is that all of the shapes you need for one block can be cut with one pass through the cutting machine. You can put 6 layers of fabric on the die, so you could cut out 6 blocks at once. Also, the dog ears are cut off and if you are a really good sewist, there is no trimming that is needed to square up the blocks.
cut out shapes
After I had the quilt top sewn together, using my favorite thread, Auriful, it was time to make a quilt sandwich with some awesome batting (Heirloom 80/20 blend) provided by Hobbs Batting.
quilt sandwich
Time to quilt with my Janome 6600. This machine is a power horse! I knew I wanted to quilt in straight lines, so I used my favorite quilting ruler for that purpose- the Line Tamer by Four Paws Quilting. Your ruler work foot just follows the cut out groove in the ruler and gives you nice straight lines.
Line Tamer
Voila! The quilt is all done. I machine pieced the black binding to the front and then used clips to hold the binding in place on the back while I stitched in the ditch on the front.
finished quilt
Part two of this Christmas in July project was to gift the quilt to someone and bring them a little joy. When I decided on the name of the quilt, I knew who I wanted to give it to as a gift. I named the quilt “Tree of Life From the Underside.” Imagine laying on the ground, under a tree, and looking up at the bottom of the branches spreading out. I felt the quilt gave this perspective of the tree.
I see the tree of life as representing life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Many in society are able to stand alongside the tree and enjoy the view from many perspectives. Yet there are others around the world who do not have that same ability and they are kept under the tree and can’t enjoy all of the beauty the tree represents. These people may include the elderly, poor. foreigners, women, gays, jewish people, blacks, asians, indigenous people or people with disabilities. They want to see the tree from all sides and the wonderful things it represents, but they are kept down below the branches.
There is a poem, by Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman, called “_ _ _ _ _Gated.” In the poem she compares how the pandemic was a leveler, and all were equally prevented from doing what they wanted to do, or told what they had to do. Sharing for a brief time what it feels like to be living in the margins.
Here are a few quotes from the poem. “To be haunted is to be hunted by a history that is still hurting. Needing healing as much as we do. … Call us… colonized, …cleansed, controlled, killed, … contained, concentrated, conditioned… We have yielded centuries of sidewalk, trained in this tradition before we even lived it- what it is to bow our heads & make room for someone else’s pride, that ceding of the walkway…Why is it so perturbing for privileged groups to follow restrictions of place & personhood. Doing so means for once wearing the chains their power has shackled on the rest of us….Meanwhile for generations we’ve stayed home,…kept out of public spaces…kept out of ballot boxes, kept out of office, kept out of the army, kept out of hospitals…kept out of jobs, kept out of schools, kept out of sports…kept out of land, kept out of kept in kept from kept behind kept below kept down kept without life. Some were asked to walk a fraction/ of our exclusion for a year & it almost destroyed all they thought they were. Yet here we are. Still walking, still kept. To be kept to the edges of existence is the inheritance of the marginalized. …If we remember anything, let it be to remember. A road forward we shall have if we keep walking.”
This poem is powerful and it is found in her book called ” Call us what we carry.” If you can find a copy of the book at your local bookstore, or library, I would urge you to do so.
For me, the tree also represents hope. growth and rebirth. The leaves of the tree are all unique and yet they are interconnected. The tree is strong and provides shelter from the storms. Under the tree is also a place for peace and tranquility. Finally it is a place for growth and rebirth. A mighty oak grows from a tiny acorn. Each year the leaves turn brown and die but then are reborn in the Spring with the prospect of new growth. As we keep walking, the tree keeps inspiring growth.
I wanted to give this quilt to someone who treats everyone as equal and places no one in the margins, even as difficult as that may be in a society that likes to create margins. Someone who keeps walking. Someone immediately came to mind. It was a friend, Pastor Joyce Stone. She is a pastor of a church in Florida that not only welcomes all but affirms their very nature. Christ the Cornerstone is a beacon of light for all. When I told Pastor Joyce about the gift, she told me that they have a tree of life in the church where people can place leaves about the things God has done for them in their lives. I knew I had made the right choice for the gift recipient.
I placed a hanging sleeve on the back of the quilt so that it may be hung for all to see. It is my desire that the quilt will stand as a symbol of the hope, growth and rebirth the tree represents. I hope it will inspire those who can stand alongside the tree, and enjoy all of its beauty and freedom, to come to the underside and see the shelter, strength and connectivity the tree provides and invite those living under the tree to come and stand beside the tree with them. I also hope that those who may only see the tree from the underside will keep walking so that one day they will be able to stand alongside the tree and see the life, liberty and happiness it provides from all angles.
Here is a picture of Pastor Joyce with the quilt. Her smile radiates Joy!
Pastor Joyce with quilt
Pastor Joyce and I in front of the Tree of Life in her church
If you would like to see me talking about the quilt, I also have a YouTube video about it on my YouTube channel, Blue Bear Quilts. Here is a link to the video: https://youtu.be/duB3fqtL2ac
YouTube Video
Island Batik
The supplies I used to make this project were provided by:
Island Batik Stash Buster 5″ strip roll for the top.
The other Island Batik Ambassadors have also been busy creating Christmas in July projects. If you would like to see what the other ambassadors have been up to, check out their projects by clicking on the links next to their names to be directed to their blog posts.
Summer is here and we are ready for some summer concerts with this month’s theme of music for July 2022. There are a lot of great musical blocks this month. Our complimentary block of the month for Quilt Block Mania, during the month of July 2022, Xylophone, is a fun and playful one for creating a modern quilt. If you like receiving the complimentary blocks from Quilt Block Mania, please share this with your quilting friends on social media (please ask them to sign up for their own copy) so the designers can continue to do this every month. The designers thank you for your support, through your purchases, which allow us to offer these complimentary block patterns each month.
In July 2022, we are offering 20% off two of our newest digital download quilt patterns. They are the Riding the Waves quilt pattern and Chess Match table runner pattern. The link to these patterns is here: downloadable-patterns/
Riding cover
CM Cover
Quilt Block Mania has 14 talented quilt designers creating blocks for this month’s theme- music. There are no theme colors this month, so I chose a colorful rainbow palette based upon a child’s xylophone.
child xylophone
xylophone block
This is the Xylophone block. This block features a rainbow of colors on a white background.
Here is a photo of the Xylophone block made with fabrics from my stash.
stash block
The Xylophone block makes a fun 57″ x 21″ table runner with 4 xylophone blocks, a 1″ finished gray inner border and a 3″ finished white outer border. I have also shown another version of the table runner where you rotate the blocks 180 degrees. I also show what the block looks as a couple of quilts.
Table Runner
TR 2
xylo quilt
xylo quilt 2
How to get the block
If you are new to our website and are interested in downloading a complimentary PDF pattern of our Xylophone block for July, all you have to do is look for the box on our blog, on the right hand side, that says “Like this content? Sign up for free updates” and sign up to receive our newsletter. When you have done that, you will receive a welcoming email from us that will contain a coupon code and a link back to the complimentary pattern. You will act as though you are purchasing the pattern and in the cart, you will apply the coupon code, which will make the pattern free. You will need to fill out contact information, but no payment method will be necessary. Don’t worry, we do not send out newsletters very often and we never sell email addresses or contact information. Here is what the pattern looks like. It is in a format very similar to most Blue Bear Quilt patterns, so if you see what you like in this complimentary pattern, you will like our other patterns as well.
Please note: This pattern will only be complimentary during the month of July 2022.
Xylo cover
Current newsletter subscribers, don’t despair! You will be able to download the complimentary pattern as well. You have already been sent a newsletter on July 5th which gave you the coupon code.
Be sure to follow us on our Instagram page, @bluebearquilts, as that is where we occasionally have giveaways.
Be sure to look at my last blog post, which has the details for my June project as an Island Batik Ambassador, where I made a quilt featuring New York Beauty blocks.
New York Beauty Angels
Throughout the year, there will be tutorials, blog hops, giveaway, etc. I love batiks and I am so excited to share the projects that I make throughout the coming year with you. If you like my June Project, stay tuned for my July project which will be a project using the Accuquilt Tree of Life die.
Please follow me on social media so you don’t miss a thing.
Also, please check out our Tik Tok and YouTube Channels (Blue Bear Quilts) for more quilting fun and inspiration.
We are so happy that you stopped by to visit us in the Quilt Block Mania hop and we hope that you like our block. Please stop by to see all of the other designer’s wonderful blocks.
Quilt Block Mania Music
You can click on the links to the other blocks here.
The world could use a little bit of beauty right now. I hope you will find some beauty, joy and inspiration from this month’s Island Batik blog hop. I have completed my June project as an Island Batik Ambassador and I am so excited to share it with you. This month is a blog hop and if you check out the Island Batik blog, you can enter each week to win a fat quarter bundle of some of the fabrics that the Ambassadors are using in their projects. I will show the other fabric collections later in this blog along with a link to the giveaway from Island Batik and links to other ambassador’s blogs.
New York Beauty Blog Hop
The June project was to make a quilt with New York Beauty blocks using an upcoming fabric line from Island Batik. I was so excited when the fabric I was given to use was Jewel Carvings by Kathy Engle. Just look at this gorgeous collection of batik fabrics. The Jewel Carvings may be found at your local quilt shop that carries Island Batik, such as Fabric Smart in St. Petersburg FL. You may find them online at www.fabric-smart.com or call them at 727-914-8850.
Jewel Carvings
The quilt I made is called Beauty Pageant. It is a large lap quilt size 49″ x 59.” This is a dazzling quilt has a diagonal row of New York Beauty blocks surrounded by intricate nine patch blocks.
Beauty Pageant
I will have a pattern coming out later this summer or fall for this quilt after the testers are done testing the pattern. It’s always fun to find cool locations for the photo shoot.
NY Beauty Mystery solved
The batik bundle I was provided was the Jewel Carvings collection by Kathy Engle. Look at this glorious selection of blue, teal, green and purple batiks. These fabrics were so beautiful that it was really hard to cut them up.
Jewel Carvings
I downloaded the images of the fabric collection into my Electric Quilt software, which is the software I use to design quilts. This is what the quilt looked like in the software. It’s pretty close to the real quilt don’t you think? I love how the white and black fabrics highlight the fabrics in the Jewel Carvings collection.
NY Beauty
New York Beauty quilts are called that as they have New York Beauty blocks in them. The New York Beauty block got its name as it has spikes just like the famous Statue of Liberty in NYC.
statue of liberty
I decided to showcase the NY Beauty blocks as though they are walking on a central catwalk among a sea of admiring fans. The fans are all of the squares in the nine patch blocks. The spikes in the New York Beauty blocks are made with paper piecing so you can achieve those nice sharp points. You lay two fabrics right side together and then sew on the lines.
paper piecing
When you sew the other pieces to the arch with the spikes, there is curved piecing involved. I wanted to make sure that the pieces lined up correctly as I slowly sewed a quarter inch along those gentle curves. Thus, a lot of pinning was involved. This will insure success with those curves. When you press, the block will naturally tell you which direction it wants to be pressed. What’s great about working with Island Batik fabric is that there is no right or wrong side, making the paper piecing much easier and, that the fabrics cut, and press, nice and crisp.
pinning
To sew the smaller nine patches, I sewed long strips together and then sub cut units into the appropriate sizes. I then chain pieced the smaller nine patches to the larger nine patch pieces. Mama always said that the back of the block should look as neat as the front.
chain piecingback of block
New York Beauty blocks can be a little challenging to sew and thus even though my blocks look pretty accurate, I knew there could be trouble if I had to place the blocks right next to each other. Thus, I decided to separate them with sashing. This is a good little trick if you are worried that the seams of your blocks may not line up properly. It also creates some definition to the blocks.
sashing
I used Amanda Murphy’s Good Measure Circle rulers to quilt some circular designs around the squares in the nine patch blocks. These rulers work well with the rulerwork foot on my Janome 6600. I also used some of the Creative Grids quilting rulers by Angela Walters. I used white and black 50 wt. Aurifil thread on the front and a teal on the back. I used a 70/10 quilting needle from Schmetz Needles. For the batting, I tried Hobbs Tuscany Collection Silk batting. I had never used this batting before and it was very easy to quilt on my Janome. Hobbs Tuscany Silk Batting breathes naturally, making it an excellent choice for airy, lightweight quilts, and while it’s a cool quilt, it can also provide excellent warmth. Hobbs Tuscany Silk Batting is a blend of 90% very fine imported silk filaments and 10% fine polyester, ingredients which are carded and bonded to help retard bearding and fiber migration.
Hobbs Tuscany Silk Batting
The supplies I used to make this project were provided by:
If you are on TikTok, be sure to check out the video I have posted of me with the quilt. (Look for Blue Bear Quilts)
Blue Bear hopes you are ready for summer. Please let him know how much you love the this quilt by writing to him in the comments!
Blue Bear
New York Beauty Angels
The other amazing Island Batik Ambassadors are also posting their June Blog Hop New York Beauty quilts. Check out their projects by clicking on the links next to their names to be directed to their blog posts.
The week one giveaway of the Blog Hop started on Friday, June 3rd. Two lucky winners will each get a Fat Quarter bundle of a complete Island Batik collection by Kathy Engle – the luminous Jewel Carvings or the bold Nightshade!
To enter for your chance to win one of the two prizes above, follow the simple Rafflecopter prompts below.
This giveaway ends June, 10 at 11:59 pm PST. Two random winners will be notified by email on June, 11 and announced on the Island Batik Facebook page on June, 14. If the winners do not respond within the first two days after being notified, two new random winners will be chosen and notified.
Summer is here and we are heading to the ocean and Quilt Block Mania is ready with this month’s theme of under the sea for June 2022. There are a lot of great seaside blocks this month. Our complimentary block of the month for Quilt Block Mania, during the month of June 2022, Whirlpool, is a fun one for toddlers or to create a modern quilt. If you like receiving the complimentary blocks from Quilt Block Mania, please share this with your quilting friends on social media (please ask them to sign up for their own copy) so the designers can continue to do this every month. The designers thank you for your support, through your purchases, which allow us to offer these complimentary block patterns each month.
In June 2022, we are offering 20% off two of our newest digital download quilt patterns. They are Buckles Quilt and Buttons and Bows Quilt. The link to these patterns is here: downloadable-patterns/
Buckles Cover
Buttons Cover
Quilt Block Mania has 17 talented quilt designers creating blocks for this month’s theme- under the sea. Here are the theme colors for this month.
June 22 Color-Palette
Whirlpool Block
This is the Whirlpool block. This block features appliquéd medium and dark blue swirls on a light blue, orange and red orange background.
Here is a photo of the Whirlpool block made with fabrics from my stash.
block from stash
The Whirlpool block makes a fun 52″ x 24″ table runner with 3 Whirlpool blocks, a 2″ finished light blue sashing and inner border and a 4″ finished medium blue outer border. I have also shown a couple of other versions of the table runner which are created by reversing the half square triangles in the background. You also can turn the block into a 16″ pillow cover to brighten up your home. We have a pattern called Wonky Hearts Pillow, in our shop, if you would like a pattern for making the pillow cover. I also show the block as a quilt.
Whirlpool TR 2
Whirlpool table runner
Mod Whirlpool TR
Whirlpool Pillow
Whirlpool Quilt
How to get the block
If you are new to our website and are interested in downloading a complimentary PDF pattern of our Whirlpool block for June, all you have to do is look for the box on our blog, on the right hand side, that says “Like this content? Sign up for free updates” and sign up to receive our newsletter. When you have done that, you will receive a welcoming email from us that will contain a coupon code and a link back to the complimentary pattern. You will act as though you are purchasing the pattern and in the cart, you will apply the coupon code, which will make the pattern free. You will need to fill out contact information, but no payment method will be necessary. Don’t worry, we do not send out newsletters very often and we never sell email addresses or contact information. Here is what the pattern looks like. It is in a format very similar to most Blue Bear Quilt patterns, so if you see what you like in this complimentary pattern, you will like our other patterns as well.
Please note: This pattern will only be complimentary during the month of June 2022.
Cover
Current newsletter subscribers, don’t despair! You will be able to download the complimentary pattern as well. You have already been sent a newsletter on June 7th which gave you the coupon code.
Be sure to follow us on our Instagram page, @bluebearquilts, as that is where we occasionally have giveaways.
Be sure to look at my last blog post, which has the details for my May project as an Island Batik Ambassador, where I made a quilt featuring triangles. In May, I also had a quilt featured in the Australian Make Modern Magazine, Issue 46. Be sure to check it out. You can order a copy or subscribe to the magazine from the affiliate link on the right hand side of my blog.
Dashing Diamonds Quilt
Throughout the year, there will be tutorials, blog hops, giveaway, etc. I love batiks and I am so excited to share the projects that I make throughout the coming year with you. If you like my May Project, I can’t wait to share my June project with you. It will be a project that features New York Beauty blocks in it.
MM 46
Please follow me on social media so you don’t miss a thing.
Also, please check out our Tik Tok and YouTube Channels (Blue Bear Quilts) for more quilting fun and inspiration.
We are so happy that you stopped by to visit us in the Quilt Block Mania hop and we hope that you like our block. Please stop by to see all of the other designer’s wonderful blocks.
Quilt Block Mania Ocean
You can click on the links to the other blocks here.
As an Island Batik Ambassador, this month’s challenge was to to mix it up and use triangles instead of the usual squares and rectangles. I chose to put my triangles in a box.
I went to my Electric Quilt 8 software program and started playing around with triangle in a square layouts and then colored in the design with the actual fabrics from Island Batik. Here is the digital image of my design. The colorful batiks are laid out vertically, creating diamonds and the dark and light pieces are laid out horizontally, creating a tumbling effect.
Digital image of the quilt
I used the Island Batik collection called Mountain Gems for this project, along with Mint and Bridgewater. Mountain Gems contains gorgeous blue and green batiks from Bali. This fabric collection should be in shops now that carry Island Batik, such as Hancocks of Paducah. You may find them at their store in Paducah, KY, or online at www.hancocks-paducah.com or by phone at 800-845-8723.
Mountain Gems
Triangles can be a little tricky to sew as it is sometimes difficult to determine how to line up the pieces before you sew them. Sometimes they need to overlap 1/4,” sometimes more, and sometimes not at all. So I decided to cut out my triangle in a square pieces with my Accuquilt cutter and dies as the pieces line up perfectly and all you have to do is concentrate on sewing a good 1/4.”
Accuquilt cutter and die
When making a triangle in a square, half of the side pieces need to be reversed. This is where the beauty of working with Island Batiks comes into play. There isn’t a noticeable right or wrong side to the fabric, so when I was cutting out the shapes, I didn’t need to worry if the fabric needed to be placed right side up or right side down.
After I had the quilt top all pieced, I decided to do some ruler work quilting on my Janome 6600. I used Hobbs Premium 80/20 batting, a Schmetz quilting needle, and a variegated 50 weight thread from Aurifil. Since the quilt top had a lot of angular lines, I wanted some curvy quilting, so I used the Good Measures Circle rulers by Amanda Murphy to create some intersecting arcs.
Good Measures ruler
By slowing the speed of my machine down, and using a teflon slider on the bed of the machine, it was easy to quilt around the curve of the ruler. Here is a close up of some of the quilting I did.
quilting
Here is the finished quilt and a close up of it.
Dashing Diamonds Quilt
Quilt
The photo shoot of the quilt can be almost as much fun as making the quilt. Here are some more pictures from the photo shoot at a local park. There is a quilt on a rail. a quilt on a tree, a quilt by a tree, a quilt on a bridge and a quilt on a Reed. There is a short Instagram reel of me wearing the quilt. My Instagram handle is @bluebearquilts.
Quilt on a rail
Quilt on a tree
quilt by a tree
Quilt on a bridge
Quilt on a bridge 2
Quilt on Reed
There where many birds in the park and this one was curious as to what I was doing.
bird watching
The supplies I used to make this project were provided by:
Island Batik Mountain Gems collection and Mint and Bridgewater.
In May 2022, we are offering 20% off two digital download quilt patterns the feature Island Batik fabric. They are South Seas Shuffle Quilt and Timberland Tumble Quilt. The link to these patterns is here: downloadable-patterns/
SSS Cover
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Blue Bear says hi!
Blue Bear
Please let him know how much you like his Dashing Diamonds quilt, by writing to him in the comments. The comment box is at the top left of the blog post, below Reed’s picture. There will be a pattern coming out for Dashing Diamonds this summer.
The other amazing Island Batik Ambassadors are also posting their May Triangle Tricks Challenge projects. Check out their projects by clicking on the links next to their names to be directed to their blog posts.
Things are starting to get buggy and Quilt Block Mania is ready with this month’s theme of bugs for May 2022. There are a lot of cool looking bugs with this month’s blocks. Our complimentary block of the month for Quilt Block Mania, during the month of May 2022, Marvelous Moth, is sure to delight bug collectors everywhere. If you like receiving the complimentary blocks from Quilt Block Mania, please share this with your quilting friends on social media (please ask them to sign up for their own copy) so the designers can continue to do this every month. The designers thank you for your support, through your purchases, which allow us to offer these complimentary block patterns each month.
In May 2022, we are offering 20% off two digital download quilt patterns. They are South Seas Shuffle Quilt and Timberland Tumble Quilt. The link to these patterns is here: downloadable-patterns/
SSS Cover
TT Cover
Quilt Block Mania has 15 talented quilt designers creating blocks for this month’s theme- bugs. Here are the theme colors for this month.
may 22 colors
This is the Marvelous Moth block.
Marvelous Moth block
This block features an appliquéd teal and lime moth on a white background.
Here is a photo of the Marvelous Moth block made with fabrics from my stash.
Moth from stash
The Marvelous Moth block makes a festive 44″ x 18″ table runner with 2 Marvelous Moth blocks, 1 center flower block of your choice, 1″ finished lime sashing and inner border and a 2″ finished teal outer border. You also can turn the block into a 16″ pillow cover to brighten up your home. We have a pattern called Wonky Hearts Pillow, in our shop, if you would like a pattern for making the pillow cover. I also show the block as a quilt and wallhanging. Yardage for all the examples is in the pattern.
wall hanging
quilt
pillow
How to get the block
If you are new to our website and are interested in downloading a complimentary PDF pattern of our Marvelous Moth block for May, all you have to do is look for the box on our blog, on the right hand side, that says “Like this content? Sign up for free updates” and sign up to receive our newsletter. When you have done that, you will receive a welcoming email from us that will contain a coupon code and a link back to the complimentary pattern. You will act as though you are purchasing the pattern and in the cart, you will apply the coupon code, which will make the pattern free. You will need to fill out contact information, but no payment method will be necessary. Don’t worry, we do not send out newsletters very often and we never sell email addresses or contact information. Here is what the pattern looks like. It is in a format very similar to most Blue Bear Quilt patterns, so if you see what you like in this complimentary pattern, you will like our other patterns as well.
Please note: This pattern will only be complimentary during the month of May 2022.
Moth Cover
Current newsletter subscribers, don’t despair! You will be able to download the complimentary pattern as well. You have already been sent a newsletter on May 3rd which gave you the coupon code.
Be sure to follow us on our Instagram page, @bluebearquilts, as that is where we occasionally have giveaways.
Be sure to look at my last several posts, which have the details for my April project as an Island Batik Ambassador. In April, I made a memory bear from the Funky Friends Factory.
Buttons
Throughout the year, there will be tutorials, blog hops, giveaway, etc. I love batiks and I am so excited to share the projects that I make throughout the coming year with you. If you like my April Project, I can’t wait to share my May project with you. It will be a project that incorporates triangle blocks in it.
Please follow me on social media so you don’t miss a thing.
Also, please check out our Tik Tok and YouTube Channels (Blue Bear Quilts) for more quilting fun and inspiration.
We are so happy that you stopped by to visit us in the Quilt Block Mania hop and we hope that you like our block. Please stop by to see all of the other designer’s wonderful blocks.
May Bug Themed Blocks
You can click on the links to the other blocks here.
It is time to share my April project as an Island Batik Ambassador. This month’s challenge was to to make a stuffed animal using Island Batik fabric and a pattern from the Funky Friends Factory.
They have so many wonderful patterns to chose from so it was a difficult decision. Blue Bear said that he wanted another bear friend, so we decided on Melody the Memory Bear.
This is the cover of the pattern.
Melody Bear
The idea behind the memory bear is to use a child’s outgrown clothing or a loved one’s clothing to make a memory bear. The Funky Friends Factory pattern was very well written and easy to follow. I don’t usually do this type of sewing, so I followed the pattern meticulously. There also was a blog entry where you could follow along with detailed notes and photos while making the bear.
I wanted my bear to have a natural look, so I used Island Batik’s Evergreen and Pine collection. The green and tan colors were perfect for this project.
Evergreen and Pine
The Funky Friends pattern has paper templates for you. I roughly cut them out and then pinned them to freezer paper. I then cut the template shape out carefully on the outside line. I was then able to iron the freezer paper template onto the various fabrics and then cut out the shapes. Some of the shapes need to be reversed. This is where the beauty of working with Island Batiks comes into play. There isn’t a noticeable right or wrong side to the fabric, so when I was cutting out the shapes, I was able to cut several shapes at the same time and the bottom one could then be reversed if I needed a reversed piece of that particular shape.
Template
The fabrics are sewn right sides together and a good amount of the sewing is straight lines. There are some curves, but they are very gentle and not difficult to sew. I carefully pinned the curved pieces together and slowed my sewing down for accuracy.
Pinned pieces
I used two old buttons I had for the eyes.
Once the bear is pieced and you have left an opening, it is time to stuff the bear with some poly fill stuffing. You stuff the head real good so that it’s easy to sew on the nose and mouth. The arms and legs are stuffed next and then finally the body. I wanted my bear to have a heart and to be kind, so I also stuffed him with a little red mylar heart.
Bear with heart
Finally, I blanket stitched on the nose and embroidered his mouth and Buttons the Batik Bear was born.
Buttons the Bear
Buttons face
From the back and sides, you can see all of the different beautiful Island Batik fabrics that I used.
Buttons back
Buttons side
Buttons other side
The supplies I used to make this project were provided by:
We have two Spring quilt patterns for sale through the month of April. They are Golden Gate Park Table Runner and Spring Friends Table Runner.
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Blue Bear says hi!
Blue Bear
Buttons the Batik Bear
Please let him know how much you like his new friend, Buttons, by writing to him in the comments. The comment box is at the top left of the blog post, below Reed’s picture.
The other amazing Island Batik Ambassadors are also posting their April Funky Friends Challenge projects. Check out their projects by clicking on the links next to their names to be directed to their blog posts.
NY Beauty
