Before we get to the magazine quilts, I have to tell you about an exciting discovery that I found. I was perusing the WWW.Accuquilt.com website and i did a search for embroidery patterns. What I discovered was that they have added many new free embroidery downloads for their older dies. We have two patterns that utilize Accuquilt appliqué shapes and now you can download the embroidery files for free, which will make doing the appliqué on these quilts so much easier. This is so exciting! They now have embroidery files for GO! Baby Baby, which has the bear and a duck and GO! Lullaby, which contains the sheep. Here is what they look like all stitched out in the satin stitch. The embroidery files also contain the blanket stitch and a motif stitch.
emb. sheep satin stitchemb. bear satin stitch
Here are the two Blue Bear Quilt patterns that use these Accuquilt dies: Dancing with Bears and Where R Ewe?, which are available on our website.
Dancing Bears Quilt PatternWhere R Ewe Quilt Pattern
We have had several of our quilts appear in magazines recently. The first was Grandmother’s Garden, made with McKenna Ryan’s batiks in her Seed to Blossom line for Hoffman. This quilt appeared in the May/June 2019 issue of Love of Quilting magazine. The beautiful quilting was done at the Florida Quilting Center and I have included a close up photo of the quilting.
May/June 2019 Love of QuiltingMother’s Garden Quiltquilting on Mother’s Garden
The next quilt was Addie’s Garden, named after my great niece, appearing in the July/August 2019 issue of McCall’s Quilting magazine. It was made with gorgeous fabrics from the QT Fabrics Adeline line.
Addie’s Garden. July/August issue of McCall’s Quilting magazine
The third quilt was called Grandmother’s Garden, appearing in the July/ August 2019 issue of Love of Quilting. It featured fabric from Moda’s Morris Garden line.
Grandmother’s Garden. July/August issue of Love of Quilting
We have been very busy creating new quilt designs for Accuquilt and these patterns are available as free downloads on their website. They have a die for making the Cleopatra’s Fan and our quilt pattern is called Cleo’s Garden Gate.
Cleo’s Garden Gate
We also created cute mug rug rugs called Spring Medley Mug Rugs.
Spring Medley Mug Rugs
Finally, for Accuquilt, we created the packaging pattern for their Sea Life Medley die. The pattern included on the package is Fun at Sea Life Medley. We created a second pattern for that die called Storm at Sea Life Medley.
Fun at Sea Life Medley QuiltStorm at Sea Life Medley Quilt
We have some beautiful wooden and acrylic seam rippers for sale on our website. These were created by the husband of one of our students and they are a delight to look at and hold. They take the drudgery out of ripping.
Wooden Seam RippersAcrylic Seam Rippers
One last thing, we are leading a quilting cruise to Alaska’s Inside Passage on June 6-13, 2020. It is aboard the Holland America Eurodam and departs and returns to that great city in the Pacific Northwest of Seattle. There are quilt shops in every port and we quilt while the ship is at sea so you don’t miss out on any of the fun in the ports. Our sponsor for the cruise is Happy Apple Quilts. Their website is located at www.happyapplequilts.com Please mention that they referred you when registering. The project that we will be working on is called Northern Star Garden. It will involve 3 different techniques: piecing with Accuquilt cut shapes, no fear paper piecing and Hawaiian appliqué. Janome sewing machines and kits will be provided with fantastic fabrics from QT Fabrics.
Alaska Quilt Cruise June 6-13, 2020Quilt Cruise project- Northern Star Garden
It has been a very busy summer, designing new quilt patterns, teaching classes, attending a Niece’s wedding, designing quilt patterns for magazine submissions and entering a contest.
We entered the Accuquilt Block Design contest again this year. They should be announcing the winners very soon. Here are a few of the blocks that I entered this year. Thank you to everyone that voted for my blocks. I appreciate it very much!
X Marks the SpotSnow ConesSea GlassBlue DiamondBig Star Grid.
Before attending a wedding, we went to a family farm, in Northern Minnesota, and I was able to walk across the Mississippi River, in Itasca State Park. This is where the great river originates and it is very narrow and shallow, enabling you to walk across. I would not try that in New Orleans where it is deep and wide. I also saw amazing sunflower fields and llamas.
Reed at start of MississippiCrossing MississippiLlamasSunflower Field
My Niece got married this August in Stillwater, Minnesota. It was beautiful wedding at a flower farm and the rehearsal dinner was on a riverboat. I also went to the Como Park Conservatory, which has amazing floral displays.
Niece and husbandStillwater RiverboatLights at WeddingWedding BouquetHot Air BalloonComo Park ConservatoryVery large hibiscus
Butterfly at flower farm
I taught a Quilt-in-a-Day class on Kylee’s Kite at Bear Patch Quilting Company in White Bear Lake Minnesota. Everyone had a great time. Several students brought in their completed tops from this year and last year.
Kylee’s KiteKylee’s Kite classStudent’s Kylee’s KiteStudent’s Bear in My Watermelon Patch
I can’t reveal the quilt designs for the magazines yet, or several new patterns I developed with QT Fabrics. However, I can show you the Northwoods Holiday Medley Placemats that were designed for Accuquilt and the pattern is available as a free download on their website https://www.accuquilt.com/go-northwoods-medley-holiday-placemats.html
Northwoods Holiday Medley Placemats
I can also show you our latest pattern, Kaleidoscope, that was designed with QT Fabrics. This pattern is available on our website, Craftsy, and coming to a quilt shop near you soon.
Kaleidoscope Quilt
It is going to be a busy fall writing patterns and making a sample quilt for QT Fabrics that will be displayed at quilt market this November, utilizing a new line of fabrics for them.
Also, Blue Bear will be teaching on a cruise in 2020. We are very excited about this and hope to be able to provide you with details soon. When it is this far out, it will give you lots of time to plan and save for a quilting cruise. We are so excited to have the opportunity to quilt and cruise with you! Stay tuned.
At Blue Bear Quilts, we have been very busy getting ready for the summer 2018 classes. We also have been working on some secret sewing projects for Accuquilt that we can’t wait to share with you. We also have been designing patterns with QT Fabrics. Hopefully, we will be able to share these projects with you very soon.
Triaxial Weave Pillow
Here are some of the exciting classes that we have coming up this summer. We will be offering a Triaxial Weave Pillow at Keep Me in Stitches on May 22& 29 in Tampa and July 12 & 19 in Largo. This is a weaving project that has little sewing and offers many creative ideas to incorporate into your sewing projects like garments, bags, and quilts.
We have an exciting Electric Quilt 8/ Accuquilt Event coming up at Keep Me in Stitches on May 25 & 26 in Tampa, and June 22 &23 in Largo. In this two-day event, you will learn the basic functions of EQ8 and learn how to create the “In the Jungle” quilt in EQ8 incorporating Accuquilt die shapes. The second day, we will cut out the quilt pieces using an Accuquilt cutter and die and sew the quilt together.
In the Jungle Quilt
Finally, at Keep Me in Stitches, we have an Accuquilt party called “Patriotic Windings Ways,” perfect for the 4th of July, on June 8 & 9, in Largo, and June 15 & 16 in Tampa; a 3D Pinwheel Serger Blanket for the Baby Lock Serger Club, and the Bright Hope Quilt, in Tampa, on June 7 & 14th, and, in Largo, on August 20 & 27th.
Country Quilts and Bears in Clearwater will have two offerings this summer. The first is our Accuquilt block contest fan favorite, “Not Your Grandmother’s Flower Garden” on May 23 & 30 and then “Water Wheel,” on July 14th, A Quilt in a Day Pattern.
Water Wheel
At Bear Patch Quilting Company in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, on August 8th, we will be teaching a Quilt in a Day pattern called “Kylee’s Kite,” which we have put a modern spin on it with black and white fabrics and lots of geometric quilting.
Kylee’s Kite
Finally here are some photos from classes that we held this last session: Zippered serger pouch, Wonky Heart Pillow, Hawaiian Stars, and Snapshots Quilt.
I entered several blocks in the 2017 Accuquilt Block Design Contest. By popular vote, these two entries were the most popular.
Here were my other entries:
But the Grand Champion was my Purple Rose. It will be unveiled on the billboard outside the Accuquilt headquarters in Interstate 80 for an entire year. I am in the process of designing a quilt and a pattern for this block, which will be available in our shop.
I also entered this contest in 2016 and here were my entries from that year.
But the one that won Fan Favorite was Not Your Grandmother’s Flower Garden a.k.a. What Happens When Grandpa Tells Grandma No More Trips to the Fabric Store.It was designed with the Accuquilt Dresden Plate Die and Kaffe Fassett fabrics.
As a result of winning Fan Favorite, I was honored with a trip to Julien California to spend a week with Eleanor Burns, from Quilt in a Day, at her Fall quilt retreat at Camp Cedar Glen in the mountains. It was a wonderful time for which I am forever grateful.
For the 2017 Blogger’s Quilt Festival, I thought I would share Blue Bear’s most popular pattern, Greek Isles Modern.
This pattern is much easier than it looks. It is made with 2.5″ strips of white and 2.5″ strips of light, medium and dark batiks, that you may obtain from jelly rolls, or cut on your 2.5″ strip die with your Accuquilt Go! Cutter. The blocks are all constructed the same way, and placement is what determines the pattern. At 70 x 90,” it is the perfect quilt to curl up with on the couch for binge watching your favorite Netflix shows.
Here is a picture of Kim at Keep Me in Stitches in Largo, Florida, quilting this beauty; followed by a close up of her fantastic quilting.
Here are several more photos of the quilt out and about.
I have taught this class several times and here are some of my students interpretations of the quilt. Click on the links for short videos. They did a fantastic job!
You could make one of these every year year. Keep them for yourself, or give them as a gift. Once you learn the technique, you can put photos on fabric in the middle or use something small that you have cross-stitched or embroidered. Have fun making these as they do not need to be perfect to look fantastic!
Quilted Star Ornament – Supply List
(1) 3” Styrofoam ball
(1) 1/8th yard dark fabric
(1) 1/8th yard light fabric
(1) 1/4th yard 2d dark fabric
(1) box dressmakers pins 1 1/16th inch, at least 300 count
(1) box extra-fine glasshead pins in color of your choice
(1) 1/4th yard decorative silky ribbon to create hanger
Quilted Star Ornament – Preparing Fabric
You need 2.5″ squares of coordinating and contrasting fabric. You will need 3 coordinating fabrics and one of them should be a light color and the other two can be a darker color. Press your fabrics, and then using a cutting mat and rotary cutter, cut 2.5″ strips and then sub-cut the strips into 2.5″ squares. For a 3” Styrofoam ball, you will need 10 squares of the first dark color and 16 squares, each, of the light colored fabric and the 2nd dark colored fabric.
2.5″ squares
Now, it’s time for the pressing of the prairie points. But first, set aside 2 squares from the first dark color, of which you started with 10, that you will not be pressing.
a. Fold the all the rest of the 2.5″ squares in half to make rectangles that are 1.25” x 2.5.” Press with your iron on steam setting. Do not iron, just press.
Half Rectangles
b. Then fold the just made rectangles again to make squares that are 1.25” x 1.25”.
1.25″ folded squares
c. Once you have the small, twice folded, squares, you open them back up to the rectangle and then fold the upper, left and right, corners in to meet the center crease line in the middle of the rectangle. Be precise when lining up the edges to the center; the closer (without overlapping the edges) the better. This makes a neat equilateral triangle (a prairie point) with the folded edges meeting in the center of the front of the triangle. When you have formed the prairie point, you carefully press. Be careful not to burn your fingers. You will end up with 40 small prairie points and 2 squares that have not been pressed.
Prairie PointsPrairie Points close upPrairie Points and squares
Quilted Star Ornament – Pinning the Pieces
To create the quilted look, you pin the prairie points to the foam ball in concentric layers.
Start by placing the two unfolded squares, evenly spaced apart, one at the top and one at the bottom, on the foam. Pin each corner of the squares to the foam and have the corners from each square almost meet each other, evenly spaced apart.
Squares on opposite sides
Round 1 of Prairie Points (1st Dark color that has 8 remaining squares)
Place your first prairie point directly on the 2.5″ square just placed at the top of the foam. Match the wide edge of the prairie point triangle with the corners of the square. Pin the bottom wide corners of the prairie point to the foam, first, and then the upper point. Then pin, to the foam, the upper point of the prairie point in between the two folds, a little below the top edge of the prairie point. You want to place the pin right in the creased edge of the fold so that the fold will cover it. Pull the folded flaps over this pin to hide it. When finished with a prairie point, the two pins at the bottom of the triangle will be showing and the pin at the upper point will be covered by the folded edges.
First Prairie Point
Using the same method, complete the second prairie point directly across from the first one. The upper points of these two prairie points will meet in the middle of the unfolded square on the foam ball.
Second Prairie Point
Using the same method, place the 3rd prairie point in the empty space beside the two just placed prairie points.
Pin the 4th prairie point in the remaining open space on the unfolded square to finish this round. You will have 4 prairie points in the center of the foam ball and all points should match up and not be overlapping each other at the center. They may overlap each other a little at the bottom of the prairie points. You will repeat this process on the opposite side of the ball and can do so now or after you have finished all 3 rounds on the top first.
Completed Round 1 on one side
Round 2 of Prairie Points (Light color that has 16 squares)
In this next round, you can decide how large you want your center star to be by deciding how much of the first round you want to leave showing. A good approximation is to start the 2nd round about ½” below the top of the first round. You should be able to fit 3 rounds without using more than half of the foam ball’s space.
To start round two, this time, place the prairie point’s upper point pin in first, right in the middle of the fold line of the first prairie point, from the previous round, about ½” from the top of the round 1 prairie point and then pin down the outer corners of the prairie point. It helps to put a pin anywhere on the prairie point, while pinning this center point first, and then remove this temporary pin. Use the same technique from round 1 of placing the upper point pin between the two folds a little below the top edge of the prairie point and pull the folded flaps over the upper point pin to hide it. Then pin the outside corners of the prairie point. These outside corners will overlap each other.
Round 2, 1st Prairie Point
Place the second prairie point, of round 2, completely opposite of the one placed in # 2 above. Just like last time, pin the center, hide the pin, and then pin the corners of the prairie point.
Using the same method, place the third prairie point, of round 2, 90 degrees from prairie points 1 and 2 just created.
Using the same method, place the 4th prairie point, of round 2, directly opposite of the piece created in # 4 above.
Now there are 4 long sections of the first round (dark color) that are exposed and are creating an “x.”
Round 2 “X”
You will now be placing a prairie point in each of the legs of that “x.” Place a 5th light color prairie point in one of the areas not covered by the previous 4 pieces from round 2. Place this prairie point in the line formed where the edges of the round 1 prairie points meet and just slightly below the level where the previous 4 round 2 prairie points were placed.
Round 2, 5th Prairie Point
You are adding another layer to round 2, of the same color, and are now going to start forming your star. Just like before, pin the center point, hide the pin, and then pin the corners of the prairie point.
Place the 6th prairie point completely opposite of the one placed in # 6 above.
Place the 7th prairie point 90 degrees from pieces 6 and 7 above.
Place the 8th prairie point directly opposite piece # 8. You will now see your first star formed from the dark color of round 1.
Completed Round 2 on one side
Round 3 of Prairie Points (2d Dark color that has 16 squares)
Now you will place a third round of prairie points on top of round 2. Start with the first prairie point that you placed in round two and going about ½” from the upper point of the round 2 prairie point, place the point pin of the round 3 prairie point first, in the folds of the round 2 prairie point, just like you did for the last round, and then pin down the outer corners of the round 3 prairie point.
Round 3, 1st Prairie Point
Place the second prairie point completely opposite the one in # 1 above.
Place the third prairie point 90 degrees from the prairie points created in # 1 and 2 above.
Place the fourth prairie point directly opposite of prairie point # 3 above.
Now there are 4 prairie points of the second round (light color) that are not covered by round 3. You will next place a prairie point in each of those 4 prairie points. Place a 5th dark color prairie point in one of the areas not covered by the previous 4 pieces from round 3. Place this prairie point in the center line of the round 2 prairie point and just slightly below the level where the previous 4 round 3 prairie points were placed. You are adding another layer to round 3, of the same color, and are now going to start forming your second star. Just like before, pin the upper center point, hide the pin, and then pin the corners of the prairie point.
Round 3, 5th Prairie Point
Place the 6th prairie point completely opposite of the one created in # 5 above.
Place the 7th prairie point 90 degrees from prairie points # 5 and 6 from above.
Place the 8th prairie point directly opposite of the one created in # 7. You will now see your second star.
Completed Round 3 on one side
Optionally, If you have room for another layer without going over the half way point of the foam ball, switch colors and repeat steps from round 3. You would need to cut 16 additional 2.5” squares of the new color.
When finished with one side of the foam ball, flip over the ornament and repeat all steps. If you repeated each round on the opposite side as you went, this step is already completed.
Quilted Star Ornament – Finishing Steps
Where the top and bottom edges meet is where you will place a fabric strip or ribbon. Usually the edges don’t match up perfectly. You can make the fabric strip the width needed to make sure you cover it all. Notice my edges and how at one spot the prairie points overlap each other and in another spot there is a gap.
Ornament Unfinished Edge
Finishing the Ornament
If you used a different sized ball, wrap a measuring tape around the ornament to determine the size of ribbon or fabric needed to cover the edge. For the 3” foam ball, I used a 12″ x 2.5” strip of fabric. You can use whatever color of fabric you want, but if you used the same fabric as in the round three prairie points, it will create a more harmonious look.
Coordinating Fabric Strip
Fold the strip in half, wrong sides together and press. Open the strip and fold both long edges of the strip toward the center line so that they meet in the center and then press. Fold each end of the strip in about a ½ “ and press. You end up with a 1.25″ finished strip to wrap around the ornament.
Determine the top of your ornament, if you have a preference. Wrap the fabric strip around the edge of your ornament and secure with the glass head pins at the intersections of the prairie points. When you come to the top, lay your hanger ribbon under the fabric strip and secure the ribbon and fabric strip to the ornament with four glass head pins. Tie your hanger ribbon in a knot at the top.
Attaching Strip and Ribbon
Optionally, you can attach the fabric strip and the hanger ribbon with a glue gun, if you prefer.
Keep in mind this is a handmade item and is not going to be perfect. The imperfections are what make it unique and special. There are no rules for the colors that are used or the spacing used between the rounds. Make it yours! You can make these into hanging ornaments, or decorative balls to place in a bowl or basket. The first round does not need to be prairie points. You can substitute a photo on fabric for the center square, or use a small piece of cross-stitch or embroidery as the center. To do this, you would skip the placement of the round one prairie points and start with round two after you have placed your photo or needlework.
Your ornament is ready to hang on your tree or give as a gift.
Folded Fabric Star Ornament
Please let me know if you have any questions and please share any ornaments that you make with the hashtag #bluebearquilts.
There are many blocks which have names related to things or events in the Bible. Today’s block, God’s Eye, would be one of the them.
God’s Eye Block
Others would be Jacob’s Ladder, Crown of Thorns, Joseph’s Coat, Ruins of Jericho, Star of Bethlehem and many others. Quilts with Biblical names can be reassuring to those that are devoted to God and quilts have often been used as burial shrouds and it is comforting to families to have their loved one wrapped in a quilt with a Biblical theme. Many other quilt blocks with a square eye in the middle have been called “God’s Eye.” The yarn “God’s Eye” is a popular kids craft where two sticks make a cross and then different colored yarns are wrapped around the sticks concentrically.
The block is made up of a 4 x 4 grid, with smaller 4 x 4 grids contained therein. The smaller grids are composed with squares and half square triangles. Although there are many pieces in this block (88), it would still be a fairly easy block for a beginning quilter. This block is usually composed with four colors, 2 lights and 2 darks. Below is an example of a 16 block quilt made up of God’s Eye blocks.
God’s Eye Quilt
This quilt can be very striking when made from scrappy fabrics, such as the quilt below.
God’s Eye Scrappy Quilt
Stay tuned for next week’s block, which will be the Log Cabin, a great block for a beginner to learn to quilt.
Happy Labor Day. I hope everyone is enjoying their time off with their families.
This week’s block is the Jacob’s Ladder. It has a Biblical reference as it refers to the story of Jacob found in Genesis 28: 10-12. The block also has many other names such as “Road To California, “Double Hour Glass” and “Covered Wagon,” suggesting that they were popular with the early pioneers headed west. Here is an example of what the block historically looked like.
Traditional Jacob’s Ladder Quilt Block
Notice that the block is a nine patch construction, which was discussed in a previous post, containing 5 four patch blocks, also discussed in a previous post, and 4 new blocks that are called half square triangles (HST.) See example below. This block is documented as having been made into a quilt at the beginning of the 20th century. It was originally made with two contrasting colors, a light and a dark. The block often has another name, ” Underground Railroad,” associated with it, but it has not been documented that this block existed around the time of pre Civil War, when the Underground Railroad was happening, and may have gotten the name later as a remembrance.
Example of half square triangle
This is an excellent block for a novice quilter as sewing the HSTs together is easy as you just have to sew two triangles together. It can be a little tricky to get those points on the end to match up, so one of my favorite tools to create the Jacob’s Ladder patches is my Accuquilt Fabric Cutter. It precision die cuts the pieces so they are perfectly cut. On the triangles, it cuts off the dog ears (the points that stick out) so that the ends are easy to align. Here is a link to the Accuquilt website, where you will find the fabric cutters and lots of fun dies. http://www.accuquilt.com.
Two “Go! Dies” that could be used to make this block are the 2.5″ square and the 2″ finished half square triangle. You will notice that the dies are two-tone, making it easy for you to place the fabric on the die. Then you place a plastic mat over the fabric and run the die, with the fabric and mat on it, through the cutter. There are manual and electric fabric cutters. Here is a picture of a “Go! Fabric Cutter” and the square and triangle dies. (Click on the thumbnails to make the pictures larger.) They are frequently on sale.
In order to create a double nine patch, we need to know what a nine patch is first. it is a block that contains a 3 x 3 grid. Normally there is a combination of light and dark fabrics. Here is an example of the basic nine patch block.
Basic Nine Patch Block
Notice how there are nine “patches” that are the same size. There is a combination of light yellow with the dark navy blue. The yellow is forming a cross and the navy is forming an “x” in the middle. All of these patches can be anywise, but typically they are divisible by 3, so the overall block size is usually 6, 9 or 12 inches. This block is popular with beginning quilters as it involves straight sewing and matching of a couple of seams. It is also an easy block to select color fabrics as you only need two, consisting of a light and dark. This block also makes a great scrap quilt as each of the navy squares in the example could be a different piece of fabric. This is also an easy jelly roll quilt as to contract the blocks, you sew 2.5″ strips of dark, light, dark together and strips of light, dark, light together and then cut them at 2.5″ intervals. Then you take two of the dark, light, dark units and piece them together with a light, dark, light unit in the middle. Here is what a quilt would look like using this block, and then using the block alternating with plain navy squares.
Here I am in a catoonish image with my new look. Going for a more artsy.
I am in the process of designing a quilt and a pattern for this block, which will be available in our shop.
It was designed with the Accuquilt Dresden Plate Die and Kaffe Fassett fabrics.
