Posted on Leave a comment

Magazine Quilts Galore

Mother's Garden Quilt

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 stitch
emb. sheep satin stitch
emb. bear satin stitch
emb. 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 Pattern
Dancing Bears Quilt Pattern
Where R Ewe Quilt Pattern
Where 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 Quilting
May/June 2019 Love of Quilting
Mother's Garden Quilt
Mother’s Garden Quilt
quilting on Mother's Garden
quilting 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
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
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
Cleo’s Garden Gate

We also created cute mug rug rugs called Spring Medley Mug Rugs.

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 Quilt
Fun at Sea Life Medley Quilt
Storm at Sea Life Medley Quilt
Storm 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 Rippers
Wooden Seam Rippers
Acrylic Seam Rippers
Acrylic 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, 2020
Alaska Quilt Cruise June 6-13, 2020
Quilt Cruise project- Northern Star Garden
Quilt Cruise project- Northern Star Garden
Posted on Leave a comment

Week 9- Block of the Week- Nebraska Windmill Block

Nebraska Windmill Block

We have another fun block of the week. This time we discovered the Nebraska Windmill Block.

Nebraska Windmill Block
Nebraska Windmill Block

We discovered this block on the National Park Service’s board regarding a Quilt Discovery Experience. You can see this block and others here: https://www.nps.gov/home/planyourvisit/quilt-discovery-experience.htm

Here is what the National Park Service had to say about this block, which they called Nebraska Pinwheel: “Wheels represent movement. The pioneers depended on wheels to carry them across the plains.

For the homesteaders, wheels were vital to their lives. They were the basis of their transportation. Wheels were used in sawmills and in gristmills where grain was ground into flour or meal.

In the early 1900’s, windmills pumped water for livestock and made life on the homestead easier. Because of its importance to the homesteaders in their everyday lives, the wheel was often a favorite quilt pattern.

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, quilt making took on new significance. The government took all the wool produced for commercial use, and actively urged citizens to make quilts using the slogan, “Make Quilts-Save the Blankets for our Boys Over There.” As a result, many utilitarian quilts for home use were made. These quilts soon earned the nickname of, “Liberty Quilts.”

 

The block originated in 1977 with the Lincoln Quilters Guild. Here is what they have said about it: “In 1977, The Lincoln Quilters Guild (LQG) sponsored a contest to select a quilt block to honor the State of Nebraska. The contest was in conjunction with Quilt Symposium ’77: Fine Art, Folk Art, planned & hosted by LQG. The 85th Nebraska State Legislature passed Legislative Resolution Number One in January 1977 to designate the winning block as the Official Nebraska Block. The winning block, Nebraska Windmill, was designed by E.S. “Bud” Dunklau of Lincoln, NE. Bud & Carol Dunklau gave the original block pattern & rights to the pattern to LQG. LQG gave the original cloth block to the Nebraska State Historical Society.”

You can clearly see why the block became the official state block, as the green windmill blades, in my example, look like the shape of the state of Nebraska. Here is a slightly different coloring of the block.

Alternate Nebraska Windmill Block
Alternate Nebraska Windmill Block

 

You can create a striking quilt by just laying the blocks out in a horizontal layout.

Horizontal Quilt
Horizontal Quilt

The quilt takes on a different look when you add sashing and use the alternative coloring of the block.

Quilt with sashing
Quilt with sashing

Here are a few more quilt layouts for this block.

Quilt with alternate coloring
Quilt with alternate coloring
Quilt with half square triangle
Quilt with half square triangles
Quilt with four patch
Quilt with four patch

 

 

Quilt with alternate bear paw block
Quilt with alternate bear paw block

 

 

Quilt on point
Quilt on point

 

This block is fairly easy to cut out and sew together. You will have to see what creation you can come up using the Nebraska Windmill block. Post a picture on Instagram, or Facebook, and tag it with #BlueBearQuilts so we can see your creations.

Posted on Leave a comment

Busy Summer

Kaleidoscope Quilt

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 Spot
X Marks the Spot
Snow Cones
Snow Cones
Sea Glass
Sea Glass
Blue Diamond
Blue Diamond
Big Star Grid.
Big 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 Mississippi
Reed at start of Mississippi
Crossing Mississippi
Crossing Mississippi
Llamas
Llamas
Sunflower Field
Sunflower 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 husband
Niece and husband
Stillwater Riverboat
Stillwater Riverboat
Lights at Wedding
Lights at Wedding
Wedding Bouquet
Wedding Bouquet
Hot Air Balloon
Hot Air Balloon
Como Park Conservatory
Como Park Conservatory
Very large hibiscus
Very large hibiscus

 

 

 

 

 

 

Butterfly at flower farm
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 Kite
Kylee's Kite class
Kylee’s Kite class
Student's Kylee's Kite
Student’s Kylee’s Kite
Student's Bear in My Watermelon Patch
Student’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
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
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.

Posted on Leave a comment

Secret Sewing Projects

In the Jungle Quilt

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
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
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.

Patriotic Winding Ways
3D Pinwheel Serger Blanket
Bright Hope Quilt

At Happy Apple Quilts, We are offering “Hawaiian Stars” on May 31st and “Box of Chocolate Covered Cherries” on June 28th.

Hawaiian Stars Quilt
Box Chocolate Covered Cherries

 

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.

Hawaiian Stars Class
Snapshot Quilt
Snapshot Quilt
Snapshot Quilt
Snapshot Quilt
Wonky Heart Class
Barbie Snapshot Block

Serger Zipper Pouch

Posted on Leave a comment

Week 8- January 15, 2018- Block of the Week- Churn Dash

Block of the week is back and this week’s block is a favorite among quilters. It is the churn dash.

Churn Dash Block
Churn Dash Block

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It originated in the early 1800’s. It is called churn dash as the outside rounded corners look like the outside of a butter churn

and the center square looks like the wooden dash that went into the center of the churn to make the butter by pounding the dash

up and down in the churn. It is a favorite among quilters as it is fairly easy, using only a square, rectangles and triangles.

It makes a beautiful quilt.

Churn Dash Quilt
Churn Dash Quilt

Accuquilt makes it super easy to make this block with their 9″ Churn Dash die.

Accuquilt Churn Dash
Accuquilt Churn Dash

 

 

 

 

 

 

The churn dash pattern has many, many different names and variations of construction, such as the Shoo Fly and Double Monkey Wrench.

Let’s take a look at how some quilters have put a modern spin on a churn dash quilt.

It could be a red and white quilt as was done by Amy Smart.

Red White Churn Dash Quilt
Red White Churn Dash Quilt

Or a blue and white as created by Material Girl Quilts

Blue White Churn Dash Quilt
Blue White Churn Dash Quilt

 

 

 

This quilt is absolutely gorgeous turned on point.

On Point Churn Dash
On Point Churn Dash by Pat Speth.

How about something big and bold like this coloring of the quilt?

Bold Churn Dash
Bold Churn Dash

You can also piece some of the shapes in the block for a modern effect, like this colorful 4-patch center and pieced rectangles in Nut by The Happy Zombie.

 

 

 

 

or add flying geese to the rectangles as was done by Blue Ridge Girl in this modern interpretation of the churn dash block.

Flying Geese Churn Dash
Flying Geese Churn Dash

Finally, you could alternate the churn dash with another block

such as the 9-patch for a very striking and modern quilt created by Mary Manson or

 

make the block wonky like this one made by Jennifer Dick of 42 Quilts.

Wonky Churn
Wonky Churn

 

 

 

 

I hope this has inspired you to try some new things for putting a modern spin on the old time favorite churn dash block.

Posted on Leave a comment

Happy 2018!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Bear wishes everyone a Happy New Year! It’s going to be an exciting new year, with new looks and exciting new patterns.

Blue Bear
Blue Bear

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here I am in a catoonish image with my new look. Going for a more artsy.

 

Here are two of Blue Bear’s latest patterns. They are sure to warm up any home during this cold and brutal winter.

Pineapple Welcome Quilt
Pineapple Welcome Quilt
Bright Hope Quilt Pattern
Bright Hope Quilt Pattern
Posted on Leave a comment

Drumroll Please! Announcing the Grand Champion Prize Winner of the Accuquilt Block Design Contest.

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.

Here are some photos from that trip. 

Posted on 14 Comments

Greek Isles Modern Quilt

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!

4D1F584E-4BF0-4F0B-9EC4-06091ACAE8FC

IMG_0865

If you would like to purchase this pattern, it is available on our website here, www.bluebearquilts.com, or on Craftsy here- https://www.craftsy.com/quilting/patterns/greek-isles-modern-quilt/490532

Greek Isles Modern Quilt Cover

Sharing at the Blogger’s Quilt Festival hosted by Amy’s Creative Side.

Posted on Leave a comment

Week 7- September 26, 2016- Block of the Week- Log Cabin- Part 2

As we discussed in Part 1 last week, this is a excellent block for beginning quilters to learn how to quilt. It is the pattern that I used when I was first learning to quilt. The most recommended book to make this pattern is “Make a Quilt in a Day- Log Cabin Pattern” by Eleanor Burns. So many people, including me, have used this book to make their first quilt. Thus, Quilt in a Day and Eleanor Burns are endeared to many quilter’s. Eleanor was a school teacher and her patterns are clearly written and easy to follow. The book is pictured in the photo below.

 

Quilt in a Day Log Cabin Pattern
Log Cabin Pattern

One helpful tool that the book contains is a paste-up sheet, where you lay out all of your fabric samples to see if you have a good mixture of lights and darks. An additional trick that I learned was to photocopy this sheet with the fabrics on it as it will highlight the contrasting tonal values for you. Here is a photo of the paste-up sheet that I  did for my first quilt and a photo of it photocopied. To obtain the desired pattern effects, you want a strong contrast between the lights and darks. Remember this was my first quilt and I now see that I could have done a better job of making a stronger contrast between the lights and darks. Today, I  would have made the pink center square darker and the two outer light colors lighter. This palette with the floral fabrics created a very country look and today I would most likely shy away from that as well. This quilt pattern is also good for a beginner as you can quilt it yourself by quilting straight stitches in the ditch.

Color Paste-up sheet
Color Paste-up sheet
Copier Paste-up sheet
Copier Paste-up sheet

 

This pattern is very versatile and can result is many different looks, depending on how you rotate the blocks. Let’s take a look at the traditional quilt from last week laid out 8 different ways. Depending on the fabrics you use and the layout, this traditional pattern can take on a modern look. I think that Whirligig and Navajo have a more modern spin to them.

Barn Raising Layout
Barn Raising Layout
Whirligig Layout
Whirligig Layout
Cross Hatch Layout
Cross Hatch Layout
Positive/Negative Layout
Positive/Negative Layout
Stained Glass Layout
Stained Glass Layout
Fields and Furrows Layout
Fields and Furrows Layout
Navajo Layout
Navajo Layout
Dark with Light Layout
Dark with Light Layout

My favorite is “Positive/Negative” as I love how the lights and darks create a a dimensional feel to the pattern. Which one is your favorite?

Positive/Negative Layout
Positive/Negative Layout

Next week, we will look at the Wild Geese Block which can create some fun modern patterns.

Posted on Leave a comment

Week 6- September 19, 2016- Block of the Week- Log Cabin- Part 1

Today we are going to look at the log cabin block. This is the quintessential beginner quilt block because it is so easy. All you have to do is sew strips together and cut various sized units. Those units keep getting sewn to another strip and then cut again. Here is what the block traditionally looks like.

Log Cabin Block
Log Cabin Block

You will note that there is a red center with light fabrics on the left side and dark fabrics on the right side. The red center is thought to be the fireplace of the cabin, and the light side is the sun shining on the cabin, or goodness, and the dark side is thought to be shadows on the house, or sadness. Sometimes this quilt is called Sunshine and Shadows depending on how the blocks are arranged. The next photo shows how this quilt is traditionally laid out.

Traditional Log Cabin Quilt
Traditional Log Cabin Quilt

Here is an excellent video animation by Judit Hajdu showing how to strip piece this quilt. https://youtu.be/ZayIGmzkMmo

Next week will feature part 2 on the log cabin block and showcase how many different quilts one can create depending on how the blocks are arranged.