Finally.
I am finally finished my MOD Bear Paw.
And have never been prouder of or more pleased to have a finish to share.
Here you can see my quilt holders comparing how tall the corn is growing. Notice that my husband records the height of the corn to be about nose high. And my son is holding his hand beneath his chin. Hahaha!
I stared this quilt in mid June and was so happy to have completed Step 1 in this post where I also shared the details of all the calves born this spring. The traditional Bear Paw block does seem to require that you make a few HST (Half Square Triangles) before you can move on to the more interesting aspects of making this quilt. But as the corn and calves have grown in the past few weeks, so did the quilt.
The exciting part was when I had finished all the parts and was beginning to sew them all together. Making the rows. Wow! Now that was when I knew we were closing in on the finish line. Sewing on the multiple borders. And watching this big beauty come to life.
The full size setting contains 56 full Bear Paw 7" blocks.
And there are partial blocks surrounding the Big Bear.
I am especially happy with the fabrics I chose. The entire quilt is made from only four different choices from the Shimmer collection by Northcott Fabrics. Even the backing and binding. You really have to see this fabric in person to appreciate it's true beauty. The browns all contain hints of gold metallic. The off white background, and dark grey paw prints in the border, each contain flecks of silver.
When it came time for quilting, I was dreading the thought of basting this quilt at home. And with this heat wave we've been getting?!!! In our humble home, there is just not enough table or floor space. Or air conditioning. So I headed over to my church and used the long tables there in the basement, where it was cool, to spread out the backing, batting and smooth out the top to pin. I used a new batting - Warm 100 - for the first time. It is 100% Natural Cotton - 100% Cotton Scrim from Warm Company. The one thing I noticed about this batting is that both sides are clear, clean and free of imperfections, so this would be perfect for use in quilts that contain a light coloured back and top.
Then, instead of rolling up the basted quilt to bring it back home, I returned home to retrieve my machine - Aunt Elna - and proceeded to do those wavy lines in a brown variegated thread on top and in the bobbin. It took me quite a while to decide on just what thread to use. Grey? White? Brown? White on top and brown on the bottom?
The quilting took 5 hours. I really am all about getting the quilting done. And I love to use an edge to edge organic wavy line. This seems to be my signature finish now. I am super pleased with how well the quilting looks both upon the front of the quilt.....
And on the back.
This quilt will be featured in my booth at the upcoming International Plowing Match in Harriston, Ontario this August 19 and 20th. If you're free, please make plans to come and drop by, if you can. I would love to meet some bloggy friends!
This "MOD Bear Paw" FULL quilt finished at 84" x 84"
and was the 5th use of my 2nd edition of 100 labels
ordered from Ikaprint.
 |
| MOD Bear Paw LAP quilt finishes at 68" x 68" |
Announcing the Modernitional Bear Paw pattern release!
After having went through the entire pattern in making the full size version of this quilt.... And then having a lovely group of talented volunteers offer to test the pattern and provide me with immensely helpful feedback.....
But I must give a special thanks to Karen of Tu-Na Quilts for her efforts to go above and beyond. Her response was especially helpful and I am so grateful! Thank you Karen!
I am now quite confident the pattern is accurate. Now this is not a pattern I would recommend to a new quilter. But I certainly would not discourage anyone from trying it either. It all depends on your confidence level and your willingness to stick to it.
So if this design appeals to you and you would like to purchase the MOD Bear Paw pattern, you can find it here in my shop. The MOD Bear Paw pattern provides instructions for four different size options from Baby at 39" x 47" to the Full size version which finishes at 84" x 84".
This won't be the last Bear Paw quilt you will see here on Sew Fresh Quilts....
I am certainly preparing to make another.... Maybe in a smaller size this time?
And am planning to offer the instructions as my next QUILT ALONG!
Coming in September!
Will you be joining us?
(FINALLY!!!!) Linking up to Finish it up Friday with
Keep On Quilting On!
41 comments:
Congratulations on the big finish! It turned out beautifully. <3
Great finish Lorna. How nice to have a place to baste such a monster size quilt. Basting is my least favorite part of the process!
This is such a fun twist of the bear paw quilts. 😊
This is one amazing quilt. Congratulations to the finish. I love it. A whole fresh new take on a bear quilt =)
Lovely, I like your fabrics, the brown makes great bear fur. It is a lot of half square triangles, but so worth it.
Smiles
Kate
Congratulations Lorna. I love your inclusion of the bear!
Oh, my goodness, it's totally awesome! That's a lot of HSTs! And paw prints galore! Just amazing! All of your color choices were spot on. XO
Definitely joining you in September - this will be the year of the QAL's for me! I love this pattern and the bear emerging is brilliant but the paw border seals the deal for me! Congratulations on a fabulous finish and another great pattern!
Absolutely gorgeous Lorna! Love this modernitional take on the bear paw and SO glad you are going to make it into a QAL! I'll finally be able to do one in real time with you! Congrats on the big finish! =)
Such a fun quilt! I love the paws in the border!
Congratulations Lorna--it is a beautiful quilt!
I love your quilt, especially the bear paws edging. I also like how the bear is poking his head out through the sashing :) Looking forward to seeing what your smaller version in September entails as it may be my very first QAL :)
Another great finish, this one is so unique, love it!
He looks so majestic! Those fabrics were perfect for this pattern. I'm super impressed it only took 5 hrs to quilt.
great finish, it has been fun to watch your progress on this one and just love the big bear at the bottom of the quilt and the foot prints (paw prints) along the sides.
I love this quilt. My first large quilt was a bear's paw; I have loved the pattern ever since. Now I want to make another one! Hope you have a great time at the show -- this quilt will be a dazzler!
Wow, thanks for the close ups, that fabric is yummy! I've been watching you make this, but had no idea that the fabric was such a golden brown metallic, my favorite color! The pattern is nice of course, but the fabric makes it sing!
Lorna - you continue to amaze me. Nothing fazes you - I absolutely loved your post this morning. I'm not so sure about those quilt holders though! I see they just dropped that quilt to get to more important things like measuring the height of the corn! That was too funny and the picture was pretty cute!!!I love those behind the scene shots!
Great finish Lorna. He's adorable and the fabric is perfect.
wow. Just Wow. Like all of the above, I love the bear sauntering through the paws. I love the border, I really enjoy your quilting. Amazing to finish so fast. Great idea, a basement. BTW, I have adopted your quilting style and love it, so fast and looks great. Well done.
What an incredible quilt! From the fabric choices to the brilliant design, the paw print border is the icing on the cake! Congratulations on an awesome finish!
It is incredible in every way - design, fabrics, construction and quilting. Congratulations.
What an awesome quilt you have designed and created!! I love the quilting and the colors of your fabrics, too! I really love that it has a real bear, along with the bear paw blocks. Beautiful work!!
Susie
This quilt is huge. And absolutely gorgeous! I love everything about it: the colors, the fabrics, the bear, the paws, the prints and the quilting thread.
If I lived nearer to Ontario, I would gladly go see it in person. That must be something!
Pinned and shared on G+
That is just awesome. This is really your time, lately and you deserve all the accolades! So much creativity in the last couple of years!
Love your quilt Lorna. I am excited to hear it will be your sew-a-long for September. I have a couple of brothers that would love this as well, so am making plans to follow along. Thanks for the awesome inspiration. raydeer@memlane.com
Such a beauty! Congratulations, it turned out great!
Congratulations on this beautiful quilt. I can only imagine the hours you spent before the quilt top was even finished. I'm looking forward to your Sew Along in September. I too am hoping to make a bigger one, and this will get me motivated for sure.
Wow, those blocks, the fabric you chose, wavy lines, little paws, and so much more, fantastic. Congratulations on a wonderful quilt.
I loved Mod Bear Paw the moment you first showed us your pattern plan Lorna and seeing it come to life, I love it even more! Congratulations on designing another great quilt!
What a smart cookie you are to use your church basement!
I have been watching for your bear paw quilt! And I love it!
I love how his face is peeking in the window! Such a cute quilt! :)
Congrats on a great finish Lorna! It must feel wonderful to have this one done - all those HSTs! :) It looks fantastic.
Wow Lorna, so much work - I know, I've had my Bear Paw quilt in the making for several years now. The blocks are larger and there aren't as so I'm super impressed with your work. Including the bear takes your design to another level also, hat's off to you Lorna, what a girl! :D
What an accomplishment this quilt is! And I like your quilting choice alot!
It's simply wonderful! Congratulations on a wonderful design and quilt. I feel like it wouldn't look right in any other fabrics than the ones you chose, so I am looking forward to seeing more versions from other intrepid quilters in the future. This one is on my "must make" list.
Such GORGEOUS QUILT, lORNA!! i THINK YOU SHOULD CONTACT ALASKA QUILT SHOPS AND TELL THEM ABOUT IT!!
It will sell like hotcakes!
And I adore the quilting!
XO!
Awesome quilt; great job!
Beautiful! And intriguing...
Oh yes, I will be joining you. I have always wanted to make a bear paw quilt and the addition of the bear in the finished product is perfect!
Thank you for posting such a wonderful creation.
http://thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com
Beautiful job!! What a big job that must have been! I have also tried your quilting style, so far just on one baby quilt, but I loved the result and will be trying it out on a larger quilt in the future.
This is so beautiful, especially the bear! I can't wait for your QAL. Hope the bear will be included. Amazing work and the fabric is lovely.
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