Bear's Paw Block Quilt

Hi Guys,
Well, I need to vent about a quilt I am making and this is the place to do
it :-)! As I have said many a time here, I really don't like working with
blocks made of small pieces. I'm not sure why because I usually like to work
on teensy little stuff when I do most of my other crafty things. Heck, when I
do needlework, I have no problem working on 32 count fabric! For those who
don't do needlework, that means 32 stitches to the inch in both directions!!
Anyway, I am making a surprise quilt for a friend using 6" Bear Paw blocks
and I am having to force myself to work on it. I DO NOT like having to sew all
of the little 2.5" HST blocks together to make the little bear's toes!! The
quilt had a center panel of 3 large print fabrics that my friend will love and
that did not lend themselves to being cut up. I had a stripe print that
coordinates so I used that to frame the center panel and the whole thing
measures 12.5" W x 24.5" L. The center panel will be surrounded by 56 Bear
Paw Blocks (each 6.5" unfinished) arranged in a "Bear Tracks" configuration.
For those who aren't familiar with it, the Bear Tracks configuration is four
Bear Paw blocks arranged facing in & out with no sashing.
So -- the large Bear Tracks blocks are 12.5" unfinished and I have a
whopping FOUR of them finished (that's only 16 Bear Paw blocks :-{ ) after
working on them for hours and hours and days and days -- VBS!!! They are sewn
together and will be the top row of the quilt. I didn't plan my construction
sequence very well tho'. I have the center panel all finished and I *should*
have done the Bear Tracks rows for the sides first! Then I could have sewn
them to the center panel and at least felt like I was accomplishing something!
I don't mind spending weeks on a project but I am *not* used to having
sewing projects take that long -- unless it's a wedding gown and that is a
horse of a different color -- LOL. I have embroidery projects that take months
and that never bothers me. Oh well, I am pacing myself on this quilt. There
is no time deadline so that's a good thing. I want to have it ready by 23
September. That's when my Needlework Group meets and I want to present the
quilt to my friend then. I'll have it finished by but I won't be enjoying the
construction as much as I do most of my other quilts! Imagine what I would be
like if I was doing a miniature quilt!!!!! The very thought makes my spine
crawl and makes me glad that I am working on a "regular" sized quilt -- LOL!
CiaoMeow ^;;^
..
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!
Online Photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

Its almost over, hang in there!!!
And then you can tell yourself...never again! You must love this friend very
much. :-)
Hugs and empathy
Diana

"Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply " wrote in
message ...
Hi Guys,
Well, I need to vent about a quilt I am making and this is the place to
do
it :-)! As I have said many a time here, I really don't like working
with
blocks made of small pieces. I'm not sure why because I usually like to
work
on teensy little stuff when I do most of my other crafty things. Heck,
when I
do needlework, I have no problem working on 32 count fabric! For those
who
don't do needlework, that means 32 stitches to the inch in both
directions!!
Anyway, I am making a surprise quilt for a friend using 6" Bear Paw
blocks
and I am having to force myself to work on it. I DO NOT like having to
sew all
of the little 2.5" HST blocks together to make the little bear's toes!!
The
quilt had a center panel of 3 large print fabrics that my friend will love
and
that did not lend themselves to being cut up. I had a stripe print that
coordinates so I used that to frame the center panel and the whole thing
measures 12.5" W x 24.5" L. The center panel will be surrounded by 56
Bear
Paw Blocks (each 6.5" unfinished) arranged in a "Bear Tracks"
configuration.
For those who aren't familiar with it, the Bear Tracks configuration is
four
Bear Paw blocks arranged facing in & out with no sashing.
So -- the large Bear Tracks blocks are 12.5" unfinished and I have a
whopping FOUR of them finished (that's only 16 Bear Paw blocks :-{ ) after
working on them for hours and hours and days and days -- VBS!!! They are
sewn
together and will be the top row of the quilt. I didn't plan my
construction
sequence very well tho'. I have the center panel all finished and I
*should*
have done the Bear Tracks rows for the sides first! Then I could have
sewn
them to the center panel and at least felt like I was accomplishing
something!
I don't mind spending weeks on a project but I am *not* used to having
sewing projects take that long -- unless it's a wedding gown and that is a
horse of a different color -- LOL. I have embroidery projects that take
months
and that never bothers me. Oh well, I am pacing myself on this quilt.
There
is no time deadline so that's a good thing. I want to have it ready by 23
September. That's when my Needlework Group meets and I want to present
the
quilt to my friend then. I'll have it finished by but I won't be enjoying
the
construction as much as I do most of my other quilts! Imagine what I
would be
like if I was doing a miniature quilt!!!!! The very thought makes my
spine
crawl and makes me glad that I am working on a "regular" sized quilt --
LOL!
CiaoMeow ^;;^
.
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!
Online Photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

From: "Diana Curtis"

Its almost over, hang in there!!!
And then you can tell yourself...never again! You must love this friend very
much. :-) .......

Thursday 22 July was the meeting day for my Needlework Group -- at my home --
that's when I realized that Suzi (the run away from home, go walk-about & get
lost) Dog hadn't been her normal self for several days. This was also the day
DH and I decided that we had to go to MN on Friday to see my VDMIL before she
pased away.
That evening, I took a good look at Suzi Dog and reallized that it was
probably past time for her to goto the Rainbow Bridge. On our way to the
airport the next morning, I phoned my friend and told her that if DH and I
weren't on our way to MN to say good bye to Ma, we would be taking Suzi Dog to
the Baby Dr. to send her on her trip to the Rainbow Bridge.
Before I could say another word, my friend told me that, if I wanted, she
would take Suzi Dog to the Baby Dr. and send her on her way to the Rainbow
Bridge. That's when I finally broke down! I had phoned my friend to ask her
to do that very thing IF she thought it was needed! I didn't want poor little
Suzi Dog to leave us with our being there. My friend has worked as a Vet Tech
for years and I knew she would have the background to be able to make that
decision in our absence. It's a terrible, hard thing to have to do -- send a
well loved Baby to the Rainbow Bridge -- and to have a dear friend offer to do
that in my absence without a second thought made me realize what a wonderful
person she truly is.
She has her own Pet-Sitting business and makes $$ taking care of other
people's pets while they are away. I asked her to check in on Suzi Dog for me
every day. What she did was to go to my house 2 and sometimes 3 times a day
just to check on the doggie and give her loves and see if she could coax some
food into the poor little thing. She and another friend would take their
needlework to my home and sit for several hours visiting and stitching and
keeping the babies company!
She and my other friends (one of whom was Janet, of Fire Hug fame) helped
Suzi Dog hang on until we returned home and could take her to the Baby Dr.
ourselves. The other friends all have quilts but this one friend (who is also
a quilter) doesn't have aone of my quilts. If anyone deserves a quilt it is
she.
I offered to pay her for going to my oome so often but she wouldn't hear of
it. I brought her back a special gift from MN as a thank you but that is just
something "store bought". What this wonderful, dear friend deserves is a quilt
at the very least. She "does" bears hence, the Bear Paw blocks made of bear
fabrics. What *other* block could I have used??? It HAS TO BE a quilt made of
Bear Paw blocks and nothing else will do regardless of how much misery they
cause me! I am happy to make this quilt for her and I will do my very best to
have each and every one of those miserable little bear claw points match up
:-)! To make it even better, I can regale her with stories of how crazy it
made me to work with all of those little 2.5" blocks -- LOLOL! CiaoMeow ^;;^
..


PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!
Online Photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

I agree! That is the kind of friend for whom nothing but a quilt can say
thank you enough. You are blessed to have one another.
Thank you for sharing such a moving story.
Diana

"Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply " wrote in
message ...
From: "Diana Curtis"
You must love this friend very
much. :-) .......

Thursday 22 July was the meeting day for my Needlework Group -- at my
home --
that's when I realized that Suzi (the run away from home, go walk-about &
get
lost) Dog hadn't been her normal self for several days. This was also the
day
DH and I decided that we had to go to MN on Friday to see my VDMIL before
she
pased away.
That evening, I took a good look at Suzi Dog and reallized that it was
probably past time for her to goto the Rainbow Bridge. On our way to the
airport the next morning, I phoned my friend and told her that if DH and I
weren't on our way to MN to say good bye to Ma, we would be taking Suzi
Dog to
the Baby Dr. to send her on her trip to the Rainbow Bridge.
Before I could say another word, my friend told me that, if I wanted,
she
would take Suzi Dog to the Baby Dr. and send her on her way to the Rainbow
Bridge. That's when I finally broke down! I had phoned my friend to ask
her
to do that very thing IF she thought it was needed! I didn't want poor
little
Suzi Dog to leave us with our being there. My friend has worked as a Vet
Tech
for years and I knew she would have the background to be able to make that
decision in our absence. It's a terrible, hard thing to have to do --
send a
well loved Baby to the Rainbow Bridge -- and to have a dear friend offer
to do
that in my absence without a second thought made me realize what a
wonderful
person she truly is.
She has her own Pet-Sitting business and makes $$ taking care of other
people's pets while they are away. I asked her to check in on Suzi Dog
for me
every day. What she did was to go to my house 2 and sometimes 3 times a
day
just to check on the doggie and give her loves and see if she could coax
some
food into the poor little thing. She and another friend would take their
needlework to my home and sit for several hours visiting and stitching and
keeping the babies company!
She and my other friends (one of whom was Janet, of Fire Hug fame)
helped
Suzi Dog hang on until we returned home and could take her to the Baby Dr.
ourselves. The other friends all have quilts but this one friend (who is
also
a quilter) doesn't have aone of my quilts. If anyone deserves a quilt it
is
she.
I offered to pay her for going to my oome so often but she wouldn't
hear of
it. I brought her back a special gift from MN as a thank you but that is
just
something "store bought". What this wonderful, dear friend deserves is a
quilt
at the very least. She "does" bears hence, the Bear Paw blocks made of
bear
fabrics. What *other* block could I have used??? It HAS TO BE a quilt
made of
Bear Paw blocks and nothing else will do regardless of how much misery
they
cause me! I am happy to make this quilt for her and I will do my very
best to
have each and every one of those miserable little bear claw points match
up
:-)! To make it even better, I can regale her with stories of how crazy
it
made me to work with all of those little 2.5" blocks -- LOLOL! CiaoMeow
^;;^
.


PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!
Online Photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply wrote:

Hi Guys,
Well, I need to vent about a quilt I am making and this is the place to do
it :-)! As I have said many a time here, I really don't like working with
blocks made of small pieces. I'm not sure why because I usually like to work
on teensy little stuff when I do most of my other crafty things. Heck, when I
do needlework, I have no problem working on 32 count fabric! For those who
don't do needlework, that means 32 stitches to the inch in both directions!!
Anyway, I am making a surprise quilt for a friend using 6" Bear Paw blocks
and I am having to force myself to work on it. I DO NOT like having to sew all
of the little 2.5" HST blocks together to make the little bear's toes!!

did you consider strip piecing them? Sew 2 strips of fabric on both
sides. Then cut the triangles out of that. Un pick your tips, and viola-
a crap-load of half-square triangles... all with bias edges unless you
bias cut the strips first.

Makes it much faster.

-georg

Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply wrote:

From: "Diana Curtis"


Its almost over, hang in there!!!
And then you can tell yourself...never again! You must love this friend very
much. :-) .......


Thursday 22 July was the meeting day for my Needlework Group -- at my home --
that's when I realized that Suzi (the run away from home, go walk-about & get
lost) Dog hadn't been her normal self for several days. This was also the day
DH and I decided that we had to go to MN on Friday to see my VDMIL before she
pased away.
That evening, I took a good look at Suzi Dog and reallized that it was
probably past time for her to goto the Rainbow Bridge. On our way to the
airport the next morning, I phoned my friend and told her that if DH and I
weren't on our way to MN to say good bye to Ma, we would be taking Suzi Dog to
the Baby Dr. to send her on her trip to the Rainbow Bridge.
Before I could say another word, my friend told me that, if I wanted, she
would take Suzi Dog to the Baby Dr. and send her on her way to the Rainbow
Bridge. That's when I finally broke down! I had phoned my friend to ask her
to do that very thing IF she thought it was needed! I didn't want poor little
Suzi Dog to leave us with our being there. My friend has worked as a Vet Tech
for years and I knew she would have the background to be able to make that
decision in our absence. It's a terrible, hard thing to have to do -- send a
well loved Baby to the Rainbow Bridge -- and to have a dear friend offer to do
that in my absence without a second thought made me realize what a wonderful
person she truly is.
She has her own Pet-Sitting business and makes $$ taking care of other
people's pets while they are away. I asked her to check in on Suzi Dog for me
every day. What she did was to go to my house 2 and sometimes 3 times a day
just to check on the doggie and give her loves and see if she could coax some
food into the poor little thing. She and another friend would take their
needlework to my home and sit for several hours visiting and stitching and
keeping the babies company!
She and my other friends (one of whom was Janet, of Fire Hug fame) helped
Suzi Dog hang on until we returned home and could take her to the Baby Dr.
ourselves. The other friends all have quilts but this one friend (who is also
a quilter) doesn't have aone of my quilts. If anyone deserves a quilt it is
she.
I offered to pay her for going to my oome so often but she wouldn't hear of
it. I brought her back a special gift from MN as a thank you but that is just
something "store bought". What this wonderful, dear friend deserves is a quilt
at the very least. She "does" bears hence, the Bear Paw blocks made of bear
fabrics. What *other* block could I have used??? It HAS TO BE a quilt made of
Bear Paw blocks and nothing else will do regardless of how much misery they
cause me! I am happy to make this quilt for her and I will do my very best to
have each and every one of those miserable little bear claw points match up
:-)! To make it even better, I can regale her with stories of how crazy it
made me to work with all of those little 2.5" blocks -- LOLOL! CiaoMeow ^;;^

True friendship is a wonderful thing, and must be cherished.

--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Have you thought of using some sort of triangle paper? I find they work
quite well and make little half square triangles much easier to deal
with.

marcella

In article ,
ekoluvr (Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply ) wrote:

Hi Guys,
Well, I need to vent about a quilt I am making and this is the place to do
it :-)! As I have said many a time here, I really don't like working with
blocks made of small pieces. I'm not sure why because I usually like to work
on teensy little stuff when I do most of my other crafty things. Heck, when
I
do needlework, I have no problem working on 32 count fabric! For those who
don't do needlework, that means 32 stitches to the inch in both directions!!
Anyway, I am making a surprise quilt for a friend using 6" Bear Paw blocks
and I am having to force myself to work on it. I DO NOT like having to sew
all
of the little 2.5" HST blocks together to make the little bear's toes!! The
quilt had a center panel of 3 large print fabrics that my friend will love
and
that did not lend themselves to being cut up. I had a stripe print that
coordinates so I used that to frame the center panel and the whole thing
measures 12.5" W x 24.5" L. The center panel will be surrounded by 56 Bear
Paw Blocks (each 6.5" unfinished) arranged in a "Bear Tracks" configuration.
For those who aren't familiar with it, the Bear Tracks configuration is four
Bear Paw blocks arranged facing in & out with no sashing.
So -- the large Bear Tracks blocks are 12.5" unfinished and I have a
whopping FOUR of them finished (that's only 16 Bear Paw blocks :-{ ) after
working on them for hours and hours and days and days -- VBS!!! They are
sewn
together and will be the top row of the quilt. I didn't plan my construction
sequence very well tho'. I have the center panel all finished and I *should*
have done the Bear Tracks rows for the sides first! Then I could have sewn
them to the center panel and at least felt like I was accomplishing
something!
I don't mind spending weeks on a project but I am *not* used to having
sewing projects take that long -- unless it's a wedding gown and that is a
horse of a different color -- LOL. I have embroidery projects that take
months
and that never bothers me. Oh well, I am pacing myself on this quilt. There
is no time deadline so that's a good thing. I want to have it ready by 23
September. That's when my Needlework Group meets and I want to present the
quilt to my friend then. I'll have it finished by but I won't be enjoying
the
construction as much as I do most of my other quilts! Imagine what I would
be
like if I was doing a miniature quilt!!!!! The very thought makes my spine
crawl and makes me glad that I am working on a "regular" sized quilt -- LOL!
CiaoMeow ^;;^
.
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!
Online Photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

I agree with georg. I don't make HST's without strip piecing. I don't
enjoy the
little pieces either. Love strip piecing.
Marlys in Indiana

"georg" wrote in message
...
Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply wrote:

Hi Guys,
Well, I need to vent about a quilt I am making and this is the place
to do
it :-)! As I have said many a time here, I really don't like working
with
blocks made of small pieces. I'm not sure why because I usually like to
work
on teensy little stuff when I do most of my other crafty things. Heck,
when I
do needlework, I have no problem working on 32 count fabric! For those
who
don't do needlework, that means 32 stitches to the inch in both
directions!!
Anyway, I am making a surprise quilt for a friend using 6" Bear Paw
blocks
and I am having to force myself to work on it. I DO NOT like having to
sew all
of the little 2.5" HST blocks together to make the little bear's toes!!

did you consider strip piecing them? Sew 2 strips of fabric on both
sides. Then cut the triangles out of that. Un pick your tips, and viola-
a crap-load of half-square triangles... all with bias edges unless you
bias cut the strips first.

Makes it much faster.

-georg

Doing miniature quilts are an entirely different ball game all together.
Even though the outcome is the same, to look like a full size quilt,
the techniques are very different because of the scaling of the blocks.
It's hard to explain. I have done both. I enjoy full size quilts for
the practical use of the full size quilts. Miniatures I do for special
wall hangings or gifts for very special people who I know would and do
appreciate the workmanship that goes into the detail of these miniature
works of art.
juliasb

Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply wrote:
Hi Guys,
Well, I need to vent about a quilt I am making and this is the place to do
it :-)! As I have said many a time here, I really don't like working with
blocks made of small pieces. I'm not sure why because I usually like to work
on teensy little stuff when I do most of my other crafty things. Heck, when I
do needlework, I have no problem working on 32 count fabric! For those who
don't do needlework, that means 32 stitches to the inch in both directions!!
Anyway, I am making a surprise quilt for a friend using 6" Bear Paw blocks
and I am having to force myself to work on it. I DO NOT like having to sew all
of the little 2.5" HST blocks together to make the little bear's toes!! The
quilt had a center panel of 3 large print fabrics that my friend will love and
that did not lend themselves to being cut up. I had a stripe print that
coordinates so I used that to frame the center panel and the whole thing
measures 12.5" W x 24.5" L. The center panel will be surrounded by 56 Bear
Paw Blocks (each 6.5" unfinished) arranged in a "Bear Tracks" configuration.
For those who aren't familiar with it, the Bear Tracks configuration is four
Bear Paw blocks arranged facing in & out with no sashing.
So -- the large Bear Tracks blocks are 12.5" unfinished and I have a
whopping FOUR of them finished (that's only 16 Bear Paw blocks :-{ ) after
working on them for hours and hours and days and days -- VBS!!! They are sewn
together and will be the top row of the quilt. I didn't plan my construction
sequence very well tho'. I have the center panel all finished and I *should*
have done the Bear Tracks rows for the sides first! Then I could have sewn
them to the center panel and at least felt like I was accomplishing something!
I don't mind spending weeks on a project but I am *not* used to having
sewing projects take that long -- unless it's a wedding gown and that is a
horse of a different color -- LOL. I have embroidery projects that take months
and that never bothers me. Oh well, I am pacing myself on this quilt. There
is no time deadline so that's a good thing. I want to have it ready by 23
September. That's when my Needlework Group meets and I want to present the
quilt to my friend then. I'll have it finished by but I won't be enjoying the
construction as much as I do most of my other quilts! Imagine what I would be
like if I was doing a miniature quilt!!!!! The very thought makes my spine
crawl and makes me glad that I am working on a "regular" sized quilt -- LOL!
CiaoMeow ^;;^
.
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!
Online Photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

Hullo Mary
This is to make you feel really good about your Bear's Paw blocks.
*And* to show you I understand!
Last year I made a miniature, 11" x 14", my own design based on a
photograph of a glass door in Turkey. It had 397 pieces in it!!!!
..
In article , Tia
Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply writes
Hi Guys,
Well, I need to vent about a quilt I am making and this is the place to do
it :-)! As I have said many a time here, I really don't like working with
blocks made of small pieces. I'm not sure why because I usually like to work
on teensy little stuff when I do most of my other crafty things. Heck, when I
do needlework, I have no problem working on 32 count fabric! For those who
don't do needlework, that means 32 stitches to the inch in both directions!!
Anyway, I am making a surprise quilt for a friend using 6" Bear Paw blocks
and I am having to force myself to work on it. I DO NOT like having to sew all
of the little 2.5" HST blocks together to make the little bear's toes!! The
quilt had a center panel of 3 large print fabrics that my friend will love and
that did not lend themselves to being cut up. I had a stripe print that
coordinates so I used that to frame the center panel and the whole thing
measures 12.5" W x 24.5" L. The center panel will be surrounded by 56 Bear
Paw Blocks (each 6.5" unfinished) arranged in a "Bear Tracks" configuration.
For those who aren't familiar with it, the Bear Tracks configuration is four
Bear Paw blocks arranged facing in & out with no sashing.
So -- the large Bear Tracks blocks are 12.5" unfinished and I have a
whopping FOUR of them finished (that's only 16 Bear Paw blocks :-{ ) after
working on them for hours and hours and days and days -- VBS!!! They are sewn
together and will be the top row of the quilt. I didn't plan my construction
sequence very well tho'. I have the center panel all finished and I *should*
have done the Bear Tracks rows for the sides first! Then I could have sewn
them to the center panel and at least felt like I was accomplishing something!
I don't mind spending weeks on a project but I am *not* used to having
sewing projects take that long -- unless it's a wedding gown and that is a
horse of a different color -- LOL. I have embroidery projects that take months
and that never bothers me. Oh well, I am pacing myself on this quilt. There
is no time deadline so that's a good thing. I want to have it ready by 23
September. That's when my Needlework Group meets and I want to present the
quilt to my friend then. I'll have it finished by but I won't be enjoying the
construction as much as I do most of my other quilts! Imagine what I would be
like if I was doing a miniature quilt!!!!! The very thought makes my spine
crawl and makes me glad that I am working on a "regular" sized quilt -- LOL!
CiaoMeow ^;;^
.
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!
Online Photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

--
Best Regards
pat on the hill