Monday, August 15, 2016


Quilt Block of the Week.



We will feature a quilt block of the week. You will be able to find them all grouped together in the page tab on the right side of the blog. We will have an example of the block and how it looks in a quilt and tell you a little about the history of the block, if known.




Week 1- August 15, 2016




Most Basic Block- Mother of all Quilt Blocks- The Basic Four Patch

This has to be the easiest of all quilt blocks. This is an excellent block for a beginning quilter to start with due to its straight sewing and simplicity. Here is what the block looks like.

Four Patch Quilt Block

To enhance the pattern, light and dark patches are alternated. It is called the four patch as it is composed of four patches. I believe that it was first identified by Carrie Hall in 1935. This block is a good one for thrifty quilters as it allows small scraps of fabric to be sewn together. The squares in the example above are 2" by 2."


Four patch is also the style, or basic grid-work, of a block when four similar units are combined together to form a larger four patch block, similar to the example below.


4 patch grid block example  

Here is how the 4-patch block looks in a quilt. It creates a checkerboard pattern when it is not combined with any other blocks. For this reason, this block is sometimes called checkerboard as well. This quilt is good for placing appliqué and/or quilting designs in the square blocks and borders.


4-Patch Block Quilt
Next week, we will talk about the Double Four Patch Quilt Block.

Friday, August 12, 2016

Barn Quilt in the Middle of Nowhere.

 My sister was recently on vacation in Montana and sent me a photo of a barn, along the road, stating that it needed a quilt. Looking at the photo, which is below, I agreed with her.


Unedited photo that was sent to me



I decided to give it one of my own quilts to adorn it. This quilt pattern, which I am developing, is called Modern Rainbow. I think it's an improvement on the barn! Wouldn't it be wonderful to be traveling down the road, in the middle of nowhere, and find this barn with a gorgeous quilt hanging on it? Let me know what you think.


My Edited Photo

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

New Patriotic American Quilt Pattern for Olympics and Election

Sparklers Quilt Pattern


https://www.etsy.com/listing/471490603/sparklers-on-liberty-square-digital


Antique Barber Shop

Antique Log Cabin

Quilt Close-up

Town Gazebo

Hamburger Hotdish For Busy Quilters


I purchased this beary cute embroidered towel while on vacation. It had a hotdish recipe attached for Hashbrown Hotdish. I made this using tater tots and it was delicious.




It is simple to make, and takes little time to prepare, so it is a great meal to fix for your family as it still leaves you lots of time for quilting. Your family will love it, and you, for making it.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

New easy pattern for your holiday and Christmas gift giving


New Easy Pattern just in time for the holidays.


The Bear has just released a new pattern called, "Snow Angels." It is part of their BB Sew Easy Series of patterns that are designed for beginners. The pattern involves a center panel that is surrounded by half square triangles. This would be a great gift to give someone that is new to quilting and just getting started. It is also great for more experienced quilters to have a quick project that they can sew up as gifts for someone special on their holiday gift giving list.

Here is a link where you can download this adorable pattern for just $7.95: https://www.etsy.com/listing/468515609/snow-angels-quilt-pattern-baby-quilt?ref=shop_home_feat_4

During the Dog Days of the summer, this pattern looks very refreshing!

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Blue Bear's Etsy Shop is now live!

Blue Bear is so excited to tell you that his Etsy shop is now live. He is just getting started putting products in the shop, but so far there are patterns, books, kits, and fabric yardage. Check it out at this link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlueBearQuiltKits?ref=hdr_shop_menu. Here is a photo of what the shop currently looks like.

Monday, July 4, 2016

Happy 4th of July!


Happy 4th of July America. This is a patriotic home in Whitefish Bay Wisconsin.



Patriotic House all decked out for the 4th of July



Blue Bear is taking some time off to celebrate with his family. He has been working on several new patterns to be released soon. A couple are patriotic and use fabrics designed for Quilts of Valor. Another is a bed runner that he is designing. 
Here is Sparklers on Liberty Square.

Sparklers on Liberty Square

Monday, May 30, 2016

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day from Blue Bear Quilt Kits. Blue Blue salutes all those who have served our country. Thank you for your service. He hopes everyone is having a great weekend with their families.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

When Doves Fly- Tribute to Prince Blue Bear's latest quilt pattern.

Blue Bear was busy creating blocks for a contest, when he created this purple one that looks like birds flying. With Prince's passing, he thought it would be a nice tribute to Prince, so he named it, "When Doves Fly." It has 6 alternative layouts in the pattern; some are more organized and some are disorganized. This would be a great wall hanging for a modern loft or apartment. It would also look great in a student's dorm room. The link to purchase is at the bottom of this post.

 http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/quilting/home-decor/when-doves-fly/203859

Box of Chocolate Covered Cherries pattern is now available on Craftsy





http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/quilting/home-decor/box-of-chocolate-covered-cherries/202001

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Beautiful Appliqué Quilt

      Cherry Trees and Robins (1992) by Hortense Beck. 

This beautiful quilt is on display at the Accuquilt Museum in Omaha Nebraska. When I see works like this, I always wonder, how does someone ever get something like this finished. Even if machine stitched, it would still take an enormous amount of time.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Blue Bear's Accuquilt Contest Block

The bear has entered a quilt block design contest and would love to win for the exposure that it would give him as a new quilt designer. He would love it is you would help him by clicking on the link below and voting for his block. He tells me that you can vote every 24 hours until 4/22. Silly bear. Even though, he does seem to be a pretty good designer.

http://www.accuquilt.com/shop/contest?confirmed=vote&entry_id=92192705 

You need to confirm your email once, but you will not be put on their email list unless you check the box to opt into their emails. He wants me to ask you to ask your friends to help as well. Pesky bear, but it is a pretty quilt block and we would like for him to design some more. 

Blue Bear and his friends thank you so much for your assistance!

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Blue Blear Quilt Kits & More's first pattern

Blue Bear Quilt Kits & More's first pattern has gone live on Craftsy. It is a perfect quilt for a newborn baby or a young toddler. Children will be so excited to show everyone the teddy bears dancing around the blue stars on their very own quilt. This is a beginner quilt project and if you can sew a 1/4" seam and a blanket stitch, you can make this quilt in a weekend. Blue Bear will have the kits available for this quilt pattern in their Etsy store very soon.
 

Check it out!
http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/quilting/home-decor/dancing-bears--easy-childrens-quilt/200240?fresh=true&NAVIGATION_PAGE_CONTEXT_ATTR=PATTERN

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

This is a great lesson for selecting fabrics for your quilts.



https://www.accuquilt.com/blog/inspiration/top-picks/quilting-for-beginners-7-tips-for-selecting-preparing-fabric/

I am sorry that you can't click on this link, but if you paste in your browser, it should take you there.

Quilting tale of love you don't want to miss!

Check out this heartwarming tale of love about a quilt. I can't wait to read part 2.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from the Blue Bear. His friends the Bearstons were celebrating in grand style in NYC.

State Fair winner!

Here are a couple of photos of a quilt we saw at the Florida State Fair yesterday that involved black work embroidery. It was created by Mary Kovalovsky of Brandon FL. She won a blue ribbon and deservedly so.