Journey of a Quilt - Part 1

Bear Paw Quilt Block

Why Make Another Quilt?

I've been thinking that it's time for a new quilt to hang on my living room wall.  Right now, I have the really bright Tulips Tossed quilt hanging there.  I wanted something more subdued like Batik Garden, but it's too big to hang and I wanted a more traditional pattern.  Since I really like bright colors, I don't have a quilt that will work.  I have a few reproduction style fabrics in my stash and came across a quilt pattern that I liked so of course I must make a new quilt!  I'm on a mission and thought I'd share the journey with you.

Little pieces of the quilt in progress

Using Resources

I used Electric Quilt 7 software to design my quilt, then started pulling fabrics to see what would go together and if I had enough yardage.   One great thing about the software is it gives estimated yardage for each fabric.  Of course, I have enough fabric to do 8 of the 9 blocks - that's not scrappy, that's just weird!  So I put some fabric aside and switched things up a little. 

For me, having a design wall is a must.  Marianne at The Quilting Edge has a great tutorial that I followed to make mine.  I referred to Nancy Zieman's book for guidance on making the half square triangles for the bear claws.  You can see her book on my messy cutting table below.

My messy cutting table

Above you can see piles of cut pieces with labels so I know where things go and what I still need to cut.  Below is what I've finished piecing so far.  E-mail me if you have any questions.

Today's quilt progress