Sugar Bear Quilt Along – Round 3

Posted on April 14, 2021 by Melanie Traylor

The post in this series are all part of the 2021 Sugar Bear Quilt Along.

To view all posts in this series, click here.

If you need the pattern, you can find it here.

 

 

Time for the fun part! Blocks! Yes, yay, and finally! I could go on for days about how much I enjoy digging through my fabrics looking at all my fussy cutting options for these blocks.

If you haven’t signed up for the quilt along yet, you can do so here. This will just send bi-weekly prompts every other Wednesday to your inbox so that you don’t miss a post.

Let’s get to it!

 

 

 

This Round’s Task

There’s two blocks this round to complete: Anabel and Cristina. Both are the easiest blocks in the quilt.

You should already have everything besides the centers ready to go. You’ve made your claws, so you’ll get to audition which claws you’ll use this round. You’ve also already cut the background pieces, sashing and cornerstone.

Consider this pure playtime!

 

Product Spotlight

ROTARY CUTTER BLADE – 3 PACK

 

When your blade finally gets dull, you can replace it in a snap with the Rotary Cutter Replacement blades. Just unscrew the blade from the back of the cutter and remove the dull one. Slide the new blade into place and replace the screw. Voila! Back to beautiful, precise cutting.
Melanie’s Tip – Just want to make sure you know that Havel’s 45mm blades will fit any rotary cutter and the same goes with the 60mm blades too!

 

 

Anabel

Anabel requires no piecing at all. She’s just a square. This is your biggest opportunity for fussy cutting in the whole quilt, so keep that in mind when choosing a fabric for her.

I used a very old Heather Ross mermaid print for mine. And it took me forever decide if I was keeping the mermaid whole or not or how to go about using my really large fussy cut. In the end I cut the fussy into quadrants. I think it works!

 

 

Cristina

Cristina is just four half square triangles. All you need to do on this one is think about your contrast. You might could fussy cut, but I can’t ever wrap my own head around fussy cutting HSTs. Instead I focused more on the contrast and colors.

Helpful Videos

 

 

 

Giveaway

Just a reminder, you can enter the giveaway by posting your progress on Instagram using the #SugarBearQA.  Havel’s will be giving away random prizes to one winner each week.  Winners will be chosen and announced on Instagram @Havels_Sewing the Tuesday before the “next” post goes live.  You don’t have to be completed with each pattern release to win, you only have to post progress.

You do have to be following @Havels_Sewing and @SouthernCharmQuilts to be eligible. You must have a US address to ship to.

 

 

I so enjoyed making these blocks. There was a lot of squealing around here. And giggling. Lol. I always giggle when I think I’ve done something clever. Ha.

Be sure you are using the #SugarBearQA. so we all see what you are up to. It’s so much fun sewing the same quilt together with a group. I’m loving all the different looks and ideas.

Melanie Traylor ~ Southern Charm Quilts

 

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Sugar Bear Quilt Along – Round 2

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Melanie Traylor

The post in this series are all part of the 2021 Sugar Bear Quilt Along.

To view all posts in this series, click here.

If you need the pattern, you can find it here.

 

 

We are going to get the hardest part of this quilt out of the way right in the beginning! This will make block-making so much easier as we go along. We’ll be able to just grab our finished claws when we are ready for them.

If you haven’t signed up for the quilt along yet, you can do so here. This will just send bi-weekly prompts every other Wednesday to your inbox so that you don’t miss a post.

Let’s get to it!

 

 

 

Half Rectangle Triangles

The half rectangle triangles that we are making this round become the “claws” of your bear paw blocks. Yes, they are going to take you some time, and yes, they can be a smidgen finicky if you’ve never done them before. BUT my, my, my do they look wonderful in the blocks.

Resign to the fact that this will be a very involved part of this quilt. When I get my expectations into realistic terms, I find it’s a much more healthy and helpful attitude to having going in. Don’t try to whip through these. Break it up into batch tasks a little each day. Remind yourself that this isn’t a race. You have two weeks to complete these little devils and that’s just if you want to keep to the timeline. Definitely not mandatory.

You should have background already cut, so maybe the first part you just cut your foreground rectangles and the second part maybe you draw your lines on the background rectangles (be sure to pay attention to the pattern on this part). Sewing them up is one of the easier task. One day I sewed them, one day I pressed them, and one very long day I trimmed them. Although for best practice, I probably should have broken that up into two or three days. I happen to like methodical monotony. Ha! So I have no problem spending several hours with my HRTs, bingeing a current show and getting the job done.

But do what’s best for you!

 

Product Spotlight

4 3/4″ DURA-SNIPS WITH NECK STRAP

 

Extra sharp and durable high carbon forged steel blades. Easy squeeze action for precise thread snipping for embroidery, sewing, more. Fits into a safety storage cap on a convenient neck strap.
Melanie’s Tip – These are my chain piecing snips.  I keep these right by my machine and after I have my long piece of chain piecing these are what I use to snip all those little threads.  They are speedy and get the job done.  I wrote a post about them here.

 

 

This Round’s Task

We are making all 144 HRTs and pairing them up into “claws”.

Tips

  • Don’t forget to split your background rectangles into two stacks. Each stack gets the line drawn in a different direction. I cannot say more about how important this is to get right.
  • One more important tip! You must also have your foreground rectangles into two stacks. You need four rectangles per foreground color in each stack. Having this accurate will guarantee that you have all the units for your claws that you need going in the accurate directions.
  • Go bananas with the starch, it helps. 🙂

 

 

 

Giveaway

Just a reminder, you can enter the giveaway by posting your progress on Instagram using the #SugarBearQA.  Havel’s will be giving away random prizes to one winner each week.  Winners will be chosen and announced on Instagram @Havels_Sewing the Tuesday before the “next” post goes live.  You don’t have to be completed with each pattern release to win, you only have to post progress.

You do have to be following @Havels_Sewing and @SouthernCharmQuilts to be eligible. You must have a US address to ship to.

 

 

I have been loving seeing what you are up to with this quilt along. Be sure you are using the #SugarBearQA. so everyone participating can see too. Y’all are all so encouraging. It makes my heart happy.

As I’m sure many of you know, I’m just in love with half rectangle triangles. I think they add such a spark to traditional blocks and the Bear Paw is such an oldie and a good one. I’ve crafted several quilt patterns just to feature them. If you need a little help feel free to reach out. We have such a great group participating! You’ll get the help you need.

Melanie Traylor ~ Southern Charm Quilts

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Sugar Bear Quilt Along – Round 1

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Melanie Traylor

The post in this series are all part of the 2021 Sugar Bear Quilt Along.

To view all posts in this series, click here.

If you need the pattern, you can find it here.

 

 

Squee!!!! It’s finally time to get going and make ourselves a Sugar Bear quilt.

If you haven’t signed up for the quilt along yet, you can do so here. This will just send bi-weekly prompts every other Wednesday to your inbox so that you don’t miss a post.

We are off to a slower start with this and just easing ourselves in, so if you are just now getting your pattern or still figuring out your fabrics…. NO WORRIES! This first round is just two weeks of chatting, planning and cutting.

Let’s dive in!

 

 

 

Decisions, Decisions

Let’s just have a little chat first. The biggest decision is almost always fabric. If I’ve chosen a fabric bundle or grouped a few fat quarters together and those fabrics consist of a lot of light or low volume prints (like my Velvet Sugar Bear) it would be a bit hard to go with a scrappy background. I’d worry my claws would be lost… If I’m working with very saturated prints, I could use almost any background and things will work nicely.

Using low volume prints or pale fabrics in your block’s claws will give your quilt a more delicate look. While using more saturated prints or solids will make things pop. Only you can decide what’s best for you. What I’m writing here is just my own thinking and my own opinions.

My Own Quilt

I’m coming at this one a little backwards. Since I’ve made two Sugar Bear’s already and on both of those I used a solid white background, I decided on this next one I wanted to use a scrappy low volume background. Then I went and decided that my foreground would be peaches and tans. Which is fine, but since every fabric I chose was more light, I really need to keep my low volumes not too busy so that they don’t take away from the blocks and make it lose it’s shape.

I chose almost all whispery soft low volumes and one or two of them have a bit more busy in them just to keep things interesting (the gold butterflies above).

You can read about scrappy backgrounds and the different kinds of low vols here.

I’m also going to be doing some heavy fussy cutting, so I’ve pulled fabrics to do that with, but also a different lot of fabrics for claws. All very different than my last two versions. I’ve been doing a lot of squealing!

 

Product Spotlight

5-1/2″ CURVED TIP SCISSORS

 

Curved tips and fine points are the foremost features in this 5 1/2″ Curved Tip Embroidery and Applique Scissors. Made from durable Japanese stainless steel, these scissors get you closer to the surface.
Melanie’s Tip – These are another favorite snips.  I particular like them for handwork.  That curved tip is nice when snipping threads and not cutting into your work.  Another thing I like about these scissors is that they are as smooth as butter and cut all the way to the tip.

 

 

This Round’s Task

The only task we have for this for round (two weeks) is to choose our fabrics and do all the cutting that takes place on page 4. Basically, just background and the two cornerstones.

I’ve chosen the mermaids above for my cornerstone 2.

Tiny tip for those who are interested:

No matter if you are working with a bundle, a collection, or just your own fabric pull… choose two “different” fabrics for your cornerstone 1 and 2. For example, if you have one dark fabric in your pull for this quilt, use that as cornerstone 2. If you purchased a bundle from me, I’ve included two fabrics that have no friends in the bundle just for this purpose. By “no friends” I’m talking about fabrics that aren’t quite in the same color palette with the others.

In my Velvet Sugar Bear, I used the dark green and the bright turquoise as cornerstones. In Funshine Sugar Bear, I used that bright yellow and the brown as cornerstones. You’ll notice in both quilts, those two fabrics are much different than the other fabrics. It makes them standout against my more similar fabrics and I think that look makes it more interesting.

 

 

 

Giveaway

Just a reminder, you can enter the giveaway by posting your progress on Instagram using the #SugarBearQA.  Havel’s will be giving away random prizes to one winner each week.  Winners will be chosen and announced on Instagram @Havels_Sewing the Tuesday before the “next” post goes live.  You don’t have to be completed with each pattern release to win, you only have to post progress.

You do have to be following @Havels_Sewing and @SouthernCharmQuilts to be eligible. You must have a US address to ship to.

 

 

I’m so excited to see your fabric pulls and to see your quilts coming together. I always so enjoy making a quilt as a group. This is an excellent way to make friends if you are like me and only get to have quilty friends online. Reach out and tell someone how great they are doing by dropping a comment on their post. You can find other participants using the #SugarBearQA.

I’ll be putting up a little IGTV video on my IG page sometime today if you want to hear me chat about what I’m doing with my quilt and see my fabric pull. I tend to ramble a lot so be warned. Ha!

I’ll chat again with you here in two weeks!

Melanie Traylor ~ Southern Charm Quilts

 

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Havel’s Potholders

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Luv2Sew

Havel’s Potholders by Emily Lang

STRIPES with a pocket
Finished size: 9” x 9”

Fabric requirements:
Scraps of blue and pink fabrics, and scraps of cotton batting.

Patchwork:
Approximately 12 strips measuring approximately 1” x 8” – 2 1/2” x 8”

Lining/backing:
(2) 9 1/2” x 9 1/2” squares
(1) 9 1/2” x 7 1/2” rectangle

Binding:
(2) 2 1/2” x 40”

Batting:
(2) 9 1/2” x 9 1/2”
(1) 9 1/2” x 7 1/2”

Assemble patchwork:
1) Sew the scrappy blue and pink strips together along one 8” side. Add strips until the piece measures 8” x 9 1/2”

Quilt and assemble potholder:
2) Baste the patchwork panel to the 9 1/2” x 7 1/2” batting and backing fabric in the following order: Backing fabric (wrong side up), batting, then patchwork panel (right side up).

3) Baste the backing panel and the 9 1/2” x 9 1/2” batting (2) and backing fabrics in the following order: backing fabric (wrong side up), batting, batting, then second backing panel (right side up).

4) Quilt both panels. This is a great time to play around with new quilting motifs!

5) Trim the quilted backing panel to 9” x 9”, and the patchwork panel to 7” x 9”.

6) Prep binding by sewing the two 2 1/2” x 40” strips, right sides together, along one 2 1/2” side. Press seams open, and press the strip in half lengthwise.

7) Sew a 9” strip of binding along the top edge of the patchwork panel by aligning the raw edges of the binding strip with the raw edge of the patchwork panel. Sew using a 1/4” seam allowance. Then fold the binding strip away from the patchwork, and around the raw edge of the patchwork panel. Secure the back of the strip by stitching in the ditch from the front. (For a more photo heavy explanation of how I bind by machine, click through for a full tutorial here).

8) Stack the patchwork panel and the 9” x 9” quilted backing panel together, aligning the raw edges of three sides. Baste around the three sides using a long stitch, less than 1/4” from the raw edge.

9) Attach binding around the outside edge.

PLUS Courthouse Block Trivet
Finished size: 9” x 9”

Fabric requirements:
Scraps of blue and pink fabrics, and scraps of cotton batting.

Cutting:
Blue solid:
4” x 4” square of blue

Hearts:
(2) 1 1/2” x 4” rectangles
(2) 1 1/2” x 6” rectangles

Strawberries:
(2) 1 3/4” x 6” rectangles
(2) 1 3/4” x 8 1/2” rectangles

Pink:
(2) 1 1/4” x 8 1/2” rectangles
(2) 1 1/4” x 10” rectangles

Backing:
9 1/2” x 9 1/2” square

Binding:
(2) 2 1/2” x 40”

Batting:
(2) 9 1/2” x 9 1/2”

Assemble patchwork:
1) Piece block in a courthouse step style, according to the diagram below.

2) Cut the block in half vertically, then cut the two pieces in half horizontally.

3) Rotate the four quarters so that the pink portions are in the center. Sew the quarters together according to the diagram.

4) Baste the quilted panel and the 9 1/2” x 9 1/2” batting (2) and backing fabrics in the following order: backing fabric (wrong side up), batting, batting, then second backing panel (right side up).

5) Follow steps 4-6, and step 9 above to finish the patchwork trivet.

Emily Lang is a mom who loves to sew and read. She’s been sewing for 20 years, and fell in love with quilting after her daughter was born. She loves to design quilts, and enjoys the challenge of working with intricate piecing on both small and large scale. Follow her quilting adventures at https://www.instagram.com/emily_lang_mommysnaptime/ and at http://mommysnaptime.blogspot.com/

 

Posted in craft, Craft to make, Crafting, Emily Lang, Fabric Cutter, Fabric Rotary Cutters, Free Craft Projects, Free Sewing Project, Fun Stuff, Tutorials, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Havel’s Potholders

10 Minute Glitter Zipper Case

Posted on February 15, 2021 by Luv2Sew

Posted in art ideas, craft, Craft to make, Crafting, Cutting Mat, Fabric Rotary Cutters, Free Craft Projects, Free Sewing Project, Fun Stuff, Natalie Santini, Uncategorized | Comments Off on 10 Minute Glitter Zipper Case