Saturday, February 6, 2010

The Bear Paw Experiment Continues

I was in the house most of the day because of the snow... See the photos of my husband's car and our backyard... and so I had time to work on the bear paw blocks.  I decided on borders for the two blocks and was going to make them into two small quilts.
When I saw the two blocks together, I thought perhaps I would do something else, with more blocks.  A trick I use when experimenting with blocks is to make a couple blocks I like, then make color photocopies of the blocks.  I can play around with different arrangements this way.  Maybe 4?  Maybe 6? Maybe even 9?

 I forget to mention last time that I got my inspiration for these bear paw blocks from a book on the quilts of York County PA.


11 comments:

  1. Great idea! Thanks for sharing. I still love the one with the green. What a great way to spend the snow day. I was glad the snow wasn't too heavy. It took my husband and I about 1 1/2 hrs to dig out. :) Christine

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was going to suggest making it 3 x 3 blocks so you could use it as a cover during the snow storm, but I forgot. Even as a nine-patch, it would still be less than 24" square, wouldn't it? With all that snow, maybe you better lay that aside and work on a larger quilt for now??
    *wink* ---"Love"

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, that is some serious snow! Neat trick for working out how many blocks you want in a project. Happy Stitching, Ann :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the tip. I'll just have to get busy and start something new just so I can try it myself :) The blocks look great with the borders. -Joanne

    ReplyDelete
  5. You just about can't see the car for all the snow. Good day to sew.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I really don't miss all of your snow. I grew up in east central Illinois and then lived about 25 North of Chicago for 25 years before moving to New Mexico 4 1/2 years ago. We still get snow here, but not like that! Ours usually melts off pretty quickly. Although I think it was 3 years ago, we went back to Il for Christmas and on the way home we were stuck in Oklahoma City for 4 days because the interstate was closed. When we finally got home there were 16 inches of snow in our driveway that had to be removed before we could get the truck and camper in. So I remember snow like that, but I don't miss it one bit.

    That's a great idea you use with the photocopies. Thanks for the idea! I really like your little bear paw quilts, they look great.

    Stay warm!
    Marsha

    ReplyDelete
  7. Looks like you shovelled a nice path to the car, but I guess you had no intention of taking your bikes anywhere because you didn't shovel off the car? :) We don't have much snow here, but we've definitely got the cold. I'm not complaining - it's easier to drive in cold than in snow.

    Your blocks look great! I love the idea of photocopying them, but most of what I make wouldn't fit into my copier...at least not as easily as your itty bitties. But I will keep it in mind - it's a fantastic way to see a layout without too much work. And I love your inspiration quilt - it makes me want to make one too!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That's one of my favorite books ever. It has so many beautiful quilts to draw inspiration from. Keep us posted on your bear claws.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nice idea with the photo copies;) I love the bear paw blocks...so many colors and variations of settings you can use them in...almost as much as log cabins;)
    Enjoy the snow day!!
    Happy Quilting!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great blocks - I love the deep blue with the intense color. They look great framed.
    The Pennsylvania books are the best, aren't they?!

    ReplyDelete
  11. That book looks really interesting. Of course the blocks look great framed. Nice tip with the copies. Can't wait to see what you do with your blocks. Beth

    ReplyDelete