Saturday Sewing with Quilt Blocks, Cats and Coastal Walks

I can’t believe it’s nearly mid-August already. That’s just crazy. Anyway…welcome back to Bonjour Quilts, please read on for all the news!

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    What I’m Sewing…

    Work ceased on my citron yellow and teal quilt at the end of last week as I waited on more fabric.

    Using the Quilter's Planner to sketch out a potential quilt pattern. The grid pages in the Quilter's Planner make it easy to catch quilty inspiration whenever it strikes.

    The fabric only arrived on Friday so I haven’t dived into it yet. The prints that arrived are all Ruby Star Society and are very zesty indeed (you can find similar at Polka Dot Tea in Australia, or the Fat Quarter Shop in the US). You can see my purchases below on my ironing board, in front of some of the blocks I’ve sewn so far.

    Citron lemon-green fabrics from Ruby Star Society by Moda on an ironing board in front of some patchwork kite blocks made in that colour with teal blue accents.

    I shared this sketch last week, showing a rotation of the pattern which suits the purpose of the quilt. It will be seen in landscape, so it makes sense that the pattern runs long edge to long edge.

    A lattice quilt pattern using a kite quilt block created from a square. This quilt will be made in a teal and citrine yellow colour scheme.

    I popped into the digital realm with the design and you can see it rendered below. The blocks will be on point and there will be a fair bit of negative space around the teal lattice (or fish scales, as they look to me). This negative space will be tucked under a mattress so I didn’t see the point in labouring too hard over those blocks.

    I mainly got on the computer to try and nut out if I wanted a citron or a teal binding. It really doesn’t matter as it will be tucked away but hey, it’s fun to check these things out. You can make up your own mind:

    Testing a teal or a citron lemon-yellow quilt binding on a quilt pattern. Using a computer mock up to test the two colours and to determine if I prefer the edge-less or defined frame look of either option.

    While I mucked around on the computer I thought about pushing the design to the edges, too. Not so good for tucking around a mattress, but it could be a fun quilted wall decoration. The small changes give me a potted climbing vine feel, or even headdresses with intricate antlers. It’s always fun to play around with these things, and who knows, something cool might come from it.

    Testing alternate versions of a teal and citron lemon-yellow quilt pattern. The top pattern gives a potted climbing plant or vine vibe, while the lower version is more like fish scales. Layouts by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts.

    I knew my yellow fabric would be several days in the mail so I started thinking about sewing something else to pass the time (and procrastinate writing out a new pattern, to be honest). I was keen for another scrap project, and considered a Scrappy Lattice quilt, however I wasn’t really feeling it.

    A bear paw quilt block sewn from the Bottomless Bear Paw quilt pattern by Bonjour Quilts. This quilt pattern has instructions for 5 quilt sizes, and is yardage, fat quarter and scrap friendly. This quilt block is sewn with a turquoise/lime print fabric background, a white paw fabric and a lime green heart paw pad.

    Then long-time reader Cheryl (you’ve seen lots of her work if you’ve been reading for a while) emailed and reminded me of the Bottomless Bear Paw pattern. I realised that I hadn’t made a full-on scrappy version of that pattern.

    A bear paw quilt block sewn from the Bottomless Bear Paw quilt pattern by Bonjour Quilts. This quilt pattern has instructions for 5 quilt sizes, and is yardage, fat quarter and scrap friendly. This quilt block is sewn with a solid aqua fabric background, a low volume print fabric and a fuchsia pink paw pad square.

    Best of all, when I thought of sewing it, I got “the feeling”. I’m sure you know that very happy, anticipatory feeling you get when looking forward to creating a particular quilt. Well, I had it, which was good enough for me. Scrappy Bottomless Bear Paws it was!

    A bear paw quilt block sewn from the Bottomless Bear Paw quilt pattern by Bonjour Quilts. This quilt pattern has instructions for 5 quilt sizes, and is yardage, fat quarter and scrap friendly. This quilt block is sewn with a navy/jade fabric background, a white paw fabric and a teal blue heart paw pad.

    My first thought (as with most scrap projects) was a rainbow colour scheme. Perhaps with colours changing diagonally across the quilt, or from the centre to the edge. Then I pulled out my greeny-blue scraps and thought of just a green and blue palette.

    Turquoise, aqua, blue and teal scrap fabrics, in prints and solids, to use to make scrappy patchwork bear paw blocks.

    I’ve probably got enough scraps to do separate cool and warm versions! Best bet is to just start sewing and see how it turns out in terms of scrap amounts and how the blocks work together. I’m sewing the baby quilt sized blocks (great for scraps) and will use a mix of the heart paw pads and the plain square paw pads.

    White bear paw quilt block with a navy fabric background and a paw pad that's a small pink heart. This will be an upcoming pattern from Bonjour Quilts.

    This might be one of those long-term projects where I sew a couple of blocks each week until I have enough. (A good way to use up scraps as you go, after each new project.) Then again, the fever might stay strong and I’ll just keep going til it’s done!

    Scrappy patchwork bear paw blocks made from the Bottomless Bear Paw quilt pattern by Bonjour Quilts.

    Thanks again for the bear paw reminder, Cheryl! (Here’s Cheryl’s colourful version of Bottomless Bear Paws – she made the FQ friendly version with square paw pads.)

    A Bottomless Bear Paws quilt sewn by Cheryl in rainbow fabrics. This quilt has a low volume background with many different colour bear paw quilt blocks. Pattern by Bonjour Quilts.

    Around the Interwebs…

    A very scrappy edition of links today! Amy has a quick, clever way to use up small, fussy cut fabric treasures.

    And Stephanie adds a little felt to create Christmas decoration delight from her scraps. (Reminder: it’s already August – start thinking about this stuff! 😀)

    For those of you who love to save every. last. scrap. you’ll love this practical use for them.

    And if you thought those 3 projects were extreme scrap-using, then you’ll be blown away by this confetti quilt method.

    Somewhat related, did you see the amazing Olympic quilt made by Olympian/Paralympian athletes?

    How about a palette cleanser of gorgeous, colourful 3D textiles?

    Chez Bonjour…

    In between all the scrappy sewing and regular home life, I’ve enjoyed winter walks here in my corner of Australia (on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland). Hopefully these photos show why we love living here so much!

    Wattle flowering on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. Also known as Acacia, it's the national flower of Australia.
    Wattle (acacia) blooms brighten up winter. And it matches my citron quilt!
    A stepping stone path leading to steps that head down to the beach near Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Australia. A wave breaks on the shore.
    Pandanus tree with fruit on the boardwalk at Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. The fruit is very pineapple-ish, although the two plants aren't related.
    A fruiting pandanus tree, enjoying the ocean view.

    Cats’ Corner

    Our two Burmese cats, Tigger (orange) and Lulu (brown) have been very sleepy this week. But to be honest, they’re sleepy every week. They still send you their love, even with their eyes closed.

    A sleepy orange Burmese cat snoozing on a grey cat bed.
    A brown Burmese cat asleep on a quilt. The quilt is made from beautiful Anna Maria Horner fabric and shows off Lulu's luxurious fur!
    A cream/orange Burmese cat and a sable brown Burmese cat snoozing on a grey, furry cat bed in the sun. Stripes of sunlight light up their fur, and their legs are intertwined comfortably.

    Have a great weekend

    Wherever you are in the world, I hope you’re having a great weekend. Hopefully with a little quilting or sewing or using your hands in some way. It’s so relaxing and reinvigorating and good for your mental health – science proves it!

    All the best, my friends,

    Kirsty x

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      4 thoughts on “Saturday Sewing with Quilt Blocks, Cats and Coastal Walks”

      2. Kirsty as always….I LOVE your blog posts. I read them and think, what a creative person you are! Other creatives energize me to create. The Acacia reminded me of flowering fields in Montana. Acres and acres of gorgeous green/yellow! And you live in a gorgeous place. BTW Australia is on our bucket list. God bless, my friend!

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