Baby quilt and bear
A few months ago Brooke from Silly Mama Quilts posted a quilt she was working on. (sorry I don’t remember the exact project to link to). After reading her post I recalled a photo she shared of an old scrappy bear. At the time I thought it was a cleaver idea to use up scraps this way. You can view the bear post here. Thank you Brooke.
I had some strips and strip remnants left from the IB Crystal Ball bundle I received in January as part of my Ambassador box. Though I was certain I had enough to make a scrappy bear I wasn’t too sure what would be left after. Here’s the bundle below.
First, I took all the short strips and pieced them together as shown below, the bottom section.
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Next, using the AccuQuilt 2 1/2″ strip die I cut the longest strips into 2 1/2″ squares by placing them cross ways of the die. Then joined the scrappy strip sets and squares together to form sections large enough to cut the bear from. Top section in photo above. Then joined them together.
Don’t laugh, I used Hobbs batting scraps from previous challenges to fill him. At 12″ he is a little heavier than most bears of his size. The batting worked great but I did have to manipulate it a little once he was sewn together to make him more balanced. Isn’t he cute perched on the well pump? A lighter weight bear wouldn’t have set so well. Yes my pump has a lean to it. After a tree came down against our home it hasn’t been placed back in its resting spot, so I did the best I could standing it up.
The quilt
Not having enough strips left to make a quilt of any size I decided to pair what was left with Island Batik gray solid. Again, using the 2 1/2″ AccuQuilt strip die I cut the gray solids into strips.Then turned the strips cross ways to make 2 1/2″ squares. After playing with their placement for an embarrassing amount of time I stacked and began joining the squares.
I’m really happy with this finish and love the gray solid paired with Crystal Ball , they look dreamy. It was almost dark outside and I hoped there was enough light to show the fabric. While the photo doesn’t show the beautiful print of the fabric it does represent the tonal values in the strip set without going black and white.
For batting I used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20.
It’s a light weight, low loft batting which makes it perfect to drape over baby or baby/car seat when moving from outdoors to indoors during colder months.
After the binding went on I place the quilt and the bear on the floor to take a photo. Enzo did not get on this quilt for a photo op, he was afraid of the bear. Princess Ella however was not afraid of him. She loves her babies and came running with a smile for the bear when I pulled him out. I couldn’t choose just one photo to post so I’m sharing them all, Ella is my great-niece. Ella loves her dressed and loves to pair them with heels, she is a total diva by appearances only. She isn’t all girl, she rescued her Grammy and me from a bug crawling on the quilt before she sat down. She doesn’t mind playing in the mud and can be seen on the baseball field wearing her older brothers catchers gear, dress and heels.
After the photos she was doing ballerina (ballerimba) kicks and circles, I think to impress uncle Steve. Once he pulled up she forgot about Grammy, the bear, her baby and the blanket.
See what others are working on.
Your project is adorable, as is your model. I love how your bear uses up batting scraps as well as being made from fabric scraps.
Thanks Dione.
Such pretty fabrics for both the bear and the little quilt! Thank you for sharing on Midweek Makers
Thank you Susan, I love the colors in this line.
Such a pretty quilt. And I love the bear!
Thank you Yvonne
Ella is adorable and so are your bear and baby quilt. What a great way to use up your scraps. Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.
Thank you jennifer
LOL. The Diva is adorable and looked beautiful with your lovely quilt and Teddy. Thanks sharing how you made Teddy. Love the quilt beautiful colurs and great quilting. Cheers Glenda.
Thank you for the warm compliments and stopping by. Come back today for my linky party.
That’s a sweet bear. I had a friend who loved making bears like that for our local Children’s Hospital. Its super how that grey is so great with that fabric line. And, your niece, such a perfect model for the bear/quilt!
Awe thank you. I used to love making beats.
Adorable Bear! Darling grand-niece–I hope I get one like her one day!
Thank you and I hope you do too. They are so fun at this age.
Your bear looks fantastic. I have used batting scraps as filler too, for smaller projects though. The grey solid worked so well with the colours. The quilt has sparkly feel to it. Loved reading about your girl, very sweet smile 🙂
-Soma
Thank you Soma, it was a first for me using the batting. I love your painting skills.
The bear is adorable, the quilt beautiful, but the Granddaughter is precious! Enjoyed this post very much.
Thank you Sue
How adorable and happy is the recipient of your labor of love! What a great idea to make a matching bear to go with the quilt! Beautiful photos as well!
Thank you Mia
How adorable!!! I love the tonal quality to the quilt.
Thank you Chris. Sadly you can really only see it in dim lighting.
Two beautiful projects, Denise. Ella is *SO* adorable!!
Thank you Karen. I will be sure to pass that onto Miss Ella.
Such a beautiful bear and quilt. The quilting on the squares enhances them really well. No wonder she looks so pleased.
Thank you. This was my first attempt at orange peel quilting and I loved the results.
Such a cute bear!! I love Crystal Ball, and you are right that it looks great with the gray. I love when kids mis-pronounce things, like your Ella and her ballerimba. My favorite from my son last year was “damberleen” for “dandelion.”
Lol, that’s cute. My son now 23, we laugh about weedee-ator weed eater. Toddlers are the best.
The smile on Ella’s face says more than words ever will. Beautiful job and a treasure that will be loved for years!
Can you see the orneriness coming out?
Hi Denise! Oh, that bear is so darn cute but Princess Ella really steals the show. How adorable is she?!! The quilt finished off lovely – such soft and pretty colors. I also like how you quilted it – I love doing the orange peel pattern. Thanks for sharing the pattern for the bear – I just may need to make a scrappy one myself. ~smile~ Roseanne
If you like I will happy to send you a pdf template of the bear, you’ll just have to piece your fabrics as desired.
This was my first time with the orange peels. I’m happy with this finish and I think I got the hang of it.
What a cute bear, love the fabrics.
Thank you Vicki
I love both but your little model stole the show….what a cutie
LOL, she is a handful for her grammie.
Beautiful teddy bear, quilt, and little girl!
Thank you
You have a great model. Ella looks so happy to be playing with the cute bear and sitting on that great quilt. I’ve made bears out of quilting cotton but never thought of piecing fabric to do one. Maybe some day….
Ella is happy anytime she has babies. The bear was the best way ever to use up some scraps. Go check out Silly Mama Quilts scrappy bear.
The scrappy bear is great! It was also great that you used batting scraps for stuffing! Why not, right?! The little quilt is so pretty! There is a quaint and dainty vibe about it…love it!
My thoughts exactly re:the batting, it worked great.Thanks for stopping by Jayne.