Who doesn’t love teddy bears?! They give us a warm squishy feeing inside and a sense of security…. and they make us smile! 

My Three Bears measures 43″ x 53″ and would make a perfect baby or toddler quilt.  A little one can cuddle with three favorite friends instead of just one!  Adjust the colors of the patchwork portion to coordinate with the nursery colors.

Do you have a fondness for the Bear’s Paw Block?  Bears And Paws is an oversized nine patch layout with trios of bears and Bear’s Paw blocks.  A couple of mischevious bears have escaped to the outer border.  This fun quilt works as a crib quilt or as a wall hanging in the baby’s room.

Merry Beary is a 20″ jointed teddy bear all dressed up in a Santa outfit, complete with a Santa bag.  Instant Christmas personality for any room!

This is so cute – a quilt poem!  Teach your grandchild the poem that goes with the quilt “pictures” and it will be a treasured childhood memory…

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear turn around, touch the ground, show your shoe, that will do.  Go up the stairs, say your prayers, turn out the light, say good night.

Patterns for pillows and seven quilts are included in this book by Linda Hohag.  The Alphabears can be used to make an alphabet cute or use them to spell out a child’s name, or a verse, or a special message.   Easy piecing and both traditional and fusible applique methods are used for these projects.

Go ahead, find a bear to fall in love with and commence sewing some comfort!

Halloween has come and gone; we’re one stop closer to Christmas.  Too far away still for many people to shop for gifts, but for those of us who enjoy making gifts, it’s closing in!  Table runners and table toppers make great gifts.  You can give  beautiful, long lasting, personal gifts and they don’t take long to make.  D Hall Designs has a large variety of “table dressing” patterns, including table runners, table toppers, and placemats.  If you have more time, you can also choose one of Denise’s baby size, lap size, or full bed size quilts…. bonus! many of them include directions for a runner also.

Triple Spin includes instructions for a 14″ x 35″ table runner and a 13.5″ x 13.5″ table topper that could also be used in a place setting.  Using high contrast fabrics allows the spinning block to really stand out.

Spinners kicks up the motion a little more.  Again, high contrast fabrics would be best.  Instructions are for placemats, and table runners in two sizes.  It might be fun to use a gold background for the table topper with red for the pinwheels and, with the same background in the placemats, use green for the placemats…. coordinating but not matchy-matchy.

The Ribbon Dance pattern has wide enough borders that are perfect for a  holiday themed medium scale print fabric.  The center is a neutral background with two different fabrics intertwining to look like cascading ribbon.  Two sizes: 13.75″ x 28.5″ and 18″ x47″ 

A table topper, a table runner, and a candle mat make up the Irish Chain pattern.  How cute would these look with fussy cut Santas or Snowmen in the center squares?!

Browse the rest of D Hall Designs patterns.  Discover Denise’s quick and easy piecing methods and try her “flip and sew” technique, all while making beautiful gifts.

Nelly Vileikis has been driven to create quilts for quite a long time.  She also enjoys sharing the craft through workshops, lectures, trunk shows and private classes.  Her quilt designs are dynamic and colorful.  And they range from simple, easy quilts to more complicated showpieces.

 All Star Quilt allows you to choose a theme and then showcase it in the large center of the simple blocks.  The instructions are easy to follow.  Create a quilt that will mean something special.

Amazon Reflections takes a new approach to the stack-n-whack method.  Change your color palette and change the mood of the quilt, but you’ll still end up with a “wow” piece.

Snowball blocks and modified nine patches come together easily (even for a beginner!) to create Playful Rings.  No one has to know how easy it was to make this complicated looking quilt!

Traditional patchwork and machine applique come together to create this contemporary design, Caribbean Fiesta.  You’ll have to work a little harder for this one, but what a splash it makes, right?!   In these colors it kind of makes me want to play Parchessi.

Believe it or not, Whirligig is made up of only squares! Looks hard, but it really isn’t.  Take the opportunity to play with color, fabric and composition.

Nelly’s clear, concise instructions will walk you through the process of paper piecing this masterpiece, Sunset on Ellis Island.  Then you can say “I did that!”

From simple to complicated, all of Nelly’s designs are colorful and interesting.

While we might not be looking forward to winter, fall weather certainly is a pleasant change from the blast of heat we had this summer.  Our fabric choices turn to beautiful golds, browns, reds, and yellows.

Look at all the colors and texture in this corn!  Aside from adding interest to any block, this Dutchess Country fabric would look great in a landscape quilt, or as a border.  It would also make a unique binding. 

 The scattered wheat in gentle curves adds motion to Harvest Home, a tone on tone gold that would pair nicely with the corn fabric.

Add Mixmaster Scribbles Red for the pop! There’s so much to like about this fabric… the waves of intensity, the squiggly lines and the warm color.

Another red, this one is a little deeper, Mixmasters Dot to Dot Cranberry has more subtle variations in color.

Adding a deep brown seems called for and Jo Morton’s Cocoa Express works.  The tan and red lines that create the diamond shapes remove the boredom of a solid brown, but still allow the fabric to be “read” as brown.

Finally, to brighten things up, Yellow Classic Yellow.  A tone on tone, there are little “v”s of red…. just a smattering.  It kind of reminds me of chicks and their beaks. 

What do you think of this color pallette?  What would you pair with the corn fabric?

If you want your Halloween decorations to include quilts or other sewn items, better start sewing soon!

Hang this little quilt in your entryway and greet your guests with “Boo”!   It’s a simple pattern with a jack-o-lantern and a cat (black of course) in front of the word ‘Boo’.  You can do the applique by hand or machine.

The bats are flying, the candy is waiting, and someone is Carving the Pumpkin.  This easy to construct pattern shows the progess of the pumkin carving from top to bottom.  The pattern includes the eerie looking eyes (green buttons) for the bats.

It’s their busy season and every hard worker needs to kick it up and let out some tension occassionally.  They are having a well deserved Witches’ Night Out!  Have fun choosing fabric for their clothes, stockings, boots, and even their fingernails.

If you are planning a Halloween party, these table runners will surely set the mood for Halloween Haunts!

BFF – Trick or Treat is a quilt – and a toy!  Swap-lique is the new technique.  The appliques can be changed over and over.  The pattern includes 6 costumes, 5 hairdos and fun accessories. 

Pumpkins All Around has instructions for a 26″ wall hanging/candle mat and a 23″ x 27″ table runner.  These will look great displayed all fall, not just at Halloween.

There are many more Halloween patterns.  Go ahead, pick one out and get sewing!

How’s your pile of scraps?  My little odd pieces of fabric have filled a twenty gallon storage tote to overflowing, and two large shopping bags.   It’s time to use some of those scraps!   I wonder how many “free” quilts I can make from them?

Tracey Brookshier has several patterns that will take those scraps and create beautiful quilts.

Use 30′s fabrics, or any colorful bits, to paper piece Grandma’s Aprons.  This 35″ x 42″ quilt will look great on a kitchen wall and will surely bring back happy kitchen memories.

I love the transition from light to dark back to light again in the Bento Box quilt.  It reminds me of the circle of life.  This quilt looks great with oriental fabric scraps or batik scraps.

Grab all the shades of red you can find… from the palest pink to the deepest maroon and set these Hearts Afire! Instructions are included for a lap size and a bed size quilt.  And you can choose whether you want to do rotary cutting or use templates.

If you’ve never made a crazy quilt, Pretty Crazy is a great introduction.  You’ll not only use your fabric scraps, but also those odd bits of ribbon, lace, ricrac and what-not!  Pattern includes instructions for a 37″ x 48″ quilt and 16″ square pillows.

Check out the rest of Brookshier Design Studio’s quilt patterns and pull out those scraps you’ve been saving.  You’ll be glad you did.