In January, Dana started a scrappy bear paw quilt-along on Instagram.  I love making bear paws blocks and had a stack of fabric that I had set aside for myself ages ago.  It was a mix of old fabrics that I had been saving just for me, along with new prints that caught my eye.  Once I saw Dana's quilt a-long, I knew I had to get started right away.

I gave one paw in each block an accent paw.  In the end, it turned out to be a sampler quilt hidden in a bear paw quilt and I absolutely love it.  As soon as it was finished I had it on the bed.

The border is the Paris map print by three sisters for Moda.  It's from years ago but I squirreled away yards of it because it is one of my most favorite prints.  It was my jumping off point for the prints for the rest of the quilt.  Basically, all my favorite colors, which are mostly sort of non-colors.

One of my favorite bits is the binding.  In with one of my favorite text prints, I added sections of a black print from the first fat quarter bundle I ever purchased back in 1997.  It is a Moda print and I still love it today as much as I did back then.

The back of the quilt is a lovely black print on double wide fabric with some grey around the edges.

A friend quilted it for me on her long arm.  The quilting pattern was called bayside.  I'm sure they were going for waves, but to me it looked like thick curly bear fur so I had to try it.

She did an amazing job and I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

Most of this week's sewing focused on my bear paw.  I stitched together all the accent blocks so now I can assembly line the blocks together.  

Here they are along with the log cabin accent I already put into a block.

It turned into a fun sampler project.  I pulled most of the blocks from Barbara Brackman's, Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns.  

Here's a block I'm working on today.

My center square, along with the claws are 2 1/2" unfinished.  The accent block and 4 square scrappy blocks are 4 1/2" unfinished.  In the end, I have a block the will be 14" finished.  

Here's another block I shared on Instagram yesterday.

A bear paw quilt has to have bear, doesn't it?

I managed to ignore a good portion of the housework this week in favor of some fun sewing projects. I've started a new quilt for our bed.  I've had a fabric stack set aside to make a bear paw quilt for our bed for over a year now.

Then Dana from Old Red Barn started up a little scrappy bear paw quilt along over on instagram.  It was just the kickstart I needed.

I'm planning to do one special accent paw in each block so I spent some time this week working on some of those.

Lulu's friend has a birthday coming up so she chose the fabric and I did the stitching on this very dear deer.  The pattern is from Issue 2 of Love Patchwork and Quilting.  (one of the cutest quilting and stitching magazines around)

I was also lucky enough to get a request from Anna of Noodlehead to try out her new road trip case pattern.  I'm already thinking about what fabrics I will use on my next one.

I love the button and loop closure.

There are two pocket options.  I chose the four pocket version with flaps.

I'm filling mine with some of my hand piecing supplies.

It was my first time working with vinyl.  I was nervous because I have heard so much over the years about how it can get stuck on presser feet while you are stitching, but I used my walking foot and it was a breeze!  I have to admit, I did get over confident and think that I could machine finish the binding.  A skill I've never been able to master and managed to get some stitches on the vinyl.  In the end, I couldn't take the sloppy stitching lines so I picked them out and finished it by hand.  I was left with some tiny holes in the vinyl, but I think they are less distracting than the line of stitching so I'm happy.

Thankfully this one wasn't a gift so I was able to accept my mistake and stitch on.  Well, again I have to admit first I ate a handful of chocolate covered almonds and then I stitched on.  I think those tiny holes might be a little reminder of how important it is to slow down and finish a project the right way.

Sometimes stubbornness just gets in the way doesn't it?

Here is my last finish of 2012.

A twin size bear paw made at my brother's request to be given as a Christmas gift.

The only direction I was given was to use fabrics that a little old lady would like.  I chose mostly reproduction prints from various Windham collections.  I love repro prints for their intricate patterns and details.  I like making quilts that can be appreciated from a distance, and then with a closer look you get a chance to admire the more delicate aspects of the print.  Most of all, I love mixing all those intricate prints together.

The back is a large star inspired by one of Jeni's tutorials.  I based the size of my star on the smallest piece of fabric I was using, so it's smaller than the tutorial, but I think it has impact and is a great surprise for a quilt back.

I'm in the middle of three quilt tops now, so with any luck I will be back soon with my first finish of 2013.