Two more...........

I really like this block with more green in it.  I haven't put it up on the wall with the rest of the blocks yet.

This block doesn't have as much contrast as some of the others.  I rotated the 2 one way prints instead of having them all facing the same direction.

Each block is its own little masterpiece and a little of that gets lost when they all go together in a quilt.  For me the fabric is the star so I'm enjoying each block as I go.

We got another .65" of rain yesterday that started early in the wee hours of the morning.  It was dry most of the day.  It's going to get colder each night through the weekend but I don't think we have any danger of frost.  They are talking high 30s one night.

 

Partial blocks.............

I got more triangles cut and also cut a couple new prints in the large squares.  I don't have enough pieces cut that please me to finish the blocks so I will be doing more cutting.  I'll have a lot of leftover cut pieces but those will go into the boxes of like sizes.

I'm getting more green into this block but still have rust and gold too.  We are expecting more rain this morning so I'll have time to sew.  We got .7" of rain yesterday and my new bushes are loving it.  Outdoor clean up will have to wait until the weekend to resume.
 

Parts department.........

I decided to put my pieces and parts for the Bear Paw blocks into a project box.  In the main part (left) I have the full amount of matching pieces to complete blocks and in the lid (right) I have pieces to combine to have enough to complete a block (scrappy).  I need to cut a lot more triangles in sets of 16 so that is my goal today.

Since I didn't have enough variety cut to make a Bear Paw block I worked on an alternate project while I watched 3 shows on TV.  I pulled out the brown related 2.5" strips in February and they have been hanging over the handle of a rolling cart all this time.  They aren't quite as bright as they look in this photo.  My intention was to make 16 patches but there aren't enough for a quilt without doing a lot more cutting.  I decided to look through my stash for possibilities for alternate blocks and came up with the 4 prints across the bottom of the photo.  I have enough of the leopard to do all of the alternate blocks but not enough of the other 3 so I would be using 2 or more alternating with the 16 patches.

I did some outside work yesterday.  I cut down a lot more of my peonies, pulled weeds and picked up branches in my back yard.  A friend came over and dug out one of the peonies to plant in her garden.

Bear Paw block 9 and all 9 together.................

Here is a bright block to add to the pack.  I really need to cut some more pieces but I was determined to make one more block from the pieces already cut.

I'm going to add in more green and blue and one turquoise for sure.  I pressed some more fabrics so I can do some cutting today.

This is my most recent Bear Paw quilt that I finished in March this year.  Every block has the traditional light and dark value placement.  On my fall color blocks I have to decide if I'll stop at 12 blocks like I did on this one.  It is 54" x 67.5".

I had 1.2" of rain in my rain gauge yesterday.  It is such welcome rain before winter especially for our trees and bushes.

A little green...........

It isn't obvious in the photo but the print in the large squares has green in it as does the little square in the center.  The claw triangles in this Bear Paw block are assorted brown prints (scrappy).  I carried a pile of pieced parts to the basement to press them but got sidetracked by another project.  I need a new water heater so I'm working on cleaning out that area of the basement so I can have a window open while they install it.  That area has needed a good vacuuming for awhile too.

We got another .15" of rain yesterday morning.  More is predicted today and later in the week.  I might be able to mow my grass next weekend.  It has been 4 weeks since I mowed and there are less brown areas since we got rain last week. 

Bear Paw blocks 6 and 7................

I found a brown print with blue in it so I could add a blue print into a bear paw block.

I hadn't used rust in the claw part of the bear paw block yet so I made one block like that yesterday.  It took some concentration to get all of the little zebras in the light print facing the same direction.

I found 2 brown prints with green in them so I will be adding some green fabrics soon.

I was outside pulling weeds out of my new grass areas and noticed the Sedum blooms are drying up.  They will remain this deep burgundy color for a while.

My new hydrangea blooms are a little deeper pink and the lower part of the cone shape bloom is now beige.  The bush has grown quite a bit since being planted the last week of June.
  

 

Bear Paws 4 and 5..............

The Bear Paw block is a traditional block from many many years ago.  It is not Bear Claw.  There is no such pattern by that name in Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Quilt Blocks and she has done extensive research.  In her book it is Bear's Paw not Bear Paw as I have been calling it but my way is easier to type.  Here is block 4.  I could have used muslin for the light fabric or a flat tone on tone but I like action in my prints.

Block 5 is made with very saturated colors and has the more traditional coloring of the original block.

Here is an overall view of where I am so far.  I'm still trying to add some blues and greens into the blocks but haven't found the right combination yet.

I put all of the Autumn Coneflower 2 blocks on the double design wall.  Now I need to look at it several times a day and see if there is any block I need to pull out and make a substitute for.  At this point I'm wondering if I have too much purple in it so I have a long way to go before this will be sewn together.  The camera has made some of the purples more blue than they are in real life.