"For a Maine Winter" - A Finished Bear Paw Quilt

If someone were to take a poll of the top 5 things quilts are known for, I would hazard a guess that "coziness" would be among the results. That's what I had in mind when I finally made a quilt for my brother-in-law this Christmas, who has said many times how much he loves quilts and handicrafts.

We have indeed visited our Maine family in winter when it snows all the time (and it's no big deal. Here in NJ, that would be catastrophic). Their house is super warm and cozy, and everyone has a quilt now! This quilt was backed with Mammoth Flannel by Robert Kaufman (see some of it below). YUM.

 Scrappy Bear Paw block tutorial by Jeni Baker of In Color Order

The colors were meant to be natural, "Maine" colors. It was difficult to find all the various tones needed to make the supersized bear paw blocks stand out, but I'm really happy with how it turned out! Persistence. I wrote more about the process of piecing this quilt and how my fabric buying has changed here. Looking back, I really love the secondary designs that appear between the blocks.

Finally, the quilting: I quilted three different motifs across the colors of the quilt (Bear Claws by Christina Cameli, Bare Branches by Leah Day, and big crazy squares/rectangles). This quilt was asking for an organic, geometric feel, and I used Aurifil threads to make the magic happen (1320 Medium Teal, 2735 Medium Blue, 5017 Shining Green, 2870 Green, 4012 Copper Brown, and 2360 Chocolate).

I'll be suggesting these tutorials in upcoming months of the Modern FMQ QAL - hint, hint!

I've heard that the quilt was well-received and already being used. That's everything I could ask for! The process was a great way to reflect on another year of making and my family. Now, on to finishing up some UFOs and WIPs in 2018!

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts, TGIFF, Needle and Thread Thursday.