Hive 4 February Tutorial: Big Bear Paw for Em

Hello Stash Bee friends! I'm Em, you can find me online at www.instagram.com/moonlightsewing. 

I have participated in Stash Bee since ... the beginning (?) ... I think (?). And now, I have a long enough streak going that even if I'm not sure I can fit another project on my plate, I am sure to make space for this one. I love this bee because it gives me the opportunity to interact with quilters I wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to meet. I love that I get the chance to try out techniques, blocks, or color combinations in just a block or two that I might not pick for myself. 

 

I like big blocks and I cannot lie. This is a big block. The individual sections are 9-inches, finished (9.5 inches, unfinished) and the sashing both between the 4 "paws" and around the blocks will be 1.5 inches, finished (2 inches, unfinished), including that wee little 1.5-inch quarter square triangle in the middle of the block. Cute, right? Anyway, since this block is outside of the 16-inch parameters for Stash Bee, I'll ask you just to make two of the four paws that make up each block. 

The color theme I've chosen was used in a traveling quilt that I worked on this past year, and I loved it so much that I decided to adopt it for my Stash Bee blocks. I tried a sample block where each paw was one color, and one where the colors are mixed together, and decided I liked the single color paws best. 

COLOR THEME

Bear Paws: 
**Bright Pink
**Peach/Coral/Orange
**Golden yellow/mustard (reads mustard yellow not mustard brown)
**Teal

Background:
Black prints: white on black, gray on black, or black on black on black. 

A bit of the colors of the block are okay as well, as long as the fabric reads black.

CUTTING DIRECTIONS

From each of 2 bear paw colors:
(2) 4 inch squares
(4) 3.5 inch squares

From the background:
(4) 4 inch squares
(2) 3.5 inch squares

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Note: The cutting directions above are for the Stash Bee group. I'm going to include alternate cutting directions to make the full 4-paw block below in case someone reading this tutorial in the future wishes to make the whole block.

From each of 4 bear paw colors:
(2) 4 inch squares (for HSTs)
(4) 3.5 inch squares (for bear paw 4-patch)
(1) 2.75 inch square (for center QST. Trim to 2-inches. Will make 4 QSTs - use others in additional blocks)

From the background:
(8) 4 inch squares (for HSTs)
(4) 3.5 inch squares (for corner background pieces)
(4) 2 inch x 9.5 inch rectangles (for sashing between paws)

CONSTRUCTION DIRECTIONS

1. Make half square triangles (HSTs). 
Match each 4 inch bear paw square with a 4 inch background square, right sides together. 
Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner. 
Sew ¼ inch away from the line on both sides. 
Cut the HST apart on the line. Trim the corners. Press the HST open. Trim to 3.5 inches. 

2. Use the (4) 3.5 inch bear paw color squares to make a 4-patch. 

3. Arrange the HSTs so the bear paw colors touch the 4-patch and point toward the corner. 
Please arrange so the same prints are not touching one another. 

4. Sew the block together. 

Note: Since I am not asking for the whole block because of size constraints, I would love an extra 2-inch strip or two of your black print to add some variety to the sashing between paws and between blocks. Thanks!!