Bear Tracks rainbows

I relish my turn to lead the monthly charity quilt for Comfort Circle of do. Good Stitches! Of course I enjoy getting to choose the patchwork and the colors - that is my favorite part of quilt-making. But, I also love how in the weeks that follow I receive so much happy mail. Small, squishy packages of delightful quilt blocks drop through my mail slot and brighten my day.

And then comes the really exciting part! I definitely anticipate the moment when I look at all our bee blocks together for the first time. As this quilt is a rainbow-blend project, it was a fun moment for Elora and I to enjoy together. She helped me sort the blocks first by color and then arrange them on the design wall. Rainbows are a joy we certainly share!

I am still waiting on one last squishy package, but I have seen a picture of those blocks and thus know what colors are coming. Thanks to the design wall and that photo, I was able to figure out where I need to make a few new blocks to fill out our rainbow. Time for a little scrap sewing!


Sponsor of the Week

Dragonfly Quiltworks

Want to sew a Rainbow Scrap Quilt but struggle to wrangle your scraps? Creating a rainbow blend is easier if you have basics like this fat quarter bundle of Ombre Wovens. A simple, tonal stripe looks good with everything and keeps patchwork from getting too chaotic. It’s an investment for many scrap quilts to come!


Funny, the fill-in blocks needed are all cool shades. These are the 3” squares for making HST blocks, which become the claws.

The Bear Tracks quilt is an ideal scrappy project, because each bear paw block stands alone and requires small cuts of fabric. You can find the pattern for this quilt in my book, The Quilter’s Field Guide to Color.

Hello, fresh bear paw blocks! That was fun.

Here’s to the simple joys of rainbows and scrap quilting!