Happy 2024!
It's Quilt Block Mania time! Each month the participating designers share a block pattern inspired by the month's theme. The pattern is free for the month!
This year I'm doing things a bit different. Each month I'll be designing and giving away a block reflecting the Quilt Block Mania monthly theme, however, my block designs will also follow a yearly theme that I have set. The idea is that, we will be building a quilt through the year. At the end of the year, we will have 12 blocks to set into a quilt and I will give instruction for setting and borders to finish. So....
Welcome to QBM 2024 - Year of Bears
Our QBM theme for the month of January is "Party". Whether you're celebrating a special occasion or ringing in the New Year, gathering for a party is wonderful way to connect with our friends and family. My first block celebrating the New Year features little bear all set to party with streamers, balloon and party hat.
Party Bear is my 12" block pattern this month. Details on how to get your block pattern is at the bottom of this post. This block pattern is only free to download for the month of January 2024.
**NOTE** This promotion has ended but the Party Bear PDF block pattern is available for purchase in my online shop.
This design as well as upcoming designs will feature this sweet little bear. The designs will all be fairly simple with a bit of embroidery. If you'd like to stitch along with me, I've included fabric requirements for the block backgrounds for 12 months.
Background Fabric Requirements for 12 Blocks:
- 2 yards - all blocks using the same background
- 1 yard each of two fabrics - alternate every other block background
- 1/2 yard each of 4 fabrics - 3 blocks each with backgrounds randomly placed (Note: This is what I'll be doing.)
The appliqué patches will just be small bits of fabric, in your choice of colors, that you can pull from your stash or collect along the way.
Do you have trouble choosing fabric or picking a color scheme?
Choosing fabrics can be a bit challenging, especially with a project like this where you don't have all the details. A good way to get started is to choose a color scheme by finding an inspiration fabric or artwork that you like the colors in. The theme doesn't matter. I chose the inspiration fabric below to start.
From here I pulled 3-5 prints from each of the colorways used in the fabric. Don't worry if the colors don't match exactly.
Now choose your background. I'm using 4 low volume prints with a white background. (They didn't show well in a photo.) You can choose just one if you like.
I put all my chosen fabrics in a bin, minus my inspiration fabric. I will not be using it in this project. Each month I will pull my fabric choices from this group of fabrics. I may add a few along the way if needed, but it makes choosing fabrics for each block so much easier. I hope this works for you too.
**Note: This pattern was given free for the month of January 2024 as part of the Quilt Block Mania blog hop. This promotion has ended but the block pattern is available for purchase in my online shop. If you would like to take part in my free giveaways, please visit my website and subscribe to my email newsletter.
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I do hope you enjoy these block patterns as much as I enjoy designing them for you. Drop me a comment below. I would love to hear from you! You can also find me on ➡️Instagram and ➡️Facebook.
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Thank you for participating in the Quilt Block Mania program.