#teambearpaw24 block

Hello everybody!

Something slightly different from me today. I made a block that's going to be used in a group quilt for the Festival of Quilts next year!

The project is being run by Chris English, aka @afullenglish. He is well known for his use of recycled and vintage fabrics in his improv quilts, which are often protests against the Tory Government. He is also very proud of being the source of this disclaimer at the 2023 Festival of Quilts.

Photo credit: Chris English 

They really need to hire me as their proofreader, I would not let him get away with this... stuff.

This project is not sweary or overtly anti-Tory, but it does have recycling at its heart. He has asked people to send him bear paw blocks made out of (if possible) recycled and old fabrics and he is joining them all together to make one big quilt.

I chose two fabrics to use in my block. The first is a blue water-lily style floral cotton, from a bunch of old fabrics given to me by my mother. It had pieces cut out of it, so she had clearly used it for something previously, though I am not sure what.


The second was a thick plain green-blue polyester, which was off-cut from the curtains in my lounge.

The curtains in my lounge

The thick curtain material was a little tricky to work with, but this is a traditional block and it is very straightforward to piece.

Making the HSTs (half square triangles)

All the elements ready to be pieced!

And here's me with the finished block!



This is now making its way to Huddersfield to be included in the larger work. I can't wait to see the finished piece next summer! These are 9.5 inch finished blocks (10 inches in the state we send them) and lots of people have sent blocks so it is looking to be a massive quilt. And it's good to know that I am going to be exhibiting again, even if only in a small way.

Thanks for reading!

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