Thursday Is The Day!

First big reason to shop at Bear Patch on Thursday, July 20:
This is a day that requires you to play hooky from whatever else you are supposed to be doing!  Your presence is requested at Bear Patch!  20 is that magic number signaling another anniversary gift from us to you!  This month, we have called on the resources of a very talented local designer--Gudrun Erla!  You might already know Gudrun and her company, GE Designs.  She designs quilt patterns and fabric, too.  And lately, she has been busy designing rulers through Creative Grids Rulers.  Her Stripology and Stripology Squared Rulers have been big hits with many quilters, and she has a full range of books and patterns to support those rulers.  In addition to that support, she has another product - GEasy Ruler Stickers - which come in oh-so-handy on my cutting table!  I did write a product review on this blog last May, which you can refer to if you would like to see how I make use of the Ruler Stickers.  But better yet, watch this video to help you understand why you really need these stickers!



For our anniversary celebration, Gudrun has packaged single sheets of stickers for us to give away!  You will receive 64 colored arrow stickers just for being our very best customers!  They will be 1 of the 3 colors in her usual package, and if you want the full assortment they will be available to purchase.  No purchase necessary, available 1 per customer while supply lasts.
2nd big reason to shop at Bear Patch on Thursday, July 20:
Our summer sale starts!  25% off in-stock fabric, books and patterns!  Many kits will be included for past projects, too.  And here's something we have never done before-- all fat quarters are $1!  And our little Bear Cubs (12" x 10") are 3-for-a-dollar!  We have been very busy reducing our stock, marking reductions, and preparing for our 5 day super sale!  Here are the dates:

Thursday, July 20, 9-5

Friday, July 21, 9-5

Saturday, July 22, 9-5

Sunday, July 23, 12-4

Monday, July 24, 9-9

I promise it will be worth the drive, unless you're coming from Alaska!  Or depending on your thinking, it might even be worth that drive just for the fun of it!  I think if I look real hard at the horizon, I can just barely see a convoy of quilters speeding southeast to Bear Patch!

Product Review - Ruler Stickers

I just tried out a new product, and I want to tell you about it.  It's G Easy Ruler Stickers from 

GE Designs, designed by Gudrun Erla.  It is a small pack of adhesive backed stickers to mount on the top of your rotary rulers.  The little arrows will easily show any landmark measurements on your ruler to help your eye fine tune on the important spots.  The pack is $7.99, and there are 192 re-useable stickers in the pack in 3 colors.  

They can be used more than once, so this pack should last you awhile!

I have used some little post-it note arrow stickers and omni tape before for doing the same thing, but these are a big improvement.  They stick better longer, and the bright colors are easier to see.  Let me show you how I used them:

I needed to cut 2" wide strips for binding from this black and white stripe.  I put 2 little blue arrows on the 2" ruler line close to me and then down at the other end.  I only use the ruler markings for nearly all of my cutting, not the markings on the mat.  So disregard any of the lines on the mat in the picture.  With those arrows in place, I can easily line up the 2" line on the straight raw edge of the fabric and make my next cut.  Then I leave the fabric in place and slide the ruler over to make the next cut.  Slick, right?!

Now, here's an "orphan block" that is perfect for showing you how these little stickers help you trim and center your blocks.  This measured about 9" square or something like that, and I decided it should be trimmed to 6 1/2" for this tutorial.

 Can you see where I put all of the bright pink arrows on my ruler?  A 6 1/2" ruler would be oh-so-convenient, but what if I don't have that size in my quiver of rulers?  Well, I can use any ruler larger than 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" to do the job.  Most of our square rulers have a corner that is what I call the "Zero Corner".  That's in the upper right corner, and the inches grow progressively larger away from that corner.  All the little arrows are on the lines that are 6 1/2" from that Zero Corner.  I have also put an arrow on the point that is 3 1/4" from both directions, and that is where the center point of the block needs to be positioned.

 Now I can slice off the right and top sides of the block

 After making those 2 cuts, lift the ruler but don't twist or turn it.

Turn the fabric 180 degrees.  The edges you just cut should now be 

on the left and bottom sides of the square.

Above, the center arrow (at the 3 1/4" cross hairs) goes right on the center of the block "X".

Below, the lower left arrows on the 6 1/2" lines should be at those raw edges you just cut.  The diagonal arrow and the diagonal line running from that corner to the opposite corner should lay right on the seamline.

The 6 1/2" mark at the top of the ruler and at the bottom right side of the ruler should be right on the fabric edge and the diagonal seamline, as shown below.

 

Now, trim off the top and right sides of the block.  Ta-dah!  A nice square 6 1/2" block with the center of the X in the center of the block, and the diagonal seamlines right in the 4 corners.

So, there you go!  A very good way to use this handy new product from GE Designs!  If you would like to purchase the arrow pack, call us at 651-429-1039 and we can send it on it's way to you!

Step Right Up!

This is a new sample quilt sewn by Laurel from the Quilt MN 2013 fabrics.  She used a pattern from The Sewing Revolution called the Brown and Aqua Step Quilt.  We changed it to just The Step Quilt.  Laurel made an earlier version of this for our Sew Creative event last winter, using 2 specialty rulers from Creative Grids.  She put on her creative thinking cap, and made the 5" printed squares just a little bigger with a narrow brown border, then they fit right into this design.  

Patterns, rulers and kits are available starting August 2.

 Call us now at 651-429-1039 to reserve yours!

Stuff My Stocking - Day 9 - Rulers

It's Tool Time! Remember that classic bit?

Ahh, the good old days, with Tim Allen and his Home Improvement gang.

Some days at Bear Patch would make a perfect plot for a situation comedy, and we always take our tools seriously! Today we have something to add to your tool belt--

Some great Creative Grids Basic Range rulers! We chose 2 of our most popular sizes. The 6" x 12" is such a handy go-to tool for your ruler collection. And I especially like it when I am packing up to go places like classes, guild meetings, retreats, etc., because I don't worry about breaking it like my longer ruler that pokes out of my bag.

The 6" x 6" size is so practical for squaring up common sizes of blocks as we are constructing the next masterpiece. It can be used for all those half-square triangle or quarter-square triangle blocks, flying geese blocks, etc. And fussy cuts!

Regular price for both is $31.90
Day 9 "Stuff my Stocking" price
$23.93That's 25% off!

As is standard with Creative Grids rulers, they have the non-slip underside to make your cuts more accurate. Nothing worse than a slippery ruler!

The "Basic Range" of rulers has all the essential markings, but they have eliminated the 1/8" marks to make things a little clearer. They are printed in black and white, making them useful on most shades of fabric.

Notice how well the dark lines show on the lighter section, but the white lines really show up on the dark purple? So it's time to upgrade to these new rulers, and start out the new year right with excellent tools.

I think you know the drill, but here's the details:

Call Bear Patch at 651-429-1039

OR

email us at info@bearpatchquilting.com

OR

walk into the store and announce

"Stuff My Stocking"!

Make sure we have your name, phone number and payment info. All of your choices of our 12 Days event will be packaged for you to pick up after the 15th of the month. Tell your loved one that you have done the shopping already, all they have to do is show up at the store with the plastic card! A nice little bundle under the tree!