Beary Colourful BOM: Always Learning Green Bear

It’s been a bit of an education for me, designing and releasing the Beary Colourful Bear patterns. I’ve certainly made my share of errors. But I am proud to be always learning!

And there is someone else I’d like to introduce you to, who also values life-long learning….. the Green Bear! Please welcome May’s Green Bear of Always Learning to our growing Beary Colourful family.

The fifth bear in the Beary Colourful Quilt BOM series is a little more serious than some of the most recent bears, but not in a bad way. Always Learning Bear has a thirst for knowledge, understanding and wisdom. And he’d love to be stitched on a quilt to encourage someone to develop the same passions!

The Green Bear of Always Learning

Investigation, exploration, trial and error, and mental exercise. Those are the things that Green Bear values most. Being “smart” and correct is not so nearly important as improving and learning. Green Bear places great value on personal growth as well as on efforts to improve his surroundings. He loves nature, values a clean environment and tries to make his decisions based on the best knowledge available to him.

Green Bear is peaceful and inquisitive and quiet. An observer. Possibly even a little introverted. But because he knows so many things, he is super fascinating once you get to know him. All that knowledge and understanding sparks the most interesting ideas. Green Bear values respectful discussion, debate and curiosity. And when asked, Green Bear is happy to share his wisdom and offer a little sage advice, but he won’t push you to always agree with him. He knows there are many ways to view the world.

Green Ted has books on his belly because he is an avid reader. Fiction, fact or fantasy…. he knows that reading is good for the mind and good for the soul. Reading improves vocabulary, opens the mind to new ideas and can take you places beyond your reach. And reading aloud to a child snuggling in your lap is just the best thing ever.

Download the Green Bear pdf pattern

Sorry, this free pattern download has expired…. it will be available for purchase in due course. Perhaps you would like to join the free 2019 Love with a Twist BOM here instead!

What you will need to make the Green Bear block

• Fabric for the background of the block. Each bear block will require a base fabric square of at least 13.5″ by 17″ to allow leeway for trimming. 
• Thin batting for the trapunto layer if you wish to do the trapunto step. I use a polyester batting of 1/8th inch loft. You will need approximately 11″ x 15″.
• Fusible paper-backed fabric adhesive (for example vliesofix). 10″ x 18″ will be ample for the green bear.  
• Green fabric scraps for the main sections of the bear. The whole bear requires the equivalent of 9″ x 15″ of green fabric. But he is built from pieces, so you can use multiple smaller scraps if you wish. 

• White/light colour fabric scraps for the muzzle and tummy,  5″ x 8″. Or 10″ x 8″ if shadowing bothers you and you’d like to make the white components double layered (see the Red Bear post for a more detailed discussion of the shadowing problem). 
• Various coloured small fabric scraps for eyes, nose, mouth, inner ear, flask, mortarboard and books. 
• Machine embroidery or sewing threads to match your appliqué fabrics.
• General tools: sewing machine, iron etc, teflon ironing sheet or baking (parchment)  paper, small sharp scissors, pencil, chalk/washout fabric marker, quilting pins, black permanent acid-free marker.
• Optional but helpful: curved blade embroidery snips 

(Note: these last two are affiliate links. I am proud to show you the tools that I use. If you purchase through an affiliate link it will not cost you any extra but I may earn a small commission for the referral).

How to make the Green Bear of Always Learning

Like most months, there are two options for the Green Bear tummy motif. This month you can choose from either a single book or a stack of books. Both are supplied with the pattern download.

To assemble the Green Bear from your prepared appliqué pieces…..

Step 1

Start by laying down the legs, the left arm and the outer ear onto a piece of parchment (baking) paper laid over the supplied template.

I chose a green bamboo batik fabric for my first green bear….. it screamed “Nature” to me.

Step 2

Next add the feet, the conical flask and the inner ear. Also add the outer tummy “C” shaped piece to join the legs and arms together as a single unit.

For the conical flask I chose a scrap of a black and white print left over from the Vanuatu Turtle quilt I made last year. The notable thing about this? I used it print side down. This was so that I got a subtle swirly pattern, that looks a little like fumes through glass. At least, I think it does. 🙂 Do you ever use the reverse side of fabrics on purpose?

Step 3    

Next add the fluid to the bottom of the flask and the left hand over the neck of the flask.

Also place down the white inner tummy, and the green head section.

Step 4

Add the mortarboard and the green bubbles. It’s up to you whether you put down the floating bubbles and the mortarboard tassel at this point, as they don’t join up to the main bear. However, I like to preview my bears in their entirety, so I added them in.

Add the muzzle, joining the head section to the body. Add the eyes, nose and mouth.

Step 5

I know we haven’t finished the bear yet, but this month we add the tummy motif before the final arm. This is because the right arm overlaps the tummy motif. 

I constructed the book motifs on a separate piece of parchment paper before placing them onto my bears. 

To make the book stack, you need to place down the piece for the biggest book first, followed by the middle book and then the  smallest book (these are pieces labelled 1, 2 and 3, in that order). Please note, the white page pieces are added directly on top of the book pieces, aligned at the edge, rather than overlapping. This is due to their small size. Piece 4 is the “pages” for the bottom book, piece 5 is for the middle book and piece 6 is for the small book.

Step 6

Now all that is left to do is add the remaining arm to the bear. For some reason I forgot to photograph this step… oops, sorry. 

Anyway, I am sure you can work out how to add the final arm. Here is what it looks like once the bear has been transferred to the background fabric and stitched down. Like all the other bears, I appliquéd the Green Bear with 4-5 rounds of free-motion straight stitch on each raw edge.

Alternative Tummy Motif

If you wish to do the simpler tummy motif of a single book. here is what it looks like up close. I stitched across the cover of the book to give it a “title”.

If the book appliqués don’t appeal or seem too fiddly, you could use a fabric print of books or other educational notions for the tummy instead. Magnifying glasses or science equipment would also be great!

So, that is the Green Bear

Doesn’t he look happy to be always learning? 🙂

And now we are nearly half way through the Beary Colourful BOM!

Information about the rest of the bear patterns can be found at these links:
January – Red Bear of New Beginnings
February – Blue Bear of High Hopes
March – Yellow Bear of Being Active Outside
April – Orange Bear of Positive Attitude
May – Green Bear of Always Learning
June – Purple Bear of A Little Bit Silly
July – Yellow-Green Bear of Always Growing
August – Yellow-Orange Bear of Loving Friends
September – Red-Violet Bear of Healthy Choices 
October – Blue-Violet Bear of Special Treats
November – Green-Blue Bear of Taking Time Out
December – Black and White Bear of Making Music

Link up for your chance to win

Don’t forget that your Always Learning Green Bear is eligible for entry into the May Color Challenge link up at the end of the month. The link up happens at Patterns by Jen in the last week of each month. This month the prize for one lucky green quilter is a Fat Eighth pack of  Mountains Majesty fabrics from Island Batik.

And remember, the Green Bear is just one option in the 2018 Monthly Color Challenge. Six other bloggers are also here to help you with ideas for the May Green Challenge. They are:

Jen Shaffer at Patterns by Jen
Jen Strauser at the Dizzy Quilter
Nancy Scott at Masterpiece Quilting
Joanne at Quilts by Joanne
Sherry Shish at Powered by Quilting
Jen Rosin at A Dream and A Stitch

I hope you enjoy the green block/quilt challenge for May.

Today is also Colour Inspiration Tuesday. Of course the Green Bear likes learning about colour theory and exploring quilt inspiration ideas. But since the Beary Colourful BOM takes precedence, he trusts that he himself is inspiration enough for this week!

P.S. Sharing the Green Bear of Always Learning on all my favourite linkys as they open. Cooking Up Quilts, Love Laugh Quilt, Freemotion by the River, Quilting Room with Mel, The Inquiring Quilter, Sew Fresh Quilts, My Quilt Infatuation, Quilt Fabrication, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Crazy Mom Quilts,  Foto Friday.

P.P.S. This post was featured on the Quilting Room with Mel.

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