Quilt Retreats

Sasquatch Sightings

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Finally a series of posts about the annual May quilting retreat I attended with my Quilting Sisters in Vancouver, WA May 17 – 20. This series of posts on the quilt retreat actual began with these posts: Please Vote On The Color!  and The Votes Are In! .

Sasquatch? What is a Sasquatch?

For my readers who do not live in the Pacific Northwestern section of North America, “Sasquatch” is another name for “Bigfoot” and one of our most beloved “urban legends” (actually more like a wilderness legend).

Wikipedia does a great job of explaining Sasquatch:

In North American folklore, Bigfoot or Sasquatch is a hairy, upright-walking, ape-like being who reportedly dwells in the wilderness and leaves behind large footprints. Strongly associated with the Pacific Northwest (particularly Washington state and British Columbia), individuals claim to see the creature across North America.

Here is the iconic Patterson-Gimlin film clip that really popularized the lore (courtesy of YouTube):

Who knows if it is someone in a suit or an actual ape-like being!

Additionally here is a link to an interesting post on the Oregon Public Broadcasting website about this iconic footage:

Film Introducing Bigfoot To World Still Mysterious 50 Years Later

Sasquatch and Quilting: The Legendary Pattern

Pattern maker Elizabeth Hartman created the Legendary quilt pattern which has been very popular in the Pacific NW and it is affectionally known as the “Sasquatch Quilt“:

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Image credit: elizabeth hartman.com

Two of my Washington state based Quilting Sisters Judy and Dana have already made this quilt in flannel; and my California based Quilting Sister Kathy is finishing up a Sasquatch quilt of her own.

Sasquatch Sightings

During our annual May quilt retreat, Dana worked on a second Sasquatch Quilt for a charity auction and Kathy worked on her quilt. Judy and Dana’s quilts were some of the first ones to use flannels (which gives an extra yummy Pacific NW feel) and to use multiple fabrics for the trees. Kathy followed suit with the same concept for her Sasquatch quilt.

Here is Dana’s second Sasquatch quilt top in progress:

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As you can see below, Sasquatch mysteriously moved to a new location on the design wall:

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Here is Dana’s completed quilt top:

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After Dana was done, she took her quilt top down and Kathy worked on assembling hers:

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Getting there – Kathy nearly done getting all the trees pieced/assembled; note her Sasquatch is a lighter brown flannel:

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Kathy took her Sasquatch back home to California. Kathy and our other California based Quilting Sister Lisa, had fun in the Portland airport photographing her Sasquatch on various adventures at the airport:

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“Sasquatches” are for Cuddling

So what does a Sasquatch flannel quilt look like completed and quilted? Well my Quilting Sister Dana was kind enough to share a photo of the one she made her husband (and I have seen it in person and it calls to you to nap under it!):

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Image Credit: Dana C. 2018

Well, I Want a Sasquatch Quilt Too!

My Quilting Sister Kathy was kind enough to share her scraps from her Sasquatch quilt which are also scraps from Dana’s quilt too! I have this huge bag of flannel scraps for my future personal “Sasquatch Sighting!”

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Published by tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Quilter, crafter, obsessive tea drinker and lover of all furry creatures (especially dogs and cats) - join me on my tierneycreates blog as I share stories from "A Crafter's Life".

37 thoughts on “Sasquatch Sightings”

    1. Most of it is fun but the Sasquatch itself is lots of tiny piecing when you get to the hands (I watched all the pieces cut and then pieced – yikes!) so I am going to make the Sasquatch itself first and get that part over with 🙂

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  3. OMG! This is too great. I am sending this to my mom and keeping my fingers crossed for a big sasquatch to appear laying on my bed this Christmas. Sasquatch quilt that is, not the real thing…I don’t think they’re house-trainable, are they?

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    1. That sounds like a great strategy! I wonder who I could send this post to so the same will happen for me – ha! No I do not think they are house-trainable 🙂

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  4. Very cool. 🙂 I like the idea of a sasquatch quilt, and how all the trees are made from little bits of fabric. It’s almost like a maze for him, and the design has a bit of a video-game feel! Looks like a very fun project to do with friends on a quilting retreat!

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  7. Wow, thank you for posting all the pictures, memories and history. Fyi, I found on my travels to Arcata this past week a temporary Sasquatch tattoo. I will put on when my Sasquatch is completely done and will post a picture.

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  11. Adorable quilt pattern! Cindy and I have a cousin whole lives in the Pacific Northwest. She has been on Sasquatch hunts and even has a coloring book available — maybe she needs a quilt of her own — hmmmm? I love a good creature mystery. Here in WNY, there are tales of Gullywhampers…..

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  13. Oh goodness! This made me laugh. My husband was in junior high when his family moved to Oregon back in the 70’s. He found out everything he could about the Sasquatch legend and regaled his numerous siblings with all the details. You know that kid, right? One time his dad stopped the car to put him in the horse trailer, but his mom wouldn’t let him. lol He hasn’t given up his enjoyment of talking about it, especially with those beef jerky commercials that hav been around in recent years. I made the mistake of telling him about this quilt pattern and, of course, he wants one! lol

    I can’t wait to see yours. I’ll be working on my many WIPs so maybe sometime in the near future I can make him this special quilt. 🙂

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    1. Thanks so much for sharing the story of your husband and his fascination Sasquatch (I love when people share these kind of stories!) – that would be so awesome to surprise him with this quilt someday you and you could even make him a matching pillow! 😀

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  14. I adore the Sasquatch quilt! My daughter used to lay traps in the backyard to catch him, but no luck! 🙂 I’ll have to get that pattern, I’d love to make it! Thanks for sharing your joy of quilting!

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  15. Oh, this is so cool! That’s a great quilt pattern, and I love the idea of making it with flannels so it’s cosy. I also had to laugh at Sasquatch’s adventures in the airport on the trip home 😂 I think you might be right about leaving the real ones to roam the forests though – we all remember what happened in “Harry and the Hendersons”, right? 😀

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    1. Thanks! Yes my friend Kathy has quite the sense of humor (this is a basic requirement to be my friend, ha!) Oh yes I remember Harry and the Hendersons! Okay I will not bring any real Sasquatches home 🙂

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