Hi Fellow Quilters,
Today, we are excited to introduce you to our latest quilt, Hibernation Vacation!
The bears weren’t feeling the “whole hibernation thing” this year, so they decided that it was a perfect year for the beach vacation and family reunion that they had always dreamed about. A call went out to all eight species of the bear family, Ursidae, worldwide! The cousins, aunts, uncles and even grandma and grandpa bears have all responded, and they’re very excited to spend some time together at the beach! We have black bears, brown bears, bears from Asia and South America, sun bears, polar bears and even panda bears who all agreed to join in the fun! Of course, cousin Sloth Bears decided that it just wasn’t worth the trip!
Did you know that panda bears do not hibernate? They migrate southward and enjoy the balmy weather in the bamboo forests of China. Most people think of the panda as being black and white, but did you know that there is another variety of panda, called the Qinling panda, who is light-brown and white?
Another bear species who doesn’t truly hibernate is the polar bear. The female finds a nice snowdrift to den up with her cubs (usually two per litter) and goes into a hibernation-like state, although she does not continuously sleep. From the time she goes into the den in the fall until the time the cubs are ready to go out into the world, momma polar bear may have fasted for 8 months! I’d be “hangry” if I waited that long to eat.
I asked around and it turns out that the bears weren’t going to a bare beach (thank goodness!), but a bear beach. Momma bear turned to Amazon.com for all of their beach apparel needs. No nosey questions from sales people who would want to know why a bear didn’t wish to be bare on the beach!
With no further ado, here is Hibernation Vacation!
Grandma and Grandpa Bear just arrived at the beach in Grandpa Bear’s shiny new sports car. Grandma is so excited to see everyone. She waves with delight, anticipating a wonderful time with her loved ones.
After a stern lecture from Papa Bear, “I didn’t drive 3500 miles and listen the whole time to ‘Are we there yet?’ to watch you to do nothing but sip fruity drinks,” Big Sister Bear finally agreed to get into the water. Although they only arrived a few hours ago, she is already bored with the whole beach thing and has started thinking that a nice long nap could be just what she needs. Yawn. . .
Little Brother Bear saved up all of his money from picking berries in the fall to buy a colorful floaty. Doesn’t he look cute, and ready to conquer the waves?
Uncle Bear caught the perfect wave! Even though this is his very first trip to the beach, he shows excellent form on his surfboard in no time at all. Now that’s gnarly!
Cousin Bear decided that snorkeling was his thing! “Hello little fishies, hello Mr. Crab, hello Mr. Clam and Ms. Starfish, don’t you look lovely today?”
Oh, Momma Bear! What were you thinking? I know that in our minds we are still 21 years old with a perfect beach bod, but a bikini? Really!
And what would a beach vacation be without making at least one fabulous sand castle! Baby sister bear has made a beautiful castle with the help of her crabby little friend. Hurry up and take a picture before the tide comes in.
Come back next week and I will introduce you to the other beary beachy bears! They can’t wait to meet you. If you’d like to make your very own “Hibernation Vacation” quilt, the pattern is available for purchase right here in Ms P’s Pattern Shop!
The individual block patterns are all available in our pattern shop!
Thank you for visiting! What is your favorite beach activity? We look forward to hearing your fun comments!
Happy Quilting!
Ms. P. Designs USA
Disclaimer: Ms. P Designs USA is not responsible if you Google “Bear Beach” and Google decides that you want/need to see something entirely different! Helpful hint, don’t do it or you will experience the over-share of a lifetime!
Ms P Designs USA 