Warning: this post is photo intensive!
Let me introduce you to The Friendship Garden Quilt!
It comes by its name honestly, because it started out life as a bee block!
I am part of a Flickr group quilting bee with 5 other ladies. We call ourselves We Bee Canadian. We each make 2 blocks for the month’s Queen Bee.
When it was my month to pick a block (a couple of years ago!), I asked everyone to please make me two bow tie blocks using garden-themed fabric.
Because we were all pretty much beginners, nobody’s 1/4″ seams were very good and the blocks didn’t square up very well. There were an awful lot of mismatched seams.
Then I had an idea!
I decided to cover some of the wonky seams with English paper pieced rosettes. Perfect! Before you knew it, I had hand-appliqued a flower in every single blank square, wonky or not!
Because a garden should be an absolute riot of colour, don’t you agree?
I used a bed sheet on the back. I think it would qualify as a vintage sheet. I remember having sheets like this on my bed in the 70s.
The quilt is hand quilted in circles.
I don’t think I’ll try to do hand quilting through a bed sheet again. I actually bent needles and had to use pliers to pull the needle through the layers. Ouch!
Mr. C. did a marvelous job behind the scenes, don’t you think?
I used black for the binding to set off the colours. Oh, how I love this quilt! It is so cheerful and bright and sunny! A bit of summer in the depths of winter.
I hope it will be as loved in its new home as it is in mine 🙂
These photos were taken at the sweet little Notch Hill Community Hall and Church on the only sunny day in January.
Linking up with the binding blitz at Julie Quilts and Lets Bee Social at SewFreshQuilts.
It ‘s the most beautiful quilt I have ever seen!
Gorgeous!!! Love the layout you chose for those bow tie blocks. What a great solution for those mismatched seams. The black binding was a perfect choice for framing in that beautiful garden.
I love how colorful your garden is and how you were able to make wonky points work out. What a great finish.
This is an amazing quilt, so colorful and creative!
Very friendly and fun! Amazing what one can do to tame problem blocks!
Harsh Nita, really harsh!lol. Come on we weren’t that terrible were we? I love seeing this finish, it is awesome. I am close to posting a couple of those early requests myself.
P.S i haven”t forgotten your blocks, live is just crazy right now.
Oh NIta I so enjoyed your photo shoot and the transformation of this quilt. It IS beautiful!!! I love everything about it. What a wonderful colored hug during these wintery snow days!! Mr. C is just as good as my guy! (We are so lucky!!) Thanks for the bedsheet tip too…I always wondered how they be used as a back. SMILES!! V
Lovely quilt! This is my very favorite way to make a quilt….sort of design as you go. Great finish!
Oh wow! Nita it is gorgeous. I love the idea of the flowers growing amongst the fruit and veg. It is how any English garden should grow. Love the photo’s.
Fabulous! Absolutely stunning! Congratulations on your finish.