Garden Party

Well, it's not a real garden party but rather the name of the pattern I chose for my quilt using the Willow fabric by Riley Blake that I recently purchased at The Quilted Garden in Edwardsville, IL.  See my blog post below for more details about how I found this pretty fabric.

There have been many times that I've come across a fabric collection and immediately knew I couldn't live without it.  After falling in love with Willow, I had to find a quilt pattern that would show off this pretty collection in the best way.  The pattern I chose is called Garden Party by Quilted Garden Designs.  The ower of my LQS in Edwardsville, IL, also designs patterns and there are always many to choose from.

Once I got my fabric home, I immediately started pre-washing so I could start cutting out the shapes I needed.  This week I finished the first block:

In the pattern, there is a machine applique flower pattern for the middle of each block and while I liked that pattern, I thought it would be more fun to make tiny dresden plates for the middle.  I ordered the shapes for a 4-inch finished square from Paper Pieces here in Illinois and once I got them proceeded to start making my tiny dresden plates.  They are a lot of fun to make and because they are so small, really don't take too long to do.

This pattern is very unique in that once you get all 20 blocks together, they create an entirely different design than what you are seeing in one block.  In the next weeks, I'll show you what happens when you put several of these blocks together.

A little off topic but something I want to share is the latest picture of my granddaughter, Hannah.  She is the sweetest little girl and always has a ready smile.

Her expression here shows the way I feel when I find the perfect fabric and especially when I get the first block done : )

Until next time . . .
Debbie