I have so many photos of my Flower Tile quilts that I had to break up the blogposts. If you haven't yet, you can read all about my first inspiration and "test" Flower Tile quilt here.
When I had finally decided I was making Flower Tile an official pattern, I knew I needed to make a second quilt as my cover sample for my pattern. I almost always make my sample is solids because it never goes out of style and is timeless in this industry. I debated curating a new palette but I just kept thinking my Kona Cotton Designer bundle would be PERFECT for Flower Tile. And, it is fun timing as my bundle is currently available to buy now!
You can purchase my Kona bundle at these stores:
Every time I look at my bundle I get giddy and proud. It is always fun to see all the different combinations you can make with this one bundle. I ironed all the FQs and then realized they looked some smooth and pretty, I needed to take another photo.
Again, I played with my palette in Illustrator first to see if I could strike a fun balance in the blocks and it was so good.
I pretty much stuck exactly to this rendering when I was mixing and matching the blocks. I just love how cheerful each block is on its own.
These blocks came together so quickly, which is good because I knew I wanted to bring the completed quilt top to the family ranch for pictures in mid March. I know I've said it before but the crinkle full top photo is my absolute favorite photo to take.
After making all of these blocks, I then ironed and trimmed all the extra HSTs. I just went with a random layout and sewed them together in rows. A very easy extra quilt! I also am obsessed with the simplicity of a HST quilt.
I finished these two quilts the day before we left for the family ranch. The ranch is in Central CA and is a working citrus ranch. Most of all the groves are oranges but there are also satsumas, grapefruit, lemon and avocado trees. It is by far the most magical place on Earth. The ranch has been in my husband's family for about 40 years, built by his grandparents. When we arrived, it was after a crazy amount of rain, enough for CA to not be in a drought anymore. The effects of the rain storms brought an abundant amount of greenery and wildflowers. I have never seen the ranch this full of life and color before. The ranch house sits at the bottom of the main hills surrounding the property and we hiked these hills almost everyday we were there.
I still can't believe all of the wildflowers that were EVERYWHERE. Especially the CA poppies. They brought the brightest pop of orange to the hillside.
My boys were so helpful with my quilt photo requests. haha the wind was INSANE up on the hill but we got some great photos! At one point, Everett was like "mama, I'm so hot, give me your quilt to lay under, I need shade". He is under the quilt haha.
I feel like this quilt belongs at the ranch. The bright, happy nature to it matches the feelings of walking through the groves of oranges. I feel so at peace when I am at the ranch. It may sound cheesy but it's like my soul becomes alive there.
We also drove up into the canyon toward the Redwoods and made my family stop to take photos on the dirt road. haha It reminds me of the movie Cars.
Here are a few more photos of the property.
After we got back from the ranch, it was a super quick turn around for Michelle of Mariposa Quilting to get these two tops quilted before my photoshoot. She is the best though and did it without any complaint!!
Photoshoot days are some of favorite. It gets me out the house and I get to feel like a real business. Mostly I feel like a fake business somedays only working from my PJs and at my kitchen table. haha I decided to take Everett out of school for this day so I could also capture him at this age and at where I am with my business.
I also had Alysson come with me and she brought her daughter to the shoot. Everett was SUPER SHY to start so he basically was hiding for about an hour before warming up.
Eventually Ev warmed up and then wanted to be in every single photo. haha
This photo shoot was fun but a little different since this pattern produce TWO quilts. I wanted to make sure we got some photos with both of them in the shot. And the ones where the HST quilt are featured are some of my favorite.
Let's talk about the quilting on these two quilts. IT IS TEXTURE HEAVEN. I wanted them to be playful but also have a little bit of meaning with the quilt name itself. We choose this fun leaf design for the main Flower Tile quilt and then inconsistent bubbles on the HST quilt. The leaves are an ode to the flower tile name and the bubbles are kinda like water on a summer day. All this quilting, as all of Michelle's quilting, is completely free hand. Blows my mind every single time.
I am so excited to see all the future Flower Tile quilts to be made, I have already made four. You can purchase Flower Tile as a PDF or a Printed Pattern.