Flower Tile Quilt - The Leah Duncan One

Flower Tile Quilt - The Leah Duncan One

The Flower Tile Quilt Pattern is OUT NOW! Purchase the PDF or the Print Pattern in my shop.

The Flower Tile quilt pattern is one I have had sketched and designed for about a year. I have always loved flower quilts and I wanted to create a simple modern version that was just the bloom - no stem or leaves. See, flowers are my favorite. Claude Monet is my favorite artist. Being able to see his Water Lilly paintings in Paris in college was mesmerizing. I also buy myself fresh flowers almost weekly, they just bring so much joy and life into our home.

Anyway, I have had this idea running around in my head for awhile and just couldn't seem to find the motivation to actually make it and write it. That is, until, I saw Leah Duncan's newest line Wild. The minute I saw the black fabric with the flowers I knew I needed to use that fabric in this quilt idea. I love Leah Duncan's whimsical style of work. The tigers and elephants are also so stinkin' cute! 
I made the Leah Duncan prints my launching point for this palette and then added in some Kona cottons, prints from Tula Pink and Giuseppe Ribaudo. It was punchy and fun and really made me happy!
Also, before I cut into the fabric, I put it into Illustrator and made sure I liked the idea and the play of the fabrics together. I am so visual, so I really like to *see* what my quilt could look like before I jump right in.
Once I saw the idea in Illustrator, I went to town cutting the fabric. This pattern is FQ, 1/4 yard and 1/2 yard friendly - as well as scrappy friendly! This quilt was my official "test" quilt. Although I loved the idea in Illustrator, I always make a test quilt to figure out my math before I even write the pattern. I did kinda a combo of FQ and 1/2 yard requirements.
The moment I finished my first block I KNEW I loved this pattern. It is the perfect pattern to show off larger scale prints or your favorite fabrics. I was so giddy!!
I am so happy this print didn't get cut up and lost in the block but I also wanted to make a solid block to make sure it didn't seem "too boring". Well, I LOVE the solid block too - it is just simple and bold.
As my block count started to grow, so did my love for this quilt and it was confirmed I would definitely make it a pattern. 
If you have made my Meadowland quilt pattern, this pattern will be a very similar set up. 1 FQ or 1/4 yard = 1 block and every 1/2 yard = 2 blocks. The blocks are the same size too, I just love a bigger block.
Everything about this quilt sparkles. The colors just play off each other and it is so happy. As I was making this test quilt, I was playing with the idea of adding the Bonus HST quilt to the pattern. I realized, I did NOT want to waste any of this special Wild fabric and you can get a decent size HST from each corner of the block.
I just laid out out my HSTs in random order and then started chain piecing the rows together to create a simple HST quilt. You can really do anything you want with these HSTs. Some testers reimagined the HST and added fabric to make larger companion quilts or used less of them and make pillows. It is up to you!
My hope is that you get to be creative in your own right with the HSTs, especially if you are using fabric you have hoarded for a long time. What is better than two quilts from one pattern?!
After I finished this top, I wanted to go take some full shots of it and met my husband downtown. It was FREEZING and the wind was out of control. We managed to get a few photos but most of them were of the quilt flying away haha.
I reached out to Michelle Berman of Mariposa Quilting here in Portland, OR to see if she'd be up for quilting these two. She does all free motion quilting - edge to edge or custom. Her ability to be consistent while free motion quilting is crazy bonkers. But it also gives the quilts more playfulness because it isn't as rigid as a computerized design. We choose swirls and organic wavy lines for the Flower Tile quilt and the HST companion quilt.
I brought my son Everett to this photoshoot with me and he just LOVED running all over the studio and kept knocking down the quilt off the wall. Amy got a few shots of it falling on him. 
It was really fun to get photos of both of the quilts finished together too, especially with my little man around and Alysson, my new assistant!
I always love getting shots of the quilting on the back of quilts because then you can really see how much it pops!
We also took photos of the Kona Cotton solids version I made for my official "sample" quilt. I will be writing a separate blog post for that soon but it was fun to get shots of them all together in the studio.
And we couldn't NOT throw them in the air this time. These photos are by far the most ridiculous and fun ones to take.

My Tester Flower Tile Quilts

Charlene made this beautiful Small Throw quilt with some Cotton + Steel fabrics. 

 

Anne used vintage fabric and floral sheets to make her Flower Tile and it's beautiful and happy!

 

Donna made a beautiful FUN quilt using C+S Speckle and some solids. I love this photo too!

 

Kristina used her beloved and hoarded Tula Pink and she organized the blocks in rainbow order. It is SO GOOD.

 

Leah made this beautiful red and blue patriot version. I love the use of Leah Duncan in it and some Mariner cloth!

 

Denise used this super fun background print with some punchy bright colors and I love how it turned out!

 

Evie used this amazing palette from Ruby Star Society in Bella Solids. With her extra HST she made a large scale ocean waves block. Also, she is hand quilting the main quilt and I cannot wait to see it finished!

 

Sarah made TWO flower tile tops and they are SO good.

 

Nicki made this 80's vibe AMAZING quilt with a dark background.

 

Lindsee made this beautiful version, I love the floral and the black binding so much!!

 

Joy is always sewing scrappy and I LOVE it. She made a fabulous C+S version.

 

I will be posting a separate blog about the Kona Cotton version but don't forget to grab your pattern now

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