What is it about that post-holiday, fresh new year feeling that makes you want to scrub the whole house clean and buy all the flowers? Anyone else? For as much as I love the cozy vibes of a house dripping with holiday joy, the big breath that comes with starting a new year pared down and filled with "simple joys" (see what I did there?) is unbeatable.
Which (gracefully) leads me to sharing the perfect quilt for this early 2025 blog post: our In Bloom Simple Joys.
This pretty lady is one of my favorite quilt makes of 2024. Her florals and soft color palette are just too sweet. Can't you just see her made up on a white, wrought iron twin bed in a little girl's sunny bedroom? With a ruffly sham and a well loved stuffy posed on top? Ten years ago, my now teenage daughter would have lost her mind over this beauty.
In Bloom is the medium throw size of our Simple Joys pattern (60" x 72"), and uses 13 FQs, as well as background fabric (we used Bella Porcelain), to create its combination of bar blocks and cross blocks. One fabric note: directionality is not prioritized in this pattern, so if you use directional prints (as we did here), they will end up sideways throughout your quilt. Quilter preference applies here; we don't mind a sideways print now and again, but you might.
Simple Joys is such a satisfyingly quick sew. It is all strip piecing, and there are no points to match. It's a chain piecer's dream.
The bar blocks come together with only a couple of seams and some trimming, so that's where I usually start.
And voila! I told you they were easy.
On to the cross blocks, which also come together super quickly.
And once you have your stack of deliciousness, it's time to put it all together.
The pattern gives instructions for how to layout your top; we find it helpful to stack blocks by fabric so you can more easily disperse the colors/prints throughout. Think of it as planned and controlled randomness.
She's just so light and breezy and fun. We backed her in a Bella solid, Betty's Blue, and sent her off to be longarmed.
Emily at So Sunny Quilts used a really fun rainbow variegated thread and the Golden Eye pantograph, and it could not have been a more perfect finish for this Simple Joys. In Bloom is bound in Bonny Calico Yellow, by Windham, and, of course, we added one of our Sarah Hearts labels as the absolute icing on the cake.
Now, who has a sun drenched, wrought iron bed we can drape this quilt over?
