Field of Flowers

Started work on this quilt in May 2015, when we lived in Ypenburg, The Nederlands.  It is basically a scrap quilt made out of bits of fabric from my existing stash.  Each square measures 3x3" and this includes a 1/4" seam allowance. 

To make sure I was happy with the color gradation, I used my design wall (basically a tablecloth with fuzzy backing purchased in one of the shops at a wet market in Singapore).  Once that was done, I numbered each square with sticky tape, took them off the design wall and started hand stitching them.

Bits of  3x3" square fabric on the design wall...a great help as I tried to figure out how to achieve the right color gradation I wanted to achieve

Most of the hand stitching was done while sitting in the back yard with the dogs enjoying the beautiful spring weather (wish I had taken a picture of this) in Ypenburg.  This took me about a month to get done.



6 piece block all stitched up.

 

The next step was to decide what I would use for the sashing and border, backing as well as the binding.  After trying out a few different shades of green fabric, I decided to go with a darker green as opposed to a lighter one because the latter did not have the right effect I wanted.



 Quilter topper all stitched up

 

After finishing the quilt top and binding, I put the piece for away for about a year as I was distracted by other projects.  Finally started hand quilting this when we moved to Accra, Ghana in May 2016. 

 

 

At this point in time, I had to decide how this piece would be quilted.  I started off by quilting within each 2.5" square but found that it was not very interesting.  Thanks to Pinterest, I was inspired by a flowery pattern and decided to modify it and use it for this quilt.  As for the binding, I decided to use a dark chocolate brown and have to admit I am very happy with the final outcome! 

 

This lap quilt, which I have named Field of Flowers (39x54") will always remind me of the spring of 2015 and happy memories of living in the Nederlands.