Lilac Love Pattern Release

And just like that, one month after I released my pattern Orinoco Flow, I am back with another! This one is called Lilac Love, and, like Orinoco Flow, was also published in a magazine, but (cough) back in 2019. So it's long overdue. It's a queen-size quilt, but I've added in two options, because that's what I like to do: give value for money!

The large quilt goes together amazingly fast since the dark and olive green diamonds are made with giant HSTs. Once again, it is another layered design: the lilac bud blocks float over the quilt top, but as is noted in the pattern cover blurb, if you look closely you will see that the centre purple block is actually repeated in giant form by those dark and olive green diamonds. 

As is always the case, the pattern is on sale all week, until Saturday, for 25% off, which means it's just CA$9. It was originally designed in September 2018 in memory of my mum who had passed away suddenly just a few months previously. It uses a block they'd suggested we could work with, called Mother's Choice, as well as one of the lines they had referenced for the issue, May 2019, an issue celebrating mothers. However, when I submitted it as per the call for designs group of which I'm a part, it was rejected. 

Credit: McCalls Quilting

Well, in early December 2018, they emailed me, saying they'd love to use it for the July issue and could I get it to them by early February?! (Say what? Christmas is in there... I had a week-long trip planned in a week... Well, after I took a few calming breaths, I said of course; I work well under pressure.)

This new pattern has instructions for the queen size quilt, and two sizes of smaller quilts. Two weeks ago I sent a photo of the lilac quilt for the upcoming pattern to Rose of somethingrosemade and asked if she'd be up for making the centre section maybe as a wallhanging or large cushion. She replied immediately that she was at the GP house, but yes, once she was back home she'd love to make it, but, um, did I forget to attach the pattern? 🤦🏻‍♀️ I did, but rectified that promptly.

In one weekend she made a wallhanging AND a baby quilt. She is one ah-mmmazing mmminion (she has coined the mmminions term along with a few other mmm ones. She gets the credit also for designing the first baby quilt's borders, and inspiring the second baby quilt's border design, which I came up with in the car on the long drive back home from the Catskills two weekends ago. The first version she made is a wallhanging which you can read about here. Isn't it wonderful? I love that she put her own spin (some of the angles of the HSTs made her head spin she says) on the centre Mother's Choice block. It's amazing how you can change the look so dramatically by changing the fabrics and values. Her first wallhanging has just one border around it.

Well, the Catskills inspired my quilt's colours, and Rose's green border of her first quilt inspired her second, baby-size quilt's borders. You can read about her second quilt here. The pattern has instructions for those four beautiful borders which bring it up to 39.5" square. 

Rose also coined the term Boomer Blankie, these baby-sized quilts that are perfect for putting on an 'older' person's lap, particularly for use in a car when the husband either has the heat on too low in winter, or the AC on too high in summer. I've had a lap quilt this size in our car for a few years for this very reason, but now that little lap quilt has a label: a Boomer Blankie! I also consider Boomer Blankies to be yoga quilts because I like to take this size of quilt to my yoga class to use as a sit-upon (helps big-time with forward bends) and to put on my lap if the room is chilly.

Here is the pattern back with a peak at my quilt which is the second version of the small quilt. I love this size of quilt since you don't have to piece a backing!

You'll be able to read about this quilt tomorrow. I will have a couple of other versions this week to show you from a few friends so do come back!