Comfort in Monument Quilt

Aaaand, it’s finished!

This collaborative quilt was made together with my bee mates in the Comfort circle of do. Good Stitches. The peachy, pink and purple palette is sugar sweet. I hope that its simple beauty brings comfort to someone in need. My intention is to find it a home among the Ukrainian refugees who are living in our city.

For quilting I turned to a favorite all-over pattern called Rice Paddy. It’s leafy, but also geometric, and provides even quilting coverage. This quilt has wool batting, so it needed to be quilted as open as possible to preserve the light, airy properties of wool. At the same time, I wanted to reinforce the small patchwork strips so that the quilt would be durable. I think this was a good compromise.

The backing is a mix of stash fabric and a pair of Monument blocks that weren’t quite the same size as the rest. Together with a hand appliquéd Do. Good Stitches label, it’s all a mix of pink-purply goodness.

Speaking of sugary sweet, do you recognize these blooms? Their color drew me to the spot for a photograph. It wasn’t until I caught a whiff of their heavenly scent that I recognized the plant. It’s a lilac tree (syringa). My mother hand one just like this in the California ranch home of my childhood. The signature scent brings me back. Yesterday, I plucked a low-hanging blossom which sits now in water at my desk. I can smell it even as I type. Oh, how I would love to have a lilac tree and I have an idea for a place in our front garden - - -

If you would like to make a similar quilt, click over to my free Monument block tutorial. It is a foundation paper piecing pattern that is certainly scrap-friendly. That’s how we love to sew our do. Good Stitches blocks - with scraps. It’s a delightful way to resourcefully give back.