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I finally get to introduce you to the INCREDIBLE people who pattern tested the Prairie Rose Quilt pattern! I can’t tell you how much I love this part of a new pattern release.
I work with a diverse group of testers on a regular basis and they always have the choice of whether or not they want to make my next pattern. I was excited to see how many jumped at the opportunity to test the Prairie Rose Quilt this time around!
You can find the PDF pattern here and the paper pattern here!
For this release, I wanted to make the blog post a little different. I really wanted to showcase the humans behind the quilts instead of just the quilts! At the end of the day, they are the ones doing all of the hard work to make sure my release is a success!
But we definitely can’t forget about their quilts because they DO NOT disappoint! I love working with such a creative group. Every single time, I am awestruck by what they come up with.
So, let’s not wait another minute. Keep reading to meet the Prairie Rose pattern testers!
Meet Lydia of @llquiltco
How many years have you been quilting? 4 years
How did you learn to quilt? I learned to sew in high school through Home Economics and Fashion classes and just left it at that. During my maternity leave, I watched a lot of Angela Walters tutorials on YouTube and decided to buy a machine. And here we are!
How do you normally draw inspiration and/or pick fabrics for your quilts? I think my fabric inspiration changes with the seasons. If I’m working with solids, I like to look up colour palettes on Pinterest and use my colour card swatches to mix and match colours. Lately, though, I seem to be gravitating towards fabric collections, which usually include florals.
What was your inspiration for your Prairie Rose Quilt? I wanted something bold and summery and came across the perfect curated bundle that did the trick!
Meet Jess of @jessirash
How many years have you been quilting? I was taught about 25 years ago but picked it back up 5 years ago.
How did you learn to quilt? My granny taught me when I was about 5.
What would you say is your favourite quilting tool? Kona color card turned into a magnet board.
How do you normally draw inspiration and/or pick fabrics for your quilts? As a hairstylist, color theory is burned into my brain. The color wheel will always be my BFF. I typically get an idea for colors, then use my color card to pick exact shades.
What was your inspiration for your Prairie Rose Quilt? I definitely wanted to roll with the imperfect wildflower idea, using Kona Everglade as the grassy green background and warp and weft bundle for the flowers.
Do you have any quilty goals or aspirations for the future? Not at all. I’m very goal-driven at my salon, and it’s a pretty high-pressure career that needs constant perfection. Quilting is my free space where I can make mistakes with no pressure for perfection or goals to meet.
Meet Janice of @prairieandocean
How many years have you been quilting? 3
How did you learn to quilt? I hand quilted a whole cloth quilt through The Crafter's Box as my first project and it kind of snowballed from there. My mom and aunt are both quilters and I don't think I've ever texted with them as much as when I first started quilting.
What would you say is your favourite quilting tool? I use my great (great?) grandmother's pin cushion. I like having the connection to the quilting past in my family.
How do you normally draw inspiration and/or pick fabrics for your quilts? My stash has slowly turned into something that feels a little more curated as I've developed my own aesthetic and stopped doing custom projects for friends. There are fabrics and colours that I keep coming back to, and so I usually go from that.
What was your inspiration for your Prairie Rose Quilt? I feel like it was inadvertently the Prairie Rose cover quilt 😂 I grew up in the prairies and my pull felt very much like a prairie field to me. For placement - I grouped my FQ flower fabrics into yellows, pinks and browns, and then each flower got one of each colour group. Likewise, for the background, I chose 3 different greens because each row had three blocks. I was originally going to do a 3x3 block quilt, but I was having so much fun making these blocks that I added the extra three to make it into the small throw.
Do you have any quilty goals or aspirations for the future? I have a quilt design that's been percolating in my brain for a while now. I think it's going to be my quilty project for the summer.
Meet An of @corvilady (an-bui.com)
How many years have you been quilting? 1
How did you learn to quilt? One of my best friends, Ana Miller-ter Kuile, was my quilting fairy godmother! I would not have been able to get started without her.
How do you normally draw inspiration and/or pick fabrics for your quilts? I’m always so grateful for any day I get to spend outside, so lots of my quilt color choices come from places I spend time hiking, running, etc. My friends and I wrote an R package of color palettes inspired by California ecosystems, which I draw on often when choosing quilt colors!
What was your inspiration for your Prairie Rose Quilt? Even though I love choosing colors based on ecosystems, my primary inspiration for Prairie Rose fabrics was to clear my stash. I got to use some scraps, and I’m really happy about how the quilt turned out!
Do you have any quilty goals or aspirations for the future? I would love to make a quilt coat!
Meet Jennifer of @jeniferdyck
How many years have you been quilting? 20+ since my first make.
How did you learn to quilt? From my Grandma, my mom and a group of women at an in-person sampler class I took when I first started. I still use those tips and techniques today!
What would you say is your favourite quilting tool? My leather thimble for hand stitching.
How do you normally draw inspiration and/or pick fabrics for your quilts? It's usually a reflection of what I'm loving at the moment or a combo I've seen and want to make my own.
What was your inspiration for your Prairie Rose Quilt? I just love a good throw quilt. It's my favourite size. I happened to see a gorgeous blue and black quilt online and I dove into my stash with that colour combo in mind. I love building a scrappy quilt and although I start out with a bit of a plan on colour placement, I let the fabric guide the way.
Do you have any quilty goals or aspirations for the future? Someday I'm going to make a quilt using only solids. Maybe even with only two colours. Is that possible?
Meet Claire of @madejustsew (madejustsew.com)
How many years have you been quilting? About 7 years - but those first years I only made memory quilts, so simple square quilt tops. I've made more modern quilts you’re used to seeing me make over the last 4 years or so.
How did you learn to quilt? Good old YouTube! I didn't know anyone who could quilt!
What would you say is your favourite quilting tool? So hard to choose! My walking foot on my Janome - COULD NOT quilt my quilts without it!
How do you normally draw inspiration and/or pick fabrics for your quilts? If I feel stuck, I pick my backing fabric first and match my Kona or AGF fabric swatches to that fabric - you can end up picking colours you would never have placed together before!
What was your inspiration for your Prairie Rose Quilt? I had NO time and had to use my stash - when I saw the Ruby Star Society Stay Gold print I had bought recently (but had no need for), I knew it would look great in the 2-colour way as it had such a great big bold print.
Do you have any quilty goals or aspirations for the future? To do better, to learn more and hopefully still be doing it all!
Meet Kendra of @piecefabricco (piecefabric.co)
How many years have you been quilting? 15
How did you learn to quilt? My mom taught me to sew clothing when I was 12, but not quilt. Both of my grandmas were known to be excellent quilters and sewists, but my mom only sewed out of necessity, so it didn't ever become a creative joy. When I was a stay-at-home mom with pre-schoolers, a mom-friend of mine showed off a little doll quilt she had made. It was super simple, but my mind was blown! It was so unlike the very traditional and scrappy quilts my grandmas had made and I insisted she teach me right then how she did it! In about 3 or 4 sentences, she gave me the basics, and I went ahead and pieced a basic quilt together and free-motion quilted it (without basting, she hadn't included those instructions - you should have seen the puckers on the back!!!). Blogs and tutorials were just starting to be easy things to find, so I read all that I could and started making more and more!
What would you say is your favourite quilting tool? Definitely my Alex Anderson 4-in-1 tool …but really just for the seam ripper, lol!
How do you normally draw inspiration and/or pick fabrics for your quilts? Inspiration is from Instagram and Pinterest, and then I lay out my possible fabric choices and stare at them for a few days before committing.
What was your inspiration for your Prairie Rose Quilt? I thought it was time I tried a neutral fabric pull. Lol!
Do you have any quilty goals or aspirations for the future? A 1" scrappy postage stamp quilt.
Meet Jaimie of @jaimiequilts
How many years have you been quilting? 5
How did you learn to quilt? I had basic sewing knowledge from my grandma and I made a couple of quick t-shirt quilts with her help in high school, but I really started quilting in 2017 when my sister-in-law was pregnant with my first nephew. I bought a bunch of fabric on a whim and learned the basics through watching YouTube tutorials and following quilters on Instagram. I made an easy baby quilt and never looked back!
What would you say is your favourite quilting tool? I have a lot of favorite tools, but I have a deep, deep love for my leather thimble. I love hand quilting and especially love attaching binding by hand, but I never liked any of the thimbles that I had bought. They all felt really clunky and made sewing more difficult - until I found the leather thimbles from Bohin. They are a dream & make hand sewing so much more enjoyable!
How do you normally draw inspiration and/or pick fabrics for your quilts? I normally start with either one print fabric that I really love or an image that I really love. Then I go through and find coordinating or complementary fabrics to go with it and fill in the rest of the pattern. I tend to lean towards woven fabrics or low volume prints most often and I try to make sure that I have a variety of color values (light/medium/dark fabrics) throughout my pull.
What was your inspiration for your Prairie Rose Quilt? When Erin introduced us to the pattern, she said that part of the inspiration came from vintage floral china patterns that your grandmother might have had. Around the same time, I stumbled upon a vintage sheet set on Etsy that I absolutely ADORED. I thought that it was the perfect match for a traditional/retro pattern. I started by pulling matching Kona cards for that sheet and threw in a few complementary pinks. The resulting quilt is very mod and I LOVE it.
Do you have any quilty goals or aspirations for the future? I would love to do a bit more improv piecing or try my hand at designing my own pattern! Oh, and applique - I REALLY want to make an applique quilt. I always have ideas floating around in my head, but I also have a laundry list of patterns that I want to make, so we'll see if I ever get around to it!
If you haven’t already, you can grab your own copy of the Prairie Rose Quilt pattern here!
If you decide to make your own version of the Prairie Rose Quilt, please please please tag me! I love seeing them. And don’t forget to use the hashtags #prairierosequilt and #blanketstatementpatterns!
Have questions about this pattern or any other ones in the shop? Please reach out to hello@theblanketstatement.ca and we’ll help you out!
