The Orange Grove Quilt

In my blog hop kick off post, I wrote about 3 of my projects in Make It, Take It. You can also find more background information on the inspiration behind the book in this post.

My final project in the book is Orange Grove, a 71" square quilt featuring a modern layout and colouration of the very traditional Pinetree block. This block has long been a favourite of mine and for years I've thought about creating a modern version with bright, colourful pine trees set on point (very different from the typical forest green and brown trees that you see in older versions).

Photo Brent Kane for Martingale, Inc. All rights reserved.

 It was long-arm quilted by the amazing Krista Withers. Her masterful quilting really shines in the negative space of this quilt!  In particular, I love how she created quilted 'ghost blocks' between the pieced trees - first by outlining the square with a 1/4" echo frame and then filling each one with a unique design.  I was so happy that she included her signature moon motif in the upper right corner. This quilt could be coloured in so many fun ways; it would look amazing in multicoloured shot cottons.  I've got a full set of blocks in rainbow colours made by my Stash Trad bee-mates that I look forward to piecing into my second version.

In the book, you'll find a tip box describing an exciting retreat activity you can do with these blocks and others.  You'll also get to feast your eyes on amazing details shots of Krista's quilting, which is truly breathtaking. Seriously, when I hold up this quilt at trunk shows people literally gasp!

AH-MAZING