Last fall I started talking about a Graduation quilt with Ella, our oldest. She and I looked through Pinterest together so I could get a feel for what she liked. Ella has lots of quilts, but none that she really gave direction for. For Graduation I wanted the quilt to be one that she would like for a long time! And I wanted to make one for her best friend too! Ella and Grace have been inseparable over the last four years, so it seemed fitting.
Waterfall Quilt
Once we realized that a color gradation was the design focus, I got to work coming up with a block design. Lately I’ve enjoyed creating a simple block and playing with the color placement in the block, as I sew. So the block is very planned but the color placement is more intuitive. I definitely had a plan while sewing these blocks, but I wasn’t obsessing over the exact shade of green or blue and where it was placed in the block.
Ella asked for a blue quilt, and verified with Grace that her favorite color was green. And I had a lot of fun selecting the perfect Kona Cotton shades to create the movement I was looking for in the quilt top.
I loaded the quilt on it’s side to quilt it. The wavy lines had to follow the movement in the quilts, and further accentuate it.
I love the wordy wide back I found here. I also machine stitched the bindings in place, so that they can be washed over and over.
Ella has been snuggled up with her quilt every night since she received it, which makes this mama so happy!
Gifting Quilts
The night of Graduation we had a party for the girls, Ella was excited to pull her quilt out. Having been in on the design process she had an idea of what to expect, but hadn’t seen any of the quilts as I worked on them.
Big smiles! Grace on the left, Ella on the right.
The barn where I took the photos, is huge! And the train came by too.
I have a pattern nearly finished for this quilt. It’s shown here in a twin; baby, throw and queen are also included in the pattern. Sign up for my newsletter below to be notified when the Waterfall Quilt Pattern is available.
Happy Quilting –
Amy
Amy, these quilts are gorgeous! I appreciate hearing how your process worked as you invented the design, and it’s especially nice to see the same pattern in two colorways. I love both of the backings you chose. Congratulations to Ella and Grace!
Amy, fabulous quilts for two smart girls! Awesome photo shoot as well, especially with the train!
If you sell that waterfall quilt pattern (better yet, in a kit or with fabric recommendations), I would buy it in a quick minute. I have 2 quilts to make – a crib size and a queen size. Using different color pallets but this pattern for both would be awesome. They are for my daughter’s teenage daughter and the baby she is expecting.