In February I had the wonderful opportunity to teach the ladies of the Village Quilter’s of Bluff Lake, IL in a virtual Workshop.

We did a machine reverse applique workshop using Woodland Fern table runner. They were naturals.

 They also inspired

35+ years ago when I began quilting in earnest I set out to design and make a lap quilt for my living room sofa for every month of the year; often cueing off of a holiday or the season. 

But I’ve had a hole in my year of quilts. I never made a March quilt. Here to fore I have been uninspired by the month of March, doubled by the fact that green, the color of March, because of St. Patrick’s Day, is not a color that I instinctively design in.

But this workshop, and my own Woodland Fern table runner pattern sparked me to keep creating: inspired me…. challenged me to create a quilt for March. And it’s green…and I like it!

MY March Woodland Fern Sofa Quilt

This is what I came up with in EQ8. It makes a 48” x 56” lap quilt. You will need to purchase the Woodland Fern table runner pattern. Yardage for the quilt version is below.

 I also happen to have collected, over the years, some green batiks and hand-dyes that I like and thought worked well together.  The dark green with dots is one I love by Batik Textiles. The Medium is a beautiful hand-dye I bought at Applique Away on Galveston Bay. Each of the Lights I had in my stash for years with other plans that I obviously put by the wayside as I re-purposed them into this quilt. So the other plus is that I didn’t have to go shopping for a thing.

Requirements:

• Woodland Fern table runner pattern

• 2 ½ yards  -  Dark Green fabric

  • (6 blocks Top fabric & 7 blocks Background fabric, and sashing)

• 1 yard -  Lt. Green 1

  • (3 blocks Top fabric & 3 blocks Background fabric)

• ½ yard - Lt. Green 2

  • (2 blocks Background fabric)

• 1 ¼ yard - Medium Green

  • (3 blocks Top fabric & 1 blocks Background fabric, sashing and binding)

• ¼ yard - Lt. Blue

  • (sashing)

Make 6 Fern bocks and 6 Fern blocks Reverse. Follow general directions for making of blocks and sashing from Woodland Fern pattern.  Just make more of everything.

 My blocks are all cut out and fused together, and the sashing strips are all cut as well. 

As typical of running a business, I’m out of time for completing my March quilt this year. So it’s all safely put away for now with comprehensive notes. In the meantime, I’m considering whether I’ll create it with a quilt-as-you-go and appli-quilting, too. Next year, hopefully, in anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day I’ll pull it out and start stitching on it again.

Quilting is a Creative Act of Hope! Happy Quilting!