Knitted Blooms - All The Details

Written by Brittany Lloyd

I am beyond excited to share that the NEW Knitted Blooms quilt pattern is NOW available!

This feels like an incredible milestone for me and team Lo & Behold. As you might know, we just passed the 2 month mark form Helene wreaking havoc on our little mountain town, which I wrote about here. I have moments where I sit and reflect on what the last 2 months of recovery have looked like and I'm in awe of so many things. Immediately after the storm, we were stranded and terrified and very much in survival mode for at least three weeks. No power, no water, no internet, no cell service, hundreds of helicopters flying over us every day. We rallied with our neighbors, hiking to each other's homes, sharing word of mouth and provisions. I'll be honest, quilting was the last thing on my mind during those three weeks. I truly thought that I may never do it again. I have never felt so physically unsafe for such an extended time in my life. And in those three weeks, focusing on safety, food, water and our neighbors felt like the only thing I could do.

I've had a version of Knitted Blooms sketched up for a while now, but it really came to fruition in the spring time. I did the preliminary math but wasn't able to revisit the pattern until just before Helene hit. Thankfully, our integrator, Elizabeth and our tech editor, Elisabeth helped pull it all together in the background. Even though I knew the pattern would be ready for a fall release, I didn't know if I would be emotionally ready to play with color-way ideas, sew samples and share it with the world. I couldn't fathom sitting at my sewing machine again with all that was happening around us. Landslides, flooding, lives lost, businesses ruined... the weight of it all felt like it was too much.

Once we were finally able to make it into town and assess the damage at our studio, we had another layer of both grief and thankfulness. I have a hard time describing the various emotions that I've felt throughout all of this. The camaraderie and triumph that we've been a part of with our town and neighbors paired with extreme sadness and grief over everything the storm did. Overwhelming gratitude that we survived and our business survived but still the strain and stress of our studio flooding, ruining thousands of dollars of inventory.

Then there's our quilt drive, where we received and distributed over 3,600 quilts to Western NC, all thanks to YOU and your generous donations. This effort was my immediate focus after the storm, which in a way, was extremely therapeutic for me. My goal was to donate 100 quilts and I was met with the most amazing kindness and generosity I could have ever imagined. Through this quilt drive, I met and connected with so many wonderful people in our community and I felt like I was able to help, even in a small way, alongside all of you.

It was in the later moments of the quilt drive, around week 5 or 6 when I started to feel like I could start to sew again. It didn't feel right at first. Honestly, it felt a bit forced in a way. I struggled with how trivial it was and seemingly insignificant. But when I started feel a little bit of excitement for what I was creating, I knew that it was doing my soul a lot more good than I realized. I have been SO excited for this design to come to fruition and as I was piecing my fabrics together, I felt as if I was piecing little parts of myself back together as well.

This cover Knitted Blooms is actually the second sample that I made, but I wanted to share about it first because it really does represent the pattern in such a beautiful way. Not only that, but it feels like this cover quilt is a representation of the small glimmer of beauty that has blossomed from such a horrific and terrifying time in my life. I will forever look at this quilt and think about how hope always overcomes fear.

COMPARING TO KNITTED STAR

I designed Knitted Blooms as a "sister pattern" to one of our most beloved, best-selling patterns, Knitted Star. I released Knitted Star in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, so its fitting that both of these pattern share a similar story. Since releasing Knitted Star, it has really taken off and gotten a life of it's own as both a festive holiday quilt and also a classic year-round quilt. Even though you can really create any theme with Knitted Star, it always felt a touch winter-y to me. Because of that, I wanted to design something that was similar but with a slightly different vibe. Knitted Blooms was born.

While both patterns have a similar look and both are fat quarter friendly, there are a few main differences between Knitted Star and Knitted Blooms:

Knitted Blooms uses horizontal and vertical block construction, Knitted Star is constructed on the diagonal.
Knitted Blooms uses a mix & match block construction, while Knitted Star uses one fabric per block.
Knitted Blooms blocks are a little more rounded to form a flower shape. Knitted Star blocks are more pointy to form a star shape.
Knitted Star has 2 color-way options, Knitted Blooms has 3.
Knitted Blooms does not have sashing in between blocks, while Knitted Star does. This was something that I wrestled with for a long time, but ultimately decided against sashing since it wasn't really needed due to the negative space within the blocks. Also, I love how quick it is to skip sashing.

But... plot twist! There is a caveat to the last bullet point. Part of the reason why I was so conflicted about the sashing is because I loveddddd how it looked in the two color version of the design (keep scrolling). I played around with matching the sashing to the Foreground in the quilt and something about it just sang! It took the term "knitted" to a whole new level and I just couldn't part with not using sashing in this version. So I decided to do something I've never done before and include sashing for the Traditional version, but not include it for the other versions. This slightly changes the quilt sizes just a bit, which also changes the fabric requirements, but I thought it'd be worth it based on how much I loved that variation.

COLOR-WAYS

Speaking of variations, let's talk about color-ways! The original iteration of the design was this cover quilt that uses one fat quarter for each block. This multi-color option is called the Modern version. I decided to add in the mix and match step so that I could use two side-by-side pieces in the center of the small flowers. Plus, I love the mix & match process where you get to have a little bit of artistic expression making different fabric combinations for each block. It's fun to get everything cut, then randomize your pieces so that you have a mix of colors and values throughout the quilt. If you haven't tried a mix and match pattern yet, Knitted Blooms, along with Nightingale, Granny Patch, Mosaic Star and Retro Blossoms are all great mix and match patterns!

I also knew that a two-color, Traditional, version of this pattern was an absolute must. Many Lo & Behold patterns include a two color option, and I love that this one does too! When I shared the Modern and Traditional versions with Elizabeth, she almost immediately said, "What if there's a 4-color version?" So lo and behold, there are THREE different color-way options for Knitted Blooms, which is the first time we've ever had that many options in a pattern!

QUILT SIZES

On top of the various color-ways, I wanted to pack as many quilt sizes into the pattern as possible. I always love having little pillow or wall hanging sizes, in case folks want a small project or a quick finish. Then, of course, a baby size is always a must. I knew that I wanted the cover quilt to be 16 blocks, but that was a big jump from the baby size with only 4 blocks. So we decided to add in a square small throw and a rectangle throw. So all in all there are 3 different throw size options! The cover quilt is my favorite size, measuring a super generous 76" square. Then we also have Twin/ Full, Queen and King options for a grand total of 9 different sizes. It's the most sizes in any Lo & Behold pattern!

SKILL LEVEL

Knitted Blooms and Knitted Star are both rated as an "Intermediate" skill level. This is manly because your seam allowance will need to be a consistent and accurate scant 1/4" seam. Why does it need to be scant? Well, there are so many seams in this block that the thread within the seams can all add up to take up part of your usable fabric. Its a really interesting phenomenon that happens you have lots and lots of seams, or if you press your seams to one side. If you're curious, you can read more about scant 1/4" seams in this blog post. So if you have several quilts under your belt and you feel confident about your seam allowance, the Knitted Blooms is perfect for you!

Another component about the pattern is that similar to Knitted Star, Knitted Blooms uses the exact same strip piecing technique. This very much speeds things up and makes this pattern a lot of fun, in my humble opinion.

CHOOSING FABRICS

I'm excited to share that Knitted Blooms is on PreQuilt so that you can plan your quilt with confidence and bring your fabric ideas to life. I highly recommend using this tool in the early stages of planning your quilt. Through PreQuilt, you can use their FREE pre-loaded solid fabric swatches (hello Kona & AGF), randomize colors, and try new ideas so that you have a quilt plan before you get started. (There's also a paid version if you'd like to save your ideas, upload prints and more! If you decide to upgrade use code LOANDBEHOLD for 20% off an annual subscription.)

SHOPS CARRYING KITS

We love partnering with various quilts shops from around the world to bring you some beautiful quilt kit options! Click through below to see what I mean!

Floyd the Fox (Germany)
Piece Fabric Co. (Alberta, Canada)
Modern Stitch Co. (Ontario, Canada)
Sew Curated (Ontario, Canada)
Scribbly Gum Quilt Co. (Australia)
Cherrywood (USA)
Going Coastal (USA)
Thai Charm (USA)
Golden Girls Fabric Co. (USA)
Fieldstone Fabric (USA)
Lo & Behold (yours truly)

COVER QUILT FABRICS

For the cover quilt, I knew that I wanted to choose something that felt retro and to me, nothing says "retro" like Kona Moss. There's something about that beautiful, rich green background that creates the most gorgeous canvas for the other fabrics. I'm convinced that Moss goes with almost anything! Since I tend to sew with a lot of pinks and purples, I wanted to venture into the yellow and orange realm. There are 16 fat quarters of the following:

Yarrow
Ice Peach
Saffron
Salmon
Cedar
Curry
Orangeade
Leather
Lt. Parfait
Butter
Amber
Creamsicle
Mango
Grellow
Nectarine
Peach

We have quilt kits for this exact quilt in our shop!

Before I got started, I was a little worried that these fabrics might be a little too "ombre" or too close together, but once they're mixed up within the quilt, I think their compact range is what makes the quilt sparkle!

This is one of the biggest quilt tops that I've ever made... it took both me and our studio assistant, Michelle to hold it up while Peter snapped the photo!

I decided to use a local long-armer who I recently connected with at one of our Open Houses. Megan of Blue Ridge Quilt Co. is located right down the road from me in Asheville, NC. Since she was also affected by Helene, I figured, it would be extra meaningful to have her help with this project. This was my first time working with Megan and it was such a great experience. She provided useful insights and opinions and best of all, her quilting is stunning! I really makes the quilt shine, doesn't it?

We went with Karlee Porter's Daisy Daze #1 pantograph, which is actually from a collection of slightly similar pantographs that I've used in other projects before. Like Daisy Daze #3 for the Cover Granny Patch for example. This floral quilting design is adorable and felt so fitting for a retro-inspired quilt!

We used a peach thread for the top and a cream thread for the back. Speaking of the back, I used "Eclectic Threads" by Sharon Holland from her "Heirloom" collection for Art Gallery Fabrics. I love how it adds to the vintage vibe!

For the binding, I went with Kona Foxglove, a warm lavender and one of my favorite shades! I knew pretty early on that I had to incorporate a lavender/purple somehow and this felt like the perfect addition. I especially love how it looks against the Kona Moss.

Be sure to grab the Knitted Blooms quilt pattern in our shop (printed or PDF) and checkout our quilt kits as well! I cannot wait to see what you create with the pattern!