Knitted Blooms Quilt - the Holiday version

Written by Brittany Lloyd

I recently finished my third Knitted Blooms sample and I'm so excited to share it with you all! If you recall, the Cover Knitted Blooms quilt is more of a rustic, autumn vibe. Then the Hydrangea Knitted Blooms sample is more vibrant and punchy. I love both, but for this quilt, I wanted it to have a modern Christmas-y vibe, similar to the Cover Upscale Plaid quilt. With the addition of a caramel color, I think this quilt is certainly something that you could leave out year-round, not just for the holidays. Without further ado, let's jump in!

For this quilt, I made the Large Throw size, which is the same as the Cover quilt; but instead of using fat quarters, I used half yards. This means there is slightly less color variety than the cover quilt, which is actually kind of nice if you're looking to have a more compact color-scheme. With the fat quarter version, one fat quarter gives you one block; so with half yards, you create two blocks from one half yard (since a half yard is two fat quarters). I did decide to create 3 blocks using the caramel color, since that was a one-off color from the pinks and greens, it felt more balanced to use it for 3 blocks. So essentially, that color is three FQs (or you can do 3/4 yard). Here's a list of what I used:

(6) half yard cuts of:
- Kona Dragon Fruit
- Kona Pink
- Kona Red
- Kona Aloe
- Kona Kale
- Kona Bubble Gum
(1) FQ of:
- Bella Sweet Pea
(3) FQs of:
- Kona Caramel
Background (4 yards)
- AGF Evergreen

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

Again, I did it like this so that I would have (3) blocks of Caramel, but if you want to use ALL half yards, then you would need (8) half yards for the Large Throw size.

AGF Evergreen is such a great background color. It's also what I used for the Background on my Cover Upscale Plaid quilt. It really does provide the perfect balance of color and contrast...a shade that is perfect for a variety of color palettes!

These blocks are SO fun to put together, if I do say so myself. Everything is strip pieced, so it's like putting together a puzzle. We're hosting a Quilt Along starting on February 8th, so if you'd like to make this quilt with us and get some helpful tips along the way, find more details here.

For the longarm quilting, I used Megan of Blue Ridge Quilt Co., who also quilted my other two Knitted Blooms samples. We went with Echoed Swirls by Longarm League and I just love the texture of this design...especially since it's quilted so densely! We used a medium pink thread to slightly standout against the background but blend in with most of the bloom fabrics.

For the Backing, I wanted to use something a little more subtle and minimal so that it didn't compete with the front. I used Floral Follies by Sharon Holland for Art Gallery Fabrics. I love the little touch of red on the creamy neutral background. It could be festive or it could be something that's year-round. Plus its such a cute little design!

For the binding, since the quilt has lots of pinks/reds, I used Kona Emerald to bring in some more green to the mix. It's kind of in between the Background shade and Kona Kale. It's nice that it's not too different!