STRAWBERRY GARDEN BOOK: FIG FRIEND FEATURE – WEEK 6

I can’t believe its true but it’s the final week of our STRAWBERRY GARDEN Sew Along, week 6, and our final Fig Friend Feature – this time, the GEESE IN THE GARDEN QUILT and our (3) coordinating pillows: GOING TO MARKET, CRISS CROSS, and THREE BERRIES.

GEESE IN THE GARDEN

Honestly… I love this quilt. Maybe its all that green [one of my top favorite colors] or all those flying geese [I love flying geese by the way], or the simplicity of this pattern that draws me to it. Not sure which of those things is my favorite about it… but its a good one I think. And a perfect way to use up scraps paired with two favorite prints of a single color, in this case green.

Finished Size: 48 1/2″ x 60 1/2″ – Pieced by Lacey Poirier/Quilted by Susan Vaughan

Let’s learn a little about our STRAWBERRY GARDEN BOOK contributor…Lacey Poirier. I do believe that some of her answers are pretty much what mine would be :-)… maybe we are quilty soul sisters?? She can be found on Instagram at @laceypoirier.

LACEY POIRIER [@laceypoirier]

1- Tell me your favorite quilt block and if there is a reason that is so. 

I actually really love flying geese units. Is that a little to “on the nose” for this week? Maybe. 😉 – I love how they can be used as fillers AND as the main block component of so many quilt designs.

2- Tell me a bit about how you found quilting. 

About 10 years ago, I was diagnosed with Lupus, an autoimmune disorder. I found that a major “trigger” for my lupus flares was any excessive sun exposure. My mother realized before I did that to stay physically healthy and emotionally well, I needed to find hobbies and interests that could be done indoors. She bought me my first “real” sewing machine, my beloved Bernina, not really knowing how I would use it or if it would “stick”. HA….The rest is history! I fell in love with discovering quilt patterns, putting together fabric choices and colors, and watching projects come to life. I watched video tutorials, explored internet sites, and then found Instagram – which has provided a wealth of inspiration.

3- Tell me your favorite Fig Tree color and a reason if there is one. 

It’s the Fig Tree greens for me – always.

4- If you were to suddenly have unlimited time, could drop everything and make one of the quilts in the book from start to finish… which one would it be and why? 

I was lucky enough to participate in the original Strawberry Garden Block of the Month, so if it wasn’t the sampler….it just might be the Cottage Blooms quilt using the classic Weathervane block. I’ve already seen a few different versions popping up and each time I say to myself: “you need to put that on your make list”!

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PILLOW PROJECTS

We couldn’t forget to showcase our (3) coordinating pillow projects from the book! When we were finishing up the book, I knew I wanted pillows for sure but deciding which blocks were going to get pulled out for that was definitely a hard call. There are SO MANY GOOD BLOCKS in this book!

I settled on this trio so that we could have a variety of sizes and “levels” of work for the pillows.

GOING TO MARKET

I for sure had to do the basket block… I have kind of been dieing to do a whole quilt with just these. But a pillow will just have to do for now! A perfect way to showcase this wonderful block I think.

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CRISS CROSS

You know me and small scrappy blocks… love them! So this was an easy choice to add to the trio. This would look lovely in som many different color pairings. For this one I chose green and tan with red posts… but can you envision blue and red with grey posts or pink and coral with green posts or yellow and aqua with tan posts? So many options I think. Just look inside your scrap bucket and start with what is there!

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THREE BERRIES

And of course BERRIES… one of the signature blocks for this sampler, a stand alone Fig Tree pattern that we have made into a table runner with prairie points [one of my all time favorite summer time projects to bring out every year] and now its a pillow too! These are simple “sew and flip” method blocks and a quick tutorial on how to make prairie points can also be found on my YouTube for those of you who have never made them. They are truly the most simple accent ever!

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Thank you for joining us for our weekly FIG FRIEND FEATURE – and our VINTAGE BOWTIE FANCY sew along for the STRAWBERRY GARDEN book! I have enjoyed meandering our way through this book with you week by week and hope that you are inspired to work on many of the projects in its pages. Can’t wait to see everyone’s VINTAGE BOWTIE quilts get finished up and posted! Here’s to summer sewing quilty friends!

-Joanna