Shivaun Place Quilt

I started this quilt in the fall of 2016 thinking it would eventually go on my baby niece's "big girl bed." After a bit of confusion, my sister and I decided to wait on that and choose a quilt design when she was older (see Judy's Flower Quilt finished last year). I really loved this pattern and the fabrics I'd been working with, so I decided to enlarge it from 6 blocks to 9 and make it for my own bed (a full size). Luckily the pattern, Shivaun Place by Sassafras Lane Designs, included the larger option.

I started with Les Fleurs by Rifle Paper Co., adding a few blenders from other designers to create the 2-fabric contrast in each block. I used some other Rifle prints as well, as the project continued and they released more fabric collections. I started out with the navy and gold Les Fleurs print for the corner elements, but after making a couple of blocks, I decided that was too dark and heavy, and I switched to a more delicate peach floral.

There are only 9 blocks in this bed-size quilt because each one is 23 inches finished. They might be the largest blocks I've ever made for a project, and I really enjoyed the process of assembling them. The only challenge -- and one of the reasons this quilt took me so long to finish -- is that, for me, each block required the use of my design wall to keep track of all the pieces and a good amount of time to assemble the block without interruption. It's not the sort of project that I could work on a little bit here and there or take on a retreat. I needed to be at home in my sewing room with all my stuff gathered and attention focused.

I had 6 blocks made in 2017 but it wasn't until 2020 that I had 9 plus all the sashing ready to assemble the top.

Then it was time to choose the backing, and I struggled. At first I wanted to use all the Rifle Paper Co. fabric I'd gathered (which is a lot) to piece a backing. But I'm never very happy with my pieced quilt backs, and since this quilt was destined for my bed, I didn't want to be disappointed in the reverse side. So I finally gave up on the pieced idea and ordered a Carolyn Friedlander print that I thought complimented the prints on the front - light blue, a little gold and more graphic so as not to compete with all the florals.

The quilting is an edge-to-edge design done by Sterling Quilt Co. I used one of my stashed pale peach Rifle prints -- with scattered flowers and horses -- for the binding. My photos of this project range from October 2016 to November 2020, so it was a long one in the making! I'm happy to have it finished and finally on my bed.