May 21, 2019

Quilts are Blooming

April showers bring May flowers . . . or so they say. It's May 21st and I woke up to snow this morning so anything goes here in Colorado. Snow aside, I have been spending a lot of time in 2019 working with my older floral stash. My April creating brought several blooming quilts to completion in May.

Irish Chain quilt by Springleaf Studios

These three were recently finished and gifted to my wonderful sisters-in-law while on a recent road trip to the Midwest. I don't have siblings but consider myself extra blessed that I gained 3 sisters when I married my husband. I love them all and it gave me such pleasure to make personalized quilts for each of them that reflected their individual style.

floral quilts by Springleaf Studios

First up was this simple Irish chain for Jan. She lives in Kansas also known as the sunflower state so my collection of sunflower prints fit perfectly. She loves sunflowers and all things Kansas.

Irish Chain quilt by Springleaf Studios

sunlfower Irish Chain quilt by Springleaf Studios

Next up was this half square triangle quilt in lovely lavenders and purples for Nancy in Kansas City. She's going through some tough times right now with her health so I hope these flowers will remind her of better times spent in her garden and of her Mom who often wore lavender and light blue.

floral HST quilt by Springleaf Studios

floral HST quilt by Springleaf Studios

Last was this multi-colored Irish chain for Candy. She loves hostas and the colors purple and magenta so the hosta print and the peonies and other purple flowers were a great fit. I even put in a couple of sunflowers as a nod to years spent living in Kansas before their move to Iowa.

floral Irish Chain quilt by Springleaf Studios

floral Irish Chain quilt by Springleaf Studios

It was so much fun to gift each of these wonderful women in my life with a quilt. I hope they will be loved and used and brighten their days with positive energy and warmth. It feels nice knowing that some of my pretty fabrics have been put to good use.

I accumulated more than my fair share of traditional floral fabrics years ago when I did a lot of impressionist style quilts. Below is one of the early impressionist quilts I made for friends. On our trip we got to visit with them in their Iowa home and I took this photo. Not great lighting but I'm happy to know they still enjoy the quilt many years later as a reminder of their time spent living in Colorado.

impressionist mountain quilt

So far I've completed 4 lap quilts and have fabric cut for 2 more and yet I've barely made a dent in my floral stash. There's even more than what this photo shows . . . Yikes!  I'll be following up with another post soon about the backing and quilting details for these three quilts so stay tuned.


Generally speaking these types of fabrics aren't my style anymore and yet on our recent trip I found myself buying these pretty green florals. I'm not a big fan of butterflies but the ferns and white flowers spoke to me.


I guess there'll be at least one more floral quilt to make. I'm thinking another Irish Chain as I love the simplicity of the design while still allowing room for a mix of prints. I have some fern and ivy prints I may mix in with these new fabrics.

Perhaps there will be more floral quilts in my future but after this one I think I'll be ready to move on. I have plenty of bright Kaffe florals waiting in the wings begging to be used, plus some new modern ideas brewing. Keep an eye on my Instagram account to see what I'm up to @springleafstudios.

I also have a new IG account specifically about color if you're interested. Right now I'm doing the 100 day challenge posting on the color green. It will evolve into other colors as I go along. @springleafcolor

Linking up with Kelly and this week's NTT party.
Also linking up with Cheryl's Favorite Finish Monthly.
Hope you're creating something beautiful in your world.

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15 comments:

  1. Beautiful work, as always. I do follow you on IG, so went to add your color account. While it will be fun to see what you're spying in your color exploration, I feel like looking at your home IG page is a lesson in color study already!

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  2. Such gorgeous floral quilts for your sisters-in-law! Truly gifts of love. They say flowers are the language of love, but maybe it's really flowery quilts that are :)

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  3. Such gorgeous quilts Anne! What generous gifts you have given your sisters-in-law!

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  4. My goodness! I'll say you've been bloomin' quilt finishes! These are wonderful, Anne! I'm very impressed with the way you made each one special to the individual. I can't imagine all the squeals of happiness when each SIL received her quilt! It's so good that you've got pictures too. Love knowing that you were in Iowa, and Kansas City. As for your future quilts... my goodness, but you DO have a lot of florals! My floral "stack" might be two or three pieces. We have different tastes, and that's okay. I'm glad you're thriving on making, and I'm looking forward to seeing the new, modern designs you come up with. You're always so good at that too!

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  5. Ah...these are sooo beautiful! I especially love the Irish Chain for Candy that has all the various flowers...I am inspired to gather my florals together for something similar! Such a simple idea but so very effective!

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  6. They are all beautiful but the sunflower quilt is amazing. Now I kinda wish I had those prints that I used up long ago back in my stash.

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  7. Beautiful quilts, and your sisters-in-law look so happy to gift them! You are very generous and it looks like they know it. Pretty green photos on your IG!

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  8. This was a very inspiring post for me in several ways. First, what a wonderful way to bless someone you love! Your individually made quilts are wonderful! I love the subtle shade changes on that HST quilt. Second, I recently came into a large amount of floral fabrics myself and have been wondering what to do with them. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  9. Quilts are blooming, is right! These are gorgeous and I love that you made them for each of your sisters-in-law! I particularly love the lavender and purple one - it's just so pretty! Here's to them getting years of enjoyment out of them!

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  10. Totally gorgeous! I using up some old florals making the Scrap Dance Minuet mystery over at "From my Carolina Home" blog.

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  11. Such happy faces receiving these beautiful quilts. Family is everything!

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  12. Wow, these floral beauties are beautiful! I love that you matched preferences and styles to the recipient. And I enjoyed reading "likes magenta" as I noticed that sister/sister-in-law was wearing magenta! What fantastic use of what looks to be a tremendous floral stash!

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  13. You have been so productive, I love all three quilts! I really like the really large scale sunflower print you used in the yellow quilt.

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  14. It is always Spring in your studio, Anne!!! Love that the quilts are so cheerful that they brightened the recipients smiles too. Ia m sure your quilty sisters will think of your love and kindness every time they use the quilt.

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  15. I just love Cherry Blossoms and look at the beautiful quilts you gifted these ladies. All so greatly appreciated I know. Happy Stitching with your florals!

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WaHoo!!! You're leaving me a comment. Thanks for stopping by and do come back again. Quilt on, Anne.