In the last two years, especially after taking up wild swimming and with the addition of a puppy to our family, I have become more aware of the nature and landscapes around me in the beautiful county of Cornwall where I live. From walking across fields & seeing wild flowers, to swimming in the sea & watching my friend Fi feed a friendly Robin after our swim, so when I was shown Janet Clare’s stunning Botanicals fabrics I fell in love with it.
I’d been looking for the perfect pattern to show off all the beautiful bird & flower designs featured on the Botanicals fabrics & decided to use the Days in Provence pattern by House on the Hill.
I used a fat 1/8th bundle of Botanicals fabrics, adding an extra 1 1/2″ (finished sized) border of Moda Textile Solid Parchment fabric, before adding the final border, which I chose the soft black Sligo Linen.
On two of the blocks where the lavender was embroidered on the original pattern, I used Janet Clare’s Little Wren embroidery kit instead, to keep with the theme of Botanicals. I did a running stitch in a charcoal embroidery thread on the parchment border, adding a little snail who has slightly strayed from the line.
On the black Sligo Linen I embroidered the flying owl design found in Janet Clare’s beautiful Field Guide book, using chacopy paper to transfer the design onto the linen.
I put wadding in between, then backed it with a Farmer’s Shirt Flannel and quilted in the ditch, adding a chunky running stitch in embroidery thread on a couple of centre blocks as a feature, along with some black buttons on a couple of the longest thin blocks.
Finally to finish the quilt, I made a scrappy binding from the fabrics left from the fat 1/8th bundle.
