And I say that with a grain of salt. It's been sunny here, but windy and cold. There's a chance of snow in the forecast, again, and I don't even want to talk about how deep the snow is in my yard.
But in honor of the "official" start of spring, here's my Hothouse Flowers quilt. It's a Web Extra for Quilters Newsletter's April/May 2015 issue and you can find the free pattern for this distinctly unwintry project on QN's website.
Hothouse Flowers is a scrappy 30" x 30" quilt featuring oversized hand appliquéd flowers. I originally made it as a wall quilt, but this month, in defiance of the weather outside, I've been using it on my kitchen table. I'm kind of a rebel.
I love the gorgeous colors of the batik flowers and their fussy cut centers, but I have to admit, the best part of making this quilt was naming it. As usual, I asked my family for name suggestions and this time they were particularly inspired. The following names were the top contenders:
Flower Power (seen it)
Floral Fantasy
Petal Power
Petal to the Metal (clever, but a smidge masculine)
Lazy Daisy (been done)
Bellicose Rose
Mum's the Word
Crocus Pocus (seriously, the flowers look nothing like crocuses!)
Gerber Fervor
Pistil Sizzle (in case you're having trouble remembering your plant anatomy, the pistil is the female reproductive organ of a flower)
Flamin' Stamen (you guessed it, the stamen is the male reproductive organ of a flower -- obviously my family was getting a little out of control)
And finally, and perhaps the most outrageous:
Pollination Quilt-Nation
Clearly I was on my own; so "Hothouse Flowers" it was. Maybe it's a bit sedate compared to some of the above, and it's certainly not as memorable, but at least it's appropriate and doesn't conjure up memories of high school biology... shudder.
Feel free to choose one of my family's suggested names for your version of Hothouse Flowers. I mean, how could you go wrong with "Pollination Quilt-Nation?"
Happy Quilting!
