A Victorian Garden – 2002

This pattern is from a book called “Tradition With A Twist” by Blanche Young and Darlene Young Stone.  All the patterns in this book are great but I particularly liked the Blooming Ninepatch.  It’s not difficult to make from a

technical standpoint, but a lot of attention needs to be given to fabric selection and placement as you sew.  You need a place to lay the blocks out, a floor or bed that isn’t going to be disturbed, or a design wall.

The design starts with 3 squares of the same fabric lined up on point in the middle.  These squares are surrounded by nine patch squares made up of the first fabric (the squares in the middle) and a second fabric.   The nine patch squares are surrounded by fabric squares of the second fabric.  The next surround is nine patches made up of the second fabric and a third fabric.  These are surrounded by squares of the third fabric and it goes on from there.  The blocks are sewn together on the diagonal which is why a design layout is so important.

I think prints work best in this quilt for the blending effect.  There needs to be a color relationship between each surround of fabric but contrast as you go outward gives a nice effect.  Finding enough different fabrics that work together is the challenge for this quilt.