Quilting with Kate!

I'm so thrilled to have the very talented Kate Colleran on my blog today!  Just wait until you see what she has to share with you!

Hi everyone! I am so happy to be the guest blogger here today. First let me tell you a little about myself: I am a quilt pattern designer, teacher, book author and all around quilt lover! My book is called Smash Your Precut Stash.

What is the one question I get asked the most about my quilting? “What style quilts do you make?” Well, I make whatever style quilt fits my mood- or the occasion- but if I had to classify my style it would be Modern Traditional. I love traditional quilts, but like to mix them up a bit and add fresh, new fabric choices.

The theme this month is gardens. Hmmm.. love that! Rather than talk about flower gardens, I am going to talk about veggies. Yup. Veggies. My daughter is an organic gardener by day and a quilter by night. So it only seemed right that I would design a couple of patterns inspired by her love of vegetable gardening. She is starting to plant the seeds this month; she calls the little seedlings her babies! Here is a blurb from the pattern Little Leaves about her seeds:

Early in the spring, we start planting seeds in a greenhouse in order to have strong seedlings to plant in the fields. For me, it’s one of the most exciting and gratifying things to see trays of seeds go from virtually nothing to full sized plants that can produce amazing amounts of food.

This quilt reminds me of the rows upon rows of tiny, perfect leaves, all full of potential for the coming year.

We are calling this series of patterns Farm Fresh. Right now we only have 2 patterns, but we have ideas for more in the future!

And in each pattern we have included a recipe! How fun is that?

Did you notice the fabric? A little farmer humor- chickens and bunnies in the blocks with foxes in the border!

The other pattern in the series is called Sweet Beets.

I must admit that I thought I did not like beets. My memories of beets are from Girl Scout camp as a kid; rubbery, slimy slices of beets. Yuck. At camp I used to drop them on the deck floor of the dining area and push them through the slats to feed the animals. So when my daughter said she loved beets, I thought she was crazy! Until she made me some- fresh, grilled, lightly seasoned- YUM! Who knew?

So Sweet Beets is for her- my sweet daughter who taught me that beets are pretty good! This quilt is inspired by the Chioggia beet- which looks like peppermint candy on the inside. It really does!


Since it is spring, I thought I would share with you a recipe for a great spring veggie- asparagus! Asparagus is best in the spring, fresh off the farm. Click here to go to my website and download the free PDF (at the bottom of my Tips and Tutorials page) of a great asparagus recipe.

happy quilting!
Kate