HARVEST HAZE

BEHIND THE QUILT

CREATURE COMFORTS

“For the fourth quilt in my Morris Seasons series, I was inspired by those hot, clear, calm summer days we (occasionally!) get in Britain, when the fields are full of wildflowers and ripening grains, and the skies are full of wheeling swifts, swallows and house martins. On these serene days, hidden from sight in the fields, tiny acrobatic harvest mice are busy building up their stores for the coming autumn. I love the idea that they’re in there making tiny-but-daring raids long before the combine harvesters can come and clear the field!

“This summer design has simpler piecing but more complex appliqué than the autumn, winter and spring quilts in the series. Each Morris Seasons quilt has been based around a different structure of block: The Grape Thieves used five-patch blocks, Softly Falling Snow used hexagons and Signs of Spring used basket blocks. For this quilt, I couldn’t find traditional Nine-Patch blocks just right for the flowers, so I adapted and modified some instead. The Rolling Stone block was the basis for my Daisy, Wyoming Valley became my Cornflower and Joseph’s Coat turned into my Rose block. Perhaps these new blocks will go into the vocabulary of quilt designers and makers of the future.

“I’ve combined a selection of William Morris prints in a rich but muted colour palette with an almost-plain background in a sky blue. My Morris prints were taken from more than one collection and the background is a Moda Grunge blender. Don’t worry if you can’t get exactly the same prints! Look for stronger hues blended with grey or earth tones as, in summer, colours (including greens) lose the freshness and clarity of spring and look more dusty and muted in the strong sunlight!” – Fi Bowman

You will need

■ Sky-blue tone-on-tone or solid (background) – 4½yds

■ Gold print (daisy centres) – ½yd

■ Cream print (daisy petals) – ½yd

■ Yellow-green print (rose centres) – One (1) fat eighth

■ Light-green print (daisy leaves) – ⅜yd

■ Medium-green print (rose leaves & cornflower centres) – One (1) fat quarter

■ Pale-blue print (cornflower petals) – One (1) fat quarter

■ Light-blue print (cornflower petals) – ½yd

■ Dark-blue print (cornflower petals) – Two (2) fat quarters

■ Light-pink print (rose petals) – ⅜yd

■ Red print (rose petals & appliqué poppies) – ⅝yd

■ Dark-green print (corncockle stems, sepals & calyxes, poppy stems & leaves) – 1yd

■ Medium-pink print (corncockle flowers) – One (1) fat eighth

■ Wheat print (wheat stems & ears) – One (1) 1 fat quarter

■ Taupe print (harvest mice) – Two (2) fat quarters

■ Charcoal/Grey prints (swallows, swifts & house martins) – ½yd

■ Fusible web – 5yds

■ Teflon pressing sheet/baking liner

■ Batting – 97in x 83in

■ Fabric for backing – 5⅓yds

■ Fabric for binding – ⅔yd (or piece it from leftovers)

Finished size

■ Quilt: 89in x 75in approx.

■ Blocks: 12in x 12in

Notes

■ WOF = width of fabric, approx. 42in.

■ WOFQ = width of fat quarter, from selvedge to centre, approx. 21in.

■ HST = half-square triangle.

■ RST = right side(s)