BEHIND THE QUILT
A MODERN HEIRLOOM
Worthy of being draped over four-poster beds and velvet sofas in beautiful English country estates, the Hera Manor quilt is opulence itself. Made timeless through the use of heritage colours (i.e. warm mustard, deep berry, smokey grey and muted sage), this quilt has the bearing of a modern heirloom.
To make this quilt, Alice Caroline used Liberty Tana Lawn classics and Liberty Quilting Cotton blenders from Liberty’s extensive fabric catalogue. In addition, select sections of the English Paper Piecing (EPP) were fussy cut to make the most of the peacock feather motif on the Queen Hera fabric, which inspired the quilt’s name. The much-loved Hera Peacock feather print is an enduring icon of Liberty Fabrics and has adorned Liberty designs from the mid-1890s to today – so it’s very fitting for this grand quilt.
“I love medallion quilts and this quilt started out as one with a central EPP motif. As it grew, I wanted to change it and have one of the borders on point – the finished quilt is a mix of strong linear borders and Flying Geese zigzags. The colour-scape took on a life of its own with this design. I started with the Hera Peacock feather print and wanted a heritage vibe. The Snowdrop Spot Quilting Cotton fabrics were just perfect to complement the fabrics I had chosen, as they are fairly solid prints but with enough interest in the snowdrop design. It’s really exciting to see the finished quilt come to life from my initial vision and I love the finished vintage vibe this quilt oozes.” – Alice Garrett
There is a fabric kit available to make this kit at www.alicecaroline.com
You will need
■ Fabric A (Queen Hera green print) – 1yd
■ Fabric B (Mustard/off-white print) – 1yd
■ Fabric C (Smokey grey) – ⅔yd
■ Fabric D (Sage-green) – ¼yd
■ Fabric E (Queen Hera pink print) – 1¼yds
■ Fabric F (Pink/off-white print) – ½yd
■ Fabric G (Yellow) – ¾yd
■ Fabric H (White/orange print) – ½yd
■ Fabric I (Queen Hera blue print) – ¾yd
■ Fabric J (Deep berry print) – 1 yd
■ Fabric K (Red/off-white print) – ¾yd
■ Fabric L (Off-white print) – 1¼yds
■ Batting – 80in x 80in
■ Backing fabric – 4¼yds
■ Binding* – see Fabric J cutting instructions
■ Templates – i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii, viii, and ix
Finished Size
■ 68½in x 68½in approx.
Notes
■ All seams are ¼in unless otherwise stated.■ Alice suggests printing out EPP templates onto at least 120gsm paper.■ WOF = width of fabric, approx. 42in.■ FG = Flying Geese.■ EPP = English Paper Piecing.■ EPP shapes do not include seam allowances. To add seam allowances, draw around each template and then add ¼in all around each shape.■ Always pin long strips on by pinning in the middle, both ends and then between at even intervals to ease the strip into place, then sew.■ Always press seams open unless stated otherwise.■ Press after each sewing step.■ Alice likes to secure stitches at the beginning and end of sewing unless otherwise stated (such as when chain piecing).■ Alice suggests chain piecing as much as possible, which can save thread.■ Refer to the Fabric/colour key here for Fabric/colour reference on the.
