Quilts from Larkspur Farm

by Pamela Mostek, Jean Van Rockel, Jean Van Bockel

Nestled in the heart of the Pacific Northwest's tulip country is a magical garden retreat renowned for its vintage elegance and cottage-style charm. Now you can capture the spirit of Larkspur Farm's gorgeous gardens and romantic settings in this collection of enchanting quilts. · Fifteen projects depict Larkspur Farm's country cottages, rose-covered wedding arbor, and formal herb garden · Use simple rotary cutting, paper piecing, and appliqué to create these beautiful quilts · Discover the inspiration behind each design with lush, on-location photography that follows the gardens from spring to fall · Gather special tips for collecting garden art, preserving flowers, and hosting a garden tea

Genres: Quilting

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2002

Reviews

[Jill Lawson]

Larkspur Farm is in the Pacific Northwest of USA , now a house-and-garden setting for weddings and other functions, rather than a real farm. Pamela and Jean fell in love with it and were inspired to design 15 quilted projects in its honour. If you would like to do something similar for a special place in your life, this book will help your ideas flow. I know many quilters are also garden-lovers and will enjoy the garden photos as much as the quilts in this handsome book.

Here I must tell you that all the projects use traditional pieced blocks or appliqué patterns, but they are combined in interesting ways, and use colourways ranging from delicate to dramatic. I was a little annoyed that the authors did not acknowledge traditional names such as Snail Trail or Irish Chain. All the instructions are very clear and appliqué patterns are full size, but no quilting suggestions are given. As bonuses, Pamela and Jean offer little tutorials on drying flowers, collecting garden decorations, etc.

Two quilts particularly caught my eye. One had many blues and some white - it might just match that basket of fabric I have . The other has an appliquéd centre representing Larkspur Farm, then some pieced borders, then a curving vine border. And here is the twist – instead of flowers or fruit, among the leaves are gardening tools and furniture, insects and birds, all special to the place.