Twin size Lodhi Garden Quilt
Raise your had if you love making twin size quilts? Or I guess large size quilts in general. My mom makes king size quilts and I'm a hard pass on that size. That would feel never ending to me and I just don't have the room to lay out all the blocks. Twin is the largest I have made and at this point the largest I plan on making until I have a design wall or more patience.
My favorite size quilt to make is a large throw. It's almost like I'm cheating on a throw, but not quite committing to a twin. Throw size are easier to quilt and lay out when I'm organizing the blocks. However, this size is the full twin. I had to do it. I had to see the Lodhi Garden in it's full glory.
The first Lodhi Garden Quilt I made was with solids and the second was with Floral Elements by Art Gallery Fabrics which is a blender fabric. I wanted to make a version that used a variety of fabrics, not just one brand. I wanted some blenders, some solids and some patterns. However, I do not have enough scraps to make this happen. I also do not have the ability to match colors to get the ombre look necessary for each flower (I'm colorblind and matching colors like this isn't gonna happen).
That's when I called in a professional...
I have been a long time fan and customer of Fabric Bubb. Kristina, the shop owner, makes the most amazing bundles, combining fabrics that I never would think to pair. I contacted Kristina and told her about the fabrics I needed to make a twin size Lodhi Garden Quilt.
We went back and forth in email discussing fabrics. A week later (this lady is busy, so if you want a custom order you might need to wait a couple days depending on her availability) I got an email with different options she had come up with based off her Extreme Homebody Bundle. She was so helpful and made the process easy. I was also extremely pleased with the bundle we came up with.
About The Lodhi Garden Quilt Pattern
Lodhi Garden is a modern quilt pattern inspired by the Lotus flower. The lotus flower can be seen everywhere in Indian culture and holds significance in eastern religions. It is regarded as a symbol of purity or rebirth. I love the simple elegance of this flower.
The Lodhi Garden is a famous park/garden near where I used to live in New Delhi, India. Every Friday I would take my kids to this park to run and play. It was their one chance each week to be kids and not be bothered by people asking for pictures. We would come home soaked with sweat and tired, yet it was all our favorite activity of the week.
The modern Lodhi Garden quilt pattern combines the beauty of the Lotus flower with the memory of our favorite park. It uses an ombre affect in each flower. This also makes it a great pattern for scraps, especially if you have lots of colors. The more colors you add, the more the quilt will come alive. I don't tend to keep many scraps of fabric, mostly because of space, but also because we move often. So that is why for this version I needed to buy fabric.
This pattern comes in baby, throw and twin sizes. The pattern is listed as advanced beginner. I wouldn't suggest this as the first pattern a brand new quilter should try. However, it would be a great second or third pattern. It uses half square triangles.
I remember being a beginner quilter and having my half square triangles come out a big off and wishing I had a bit more trimming space. If this is the case with you, cut your squares a 1/4 inch larger to give a little extra trimming room.
More about this Quilt
I didn't want to use white fabric for the background. So I chose Essex Linen for the background fabric. I think the color was Oyster, which went well with the muted colors in the bundle. Here is a peak of the quilt before it was quilted...
I looked through the backings I had on hand and chose one that went with the front. However, it was 24 inches short of fabric. So I used the scraps from the front to piece together the 24 inches needed. I love doing this because it adds some character to the back of the quilt, uses up those scraps, saves on the amount of fabric needed and brings in some of the front to the back of the quilt. Here is a peak of the back:
As you can see above I off set the fabric scraps in the backing. I usually do one extra piece of scraps in a straight line across the quilt back. But for a little variety I offset it. It turned out a little quirky which is what I was going for.
Because of the size of the quilt I sent it out to Kaitlyn of Knot and Thread Design to be quilted. We discussed some different Lotus quilting designs and I chose my favorite. The finished product is beautiful! It's a nice heavy quilt and will go perfectly on one of my girl's beds.
Make sure to check out the Lodhi Garden quilt pattern. It's a great way to make a colorful quilt or to use scraps for each flower.
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