My Inspiration for Lodhi Garden
You can find the Lodhi Garden Pattern here.
Lodhi Garden is a modern quilt pattern inspired by a historic park in India. This pattern uses fat eighths, charm squares and scraps to create modern Lotus flowers. This pattern holds special meaning as it represents a special time in our lives.
For two years we lived in Delhi while we learned Urdu and Hindi. Every time we have visited Delhi since moving on we feel like we are coming home. It's such a special place of sweet memories for our family. Our family lived in a four story walk up flat. The stair way was so small my husband had to duck every time he walked up or down. We even had to have our furniture lifted up outside when we moved in.
Our neighborhood was 800 years old and right next to an urban slum. It was overcrowded and it was rare to have a day that the pollution level wasn't in the dangerous category. There were many days I never left the flat between homeschooling, language learning and just trying to manage household activities took up my whole day.
My two oldest outside our old flat. Pollution was high this day.
However, almost every Friday I took the kids to Lodhi Garden, a magical little paradise right in the middle of Delhi. I would pack the kids up in the morning and hire a rickshaw to take us to our favorite place. Lodhi garden was our sanctuary and a place for my kids to run and play. They would explore ancient tombs, run through sprinklers, bird watch, chase chipmunks, climb trees and their favorite, count how many couples they saw kissing in the bushes. Side note: you don't go to a park in the middle of the day in India unless you have kids, or are wanting to make out with your boyfriend or girlfriend. They usually counted about a dozen different couples hiding in bushes.
One of the ruins in Lodhi Garden
By lunch time we would be soaking in sweat, tired and ready to haggle with another rickshaw driver to get a ride home. To my kids and I, Lodhi Garden and the Lotus Flower is full of memories.
The flower in this quilt is reminiscent of a Lotus flower which is also a significant flower in India. In the Mumbai airport Lotus flowers decorate the ceiling, there is even the famous Lotus Temple in Delhi. The Lotus flower signifies beauty and purity in Buddhism and Hinduism. All of this inspired my Lodhi Garden quilt pattern.
Lotus Temple
The Lodhi Garden quilt pattern is simple in it's design in that it's not meant to be overdone with lots of patterns and shapes. Each flower has an ombre appearance which really lets the colors be the star of the quilt. Because each flower uses several hues of the same color it requires very little of each fabric. It's the perfect pattern if you have a ton of scraps laying around ready to use.
I hope you enjoy the simple beauty of this quilt pattern!
Shelby
from the Nomadic Quilter