strawberry social

I'm getting a jump on summer with my new Strawberry Social quilt!

I first fell in love with this pattern last summer when I saw Pam's version. Seriously, I love it. And then it started popping up around the internet. The pattern is by Margot Languedoc's The Pattern Basket. I bought the pattern immediately, but I was busy working on Christmas quilts (in July!) and just couldn't look at any more red and green fabric. Well, last week I thought of this pattern as I was stirring fresh strawberries into my morning oatmeal. You know that moment when strawberries are almost TOO ripe and the fragrance completely fills your kitchen? 

It's another excuse to use my favorite color combination! I started with three strawberries and got hooked. 

It just makes me happy working on these. I can imagine the upcoming crop of strawberries that I'll pick up at the farmer's market in Union Square. Isn't everything better with a strawberry? Ice cream, pancakes and waffles, jams, shortcakes with whipped cream, pies, cheesecake (like this one from Juniors in Brooklyn). I even like the freeze-dried strawberries in Special K!

And now for the technical part. Margot's pattern has a tricky method for making that leaf section. I couldn't understand how the technique could possibly work. I finally just trusted the pattern and started sewing. It's genius, really. The sub-units are made larger than needed and trimmed using a square ruler. All of the seams nest perfectly. The finished quilt needs 25 strawberries. I really want to just keep sewing and see how large I can get this! I have yards of the perfect backing, so that's taken care of (it's a red and white recipe print!) But what if I deplete my pink, green and red stash?! 

If you'd like to make a quilt like this, I found a few kits online. There's a Pam Kitty version at Fat Quarter Shop and a  beautiful version at Shabby Fabrics which resembles the original pattern. Or just dive into your scraps like I did!