While strolling through Keukenhof, I thought of the master gardeners who compose these resplendent flower beds. They use color, height, shape and even flower spacing to such lovely effect. Their artistry inspires me, particularly when it comes to color, and I managed to capture some favorite palettes. Perhaps I will lean into of one these color stories when choosing fabrics for our Teeter Totter sew-along this May?

A flower palette suits a Teeter Totter quilt especially well if the background color is green or an ombre range of greens. Then the triangles would be like flowers, sparkling in fields of leafy green! Thus, each one of my flower palettes today has a base of lush green.

Hyacinth Princess

This palette is softly dramatic. I love the way the powdering pinks, tender peach and pale yellows contrast with rich hyacinth blue. That blue, which leans toward royal purple, is one I rarely have used. In this context I think it is surprising! I wouldn’t think that blue could say “spring,” but the flowers showed me that it really, really does.

Golden Cerise

This combination is an old favorite. I remember falling in love with the Kona solid colors Cerise and Curry early on in my quilting journey. The bed of leafy green gives this color combo a fresh and enticing twist. I couldn’t find the perfect swatch shade for cerise using the swatches from my book, The Quitter’s Field Guide to Color. It needed a touch more purple. But, if I were to sew this quilt, I would certainly mix in these pinker swatch shades as well. Working with printed fabrics tends to broaden color palettes.

Fairytale Love

At first glance this is a classic - red and pink. But look closer. The pinks in this palette are decidedly cool. No peach or bright pink here, just purply-pink petunia and orchid with hints of lilac. Plus, mixed in amongst the vibrant red is a soft, meringue yellow. It’s more than ivory, it’s butter. What a fairytale palette! It sets a tender scene for falling in love.

I’ve fallen in love with one of these palettes and am about to nose around in my sewing room for fitting fabrics. Yay! With May still a few weeks away, I still have plenty of time to fill in any colors that aren’t available in my stash.

Good news: the Teeter Totter pattern releases this Friday, which is a few days ahead of schedule! This pattern is turning out to be as easy to produce as it was to sew. I guess that’s why I’m still excited to sew my third version this May, haha. I hope you’ll join me in the fun! You can sign up here for the sew-along newsletter. I wonder, will you also sew a quilt inspired by flowers?