The Gracie Quilt in Koi Pond

Today I am going to tell you a little more about my cover version of the Gracie Quilt. I think you could also call this post "An Ode to Rashida Coleman Hale" because when I first started quilting, I really fell in love with her first collections and that is part of what led to my love obsession of fabric.

Several years ago, I made a quilt for my sister using her Washi collection. I loved that collection - the bright colors, the prints. It is still one of my favorites.

Since then, I have made several quilts with her collections (see here, here, and here) and even more using some of her prints.

One of the things I love most about the Koi Pond collection that I used for the cover version of the Gracie Quilt Pattern, is how it incorporates some of these older prints in a new way. The collection has a fantastic selection of fabrics that could be used as basics, but those koi! The florals! The cranes! And the colors - they are so good. 

Originally, I designed this pattern using different fabrics and had it waiting in the wings until I found the perfect collection and this was it. I loved how perfectly the koi work in the center of the blocks like little koi ponds. Also, the prints in the collection are small enough in scale that cutting them into small-ish pieces didn't lose any of their charm.

The backing and binding prints are probably my favorites from the collection. These prints are so beautiful and I particularly love them together.

Tomorrow I will be sharing some mockups using the collection and I am *almost* done with the two other versions of the quilt I made - life has been so crazy lately that I didn't quite get them done in time to share them at the pattern release but I will post them as soon as they are finished.

If you would like to make your own version of the Gracie Quilt pattern, you can pick up a copy in the shop.