This is the third of four posts showcasing a series of quilts I’m making for Judith and her family in Cologne, Germany. The series is based on the four seasons, with each season consisting of one wall hanging and one large bed quilt.

As I noted in the first post, Judith is the mother of a German exchange student we hosted over twelve years ago. Judith explained that she had gone through all of the clothing and fabrics she had been collecting over the years, which included garments and keepsake fabrics belonging to her, her mother and grandmother, her two daughters and two grandchildren. She wanted everything mixed and matched together in a series of quilts whose colors and designs were inspired by the four seasons.

After dividing the huge collection into seasonal color groupings, I created the four seasonal designs. I started with the Winter wall-hanging, but once it was finished there was so much fabric left over, we decided I would make an additional, larger, double-sided bed quilt that would incorporate as much of the remaining fabrics as possible. For each consecutive season, I kept the same approach, making one slightly smaller wall piece as well as a two-sided bed quilt with as much of the remaining material as possible.

This is the Summer Series. Blues, greens, purples, and rich florals.

I first began with a grid, putting the colorful flower print front and center.

My design was based around an abstract flower pattern using a common appliqué petal shape.

Each petal had to have a corresponding shape cut out of fusible adhesive.

Then the petals were appliquéd to their blocks.

Here is the finished quilt, followed by a detail.

With all of the remaining fabrics I made this large reversible bed quilt. This is the front side.

And this is the reverse side.

One season left to go: Fall!