My Olive pattern was one of my very first patterns launched back in 2011. I’ve loved it so much and have been wanting to give it an update. Here’s a look at my Olive Quilt Pattern Update.
Olive Inspiration
I love a tree-inspired project (see Grove and Pine to name a couple). This one started with a row of street trees that I would admire from my office window when I worked in St Louis, Missouri–on Olive Street. Having grown up in Florida, I wasn’t accustomed to such a dramatic change of seasons, which is why I found myself enticed by the transition of these trees throughout the year.
Olive Update
The project itself is mostly the same in that it features four of the same, upward-reaching trees (or more or less depending on the size you make).
I made slight changes to the borders, just for an aesthetic update. The project and pattern are now written with Fat Quarters and Fat Eighths more explicitly in mind. Of course you could still use yardage or scraps if you’d like!
There are full instructions for Foundation Paper Piecing, along with a cheat sheet for what size fabric to cut for each section. I find that folks like a suggested starting point. You can totally work from scraps and other bits if you are comfortable doing that! And there’s now a coloring page so you can map out your fabrics and colors.
The project is now available as a downloadable PDF or Print pattern.
Cheering Olive Fabrics
This version is made from Fat Quarters from fabric bundles that I put together for Robert Kaufman. I used a warm palette of colors that mixes prints from my Collection CF along with Kona solids, Kona Sheen and Essex linen. In the original version of the project I used striped fabrics, which is also great! In this new version I think the mix of textures, prints and solids is a great direction too.
The Quilting
The quilting is a series of straight-ish lines via free motion quilting on my home machine. I wanted to to keep the frames around each block fairly full, so the lines are less dense in those areas.
Each of the trees is outlined and then has a variety of lines and grids running through the background. The border is fairly simple with all of the lines running in the vertical direction. I kept it fairly dense, but varied the rhythm just a little bit. This creates a fun texture that frames the project overall.
Happy tree sewing!
Project Details
Pattern: Olive Quilt Pattern
Fabrics: Collection CF, Kona Solids, Kona Sheen, Essex Linen, Essex Yarn Dyed and Essex Homespun (see full details here)
// See Olive in my Cheering Bundles video.
I just finished the Olive pattern quilt with 4 rows of 4 trees, one for row for each season. It has been my most favorite quilt to make because each tree is its own creation. I gave it to a friend in France and this is a translation of what she said about it,“A whole world of colors, seasons, a journey, poetry and above all a wonderful gift a beautiful surprise! A friendship that crosses borders……….. thank you” I wish I could include a photo.
Ooh, I love that, Heather! It sounds like an amazing project.