The Lyla Jean quilt pattern is now available, both as a digital download and as a paper booklet. But what inspired this pattern?
Let me tell you about my Grandmother.
Every quilter has someone who has inspired them one way or another and originally planted the seed that turned them into a quilter. For me that was my grandmother, Lyla. Not to be confused with my mother, also named Lyla, she was known in the family as Lyla Jean.
Almost every single memory I have of her includes a quilt (and a dog) of some kind. She helped my second grade class make quilted pillows. I would make blanket forts and roll up like a burrito in quilts on her living room floor with my cousins as a child. In college her house was approximately halfway between Nebraska where I was in school and Texas where my parents lived, so I would stop and stay a night with her, and she would run a show and tell parade of all the beautiful things she was working on. I'll admit that I didn't quite understand what she was telling me when she spoke of different techniques or trying to explain how she made this block or that, but it did sink in. As my own skills grew and I picked up a new technique, I found myself thinking "Ah! That's what she was telling me!" This quilt was created in her honor.
She passed in 2014 but still touches my life. We have an early Halloween quilt she made when I was in maybe kindergarten that we wrapped our newborn in when he was born on Halloween almost 6 years ago. She made a quilted FPP wall hanging of frogs (my favorite animal) for my high school graduation that now hangs in my sons room. For my wedding she gifted us a gorgeous king sized Christmas quilt with an amazing applique in the center. Many of her quilts are scattered around my home and we cuddle in them regularly. I've used her favorite colors to create the initial design and I like to think she'd be pleased with the result.
Grandma, this one is for you. Thanks for helping me appreciate the beauty that a good quilt can bring.
And sorry Ella pooped on your bed that one time when she was a puppy.
The Lyla Jean Baby and Throw size quilts consist of two blocks, each finishing at 14" x 14", that are placed in rows and staggered to create the overall pattern. The Mini size consists of one modified block that finishes at 22" x 22" before the borders are placed.