Five Questions with Mari Martin
Recently, Quilt talked to Mari Martin, who designed “Dutch Tulips”, the cover quilt for the April/May 2012 issue.
QUILT: How did you come up with this pattern?
MM: When I was young I saw a neighbor’s garden that I absolutely loved. Every year she planted a perimeter of flowers around it; rather like a fence. Hence, the tulip blocks to create a garden flower fence. Broken glass potting sheds in gardens are also a favorite as well as pinwheels, so I combined the two in the center of the Garden Patch quilt. Then, to delineate the two I threw in a literal fence with the piano key inner border. The triangle corners give the feeling that the whole quilt is a photograph taken from an aerial view of a well-loved garden gently placed in someone’s memory album.
QUILT: What made you decide to use the tulips in a border rather than the quilt center?
MM: The tulips are a flower fence. I think they look lovely framing in the geometric design of the pinwheel blocks in the center.
QUILT: How did you come up with the idea for the tulip bloom? It’s different than a typical tulip quilt block.
MM: Well, that was difficult. I scoured all my block libraries for ideas but didn’t find a tulip block that really “flipped my trigger.” They were beautiful but square was not ideal in this case. Square meant fewer flowers so I experimented with a rectangle shape. I think tulips lend themselves to a rectangle anyway.
QUILT: Did you design this quilt with anyone particular in mind?
MM: Yes, my five year old granddaughter Sydney. She is my pink princess because her favorite color is pink and she really believes she’s a princess. Sydney would find this quilt much to her liking. She would lay in the center so the tulips surround her and cackle!
QUILT: What is your favorite thing about this quilt?
MM: I find the design structure to be intellectually stimulating and full of detail. It’s a quilter’s piecing delight! That’s the thing about multiple border quilts and especially pieced borders; you must be accurate in your piecing, as each border is dependent on the next and I love that challenge.
Deb Hearn, Editor-in-Chief
About the Author: Deb Hearn
QUILT Editor-in-Chief I have enjoyed quilting for over 25 years, ever since the day I stopped by a friend's house and saw a quilt on every bed! I was so inspired, that I went home and started a Grandmother's Fan for our daughter. As soon as the quilt was finished, our three sons were waiting in line for a quilt of their own! My latest adventure in the quilting world is my position as Editor-in-Chief of QUILT Magazine, a job that is more like play than work ...with inspiring quilts and friendly conversations with quilters almost every day!
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