Sarasaland Princess
December 2019

The jumping off point and inspiration for this quilt was the daisy motif pillowcase in the (somewhat) center. It is a vintage Vera Neumann design, from the 1970’s, in yellow ombré. I had it in some things inherited from my Mom, and from its near perfect condition, I suspect she never used it. So after being stashed away for forty-plus years, it was time for these pretty daisies to come out of storage and be enjoyed.

I had two objectives for the design: I wanted to use an ombré effect in the pieced section around the pillowcase, and wanted the daisy pillowcase to be the focal point of the quilt. I settled on the rail fence pattern for the pieced section as it works well in supporting the ombré effect I was going for, and I feel its simplicity doesn’t become a distraction to the daisy centerpiece. Most of the fabrics for the pieced section were from my stash or scraps bins. I typically tie my quilts to finish, but was concerned that the pillowcase section, which is roughly 18″x27″, would be too flimsy. To add structural strength, I backed this piece with white flannel, and quilted it with stitching that continued the rail fence design. The flannel added just the right amount of stability to the pillowcase piece so that when the completed top was backed with fleece and tied, this centerpiece section lays quite nicely.

As for the name Sarasaland Princess, you’ll need to figure that out on your own 🙂

This was donated to the County of Ventura, Children & Family Services for a child in foster care in December, 2019.