Today I'm so happy to finally share this Sweet Caroline quilt with you! This is the Queen size made with Botanical Blue.
This quilt is a wedding gift for my son and his wife.
Over a year ago, when I asked my daughter-in-law what quilt she would like for their wedding gift, she chose the Sweet Caroline quilt in the Throw size which you can see right here. Fast forward to last October, one year after their wedding, and the quilt still wasn't made. I asked her if she still wanted the same pattern and fabrics that she had chosen the previous year, and she said Yes!
Sweet Caroline in Botanical Blue in the Queen size is finally finished!
This is the Queen size which measures approximately 93" x 107" which is a very generous queen size. It will be like a bedspread on their full size bed, and they definitely won't be fighting over the covers! :)
The fabric is Botanical Blue from Connecting Threads, which is completely sold out now. Fortunately, I had purchased what I needed when she originally chose this fabric over a year ago. Even at that point, I was pretty late to the game to collect some of the Botanical Blue prints, so I ended up purchasing two quilt kits to get the fabrics in the lengths needed.
Connecting Threads has a similar current fabric collection called Tea Service Vol 2, available right here.
The backing and binding of this quilt are from the Tea Service Vol 2 collection, not the Botanical Blue collection. The medium blues in the two collections are just a very tiny amount different, but they still blend well.
The tiny label next to the Busy Hands Quilts label says I ♥ You on a red heart, a special label reserved for special peeps!
The Sweet Caroline Quilt Pattern
Sweet Caroline is a strip pieced quilt pattern that includes 4 sizes - Throw, Twin, Queen, and King. It's a fairly simple pattern, as long as your seam allowance is accurate so the strip sets end up the correct height so everything fits together well.
Fabric placement is key to the Sweet Caroline design. See the three navy squares in the middle of the patchwork blocks that rotate every other block? This is planned, and the pattern tells you exactly how to get those fabrics to land there!
The backing and binding are from the Tea Service Vol 2 fabric collection, which is available right here. This is an extra-wide fabric which is perfect for this Queen sized quilt. I love this floral! It also comes in a navy blue background which is equally stunning.
The binding is the navy/medium blue gingham from the collection. Gingham makes beautiful bindings!
Longarm Quilting
My daughter-in-law chose Flower Spray for the quilting design. This is a digital design, done on my HandiQuilter Fusion with ProStitcher in medium blue thread.
See the gentle pouf of the quilting on the quilt? That's the batting inside. It's Tuscany Wool. You'll find it right here. I put wool batting in all bed quilts that I plan to keep or give to family members. It's breathable and cool or warm, whichever your body needs.
Wool is also a good option for quilts that will be hung since it resists fold marks when it is folded and comes out fairly flat when hung again.
Sweet Caroline is yardage or precut friendly. If you have a bunch of medium-colored strips, they're perfect for Sweet Caroline.
There are two versions of Sweet Caroline. The second version, Sweet Caroline II, uses five fabrics with specific placement instead of a wide assortment of fabrics as in Sweet Caroline. The Sweet Caroline II quilt pattern is available right here.
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