When my daughter put a cactus blanket on a shopping wishlist, I knew that it was time to make her a bed quilt.  The problem was that I didn’t have long to turn it around and have it complete before it was time for gifting – so I grabbed Angela Hartman’s Greenhouse pattern.  Eight of her blocks made themselves into just the right top to showcase some of my doodle quilting.

I had a lot of fun adding in random elements, combining flowers, feathers, pebbles and swirls – whenever I got bored I just switched things up!

Not sure how to transition to the foreground at the bottom of the quilt, and wanting to do something interesting texturally to the bottom border, I decided to finish it off with some straight lines.

For the backing, I chose a soft taupe colored peppered cotton, which gave a nice contrast to the cream colored thread I used in the bobbin.

With a cotton/wool blend batting in the middle, this turned out to be a soft and warm but breathable quilt for her to use year round if she chooses.

The quilted plants blended well into the motifs when seen from the back as well!  Both front and back are beautiful options for display on a bed.

Do you ever change up a pattern to meet your needs?  I’d love to hear about what you’ve done!