The Roof that Followed Me Home

Some quilts start with a pattern. Some start with a fabric line that won’t leave you alone. This one started with a roof.

On a trip through Burgundy, France, we visited the Hospices de Beaune. It was founded in 1443 as a hospital for the poor, and it’s famous for one thing above all: its roof. The steep slopes are covered in glazed tiles laid in bold geometric patterns of diamonds, zigzags and interlocking lines, in rich golds, rusts, greens and black. It shimmers in the sun. I stood in that courtyard craning my neck, and while the history of the place is fascinating, all I could think was, that’s a quilt.

So I challenged myself to make it one.

That challenge quickly became what I lovingly call a “what was I thinking?” project. A tile roof is a beautiful puzzle, but turning it into fabric means every angle, every repeat and every seam has to line up. I spent the entire flight home with a notebook on my tray table, sketching and calculating. (Egads, the math!)

By the time we landed, I had the bones of it. Beaune Roof is my own original design, built from 13 different block patterns. They work together the way those tiles do: each one distinct up close, all of them reading as one glorious pattern from across the room.

And did I mention it’s ginormous? Beaune Roof is a full king-size quilt. Apparently when I take on a “what was I thinking?” project, I go all in.

Then came the fabric. I needed something with the warmth and richness of that Burgundian roof, and I found it in The Flower Fields by Maureen Cracknell for Art Gallery Fabrics. The collection just screamed “France” to me! The moment I saw it, I knew it was the one.

And then I got to work.

This quilt is special because it stretched me and made me realize a) I love a good design challenge, and b) I should have paid way more attention in high school math classes.

Beaune Roof · King size · Original design · Fabrics: The Flower Fields by Maureen Cracknell for Art Gallery Fabrics