The bright colours and carefree nature of kites make me happy. If you could hold on to the tail of a kite and it carried you away, you would never know where you would end up landing. If you had two kites, you could bring your best friend along too! So I designed the Spring Kites quilt to reflect my day dreams of magical kites carrying us away to a distant fairytale adventure on a perfect Spring day.
Once I started thinking about quilting, I could not put aside the idea of hand quilting the puffy clouds. I had never hand quilted before, so I watched a small Craftsy video, ordered my tools, and got started. On the first day I did about 2 inches of quilting in 2 hours, but I was hooked! The next day my flu got worse enough that I had to stay put. So I sat on the sofa and quilted the day away. It was very relaxing!! My stitches are not the smallest, but I think I achieved consistent stitch length – most of the time.
I really wanted to hand quilt the border, but I figured machine quilting that part would cause the hand quilting on the block to stand out more. Then I wrapped the whole mini up with a brown binding which anchors the quilt nicely without weighing it down. I now really love hand quilting and I love this little Spring quilt.
The 12″ Spring Kites quilt pattern is available in my shop. It’s an easy, fun and quick block to make. Although it’s a perfect Spring quilt pattern, I can see endless possibilities of playing with colours. I also included the kite tails embroidery template on the last page of the pattern file.
Happy Sewing,
-Soma
44 thoughts on “Spring Kites – Quilt Pattern”
Esther f. April 13, 2014 at 01:15
This is so cool! The kites are super cute!
Soma Acharya April 13, 2014 at 22:22
Thanks so much, Esther!! This one really makes me happy :)
-Soma
M-R @ Quilt Matters April 12, 2014 at 05:26
Beautiful, Soma! The hand quilting in the clouds is wonderful! Congrats on the patterns being featured too!
Soma Acharya April 12, 2014 at 23:13
Thank you so much!! I just made another block today that is just begging to be hand quilted :)
Have a lovely Sunday!
-Soma
Jules April 5, 2014 at 23:49
That is so cute, makes me think of flying kites with my youngest niece a nephew, a happy memory.
Soma Acharya April 7, 2014 at 22:42
Thank you!! I am so glad that the kites mini brought back such happy memories for you :)
Happy Sewing,
Soma
Sarah April 3, 2014 at 19:23
Those kites are so sweet, and you did such a gorgeous job with the quilting!
Soma Acharya April 4, 2014 at 21:45
Thank you so much, Sarah!! I am really glad I gave hand quilting a try :)
Have a lovely weekend!
-Soma
LeeAnna Paylor April 3, 2014 at 11:17
the sentiment and pattern are so sweet! Loved reading about it.
LeeAnna Paylor
lapaylor.blogspot.com
Soma Acharya April 3, 2014 at 14:12
Thank you!!! I shouldn’t hang this mini my workroom, I will never get anything done. I will just stare at it, daydreaming :)
-Soma
Elita @ Busy Needle Quilting April 3, 2014 at 05:19
You did a great job with the hand quilting! Consistency is the key. You’ll get smaller stitches over time with practice. Lovely pattern & nice thoughts to go with it too. Well done!!
http://www.busyneedle.ch
Soma Acharya April 3, 2014 at 14:11
Thank you so much! That is really very good to hear about hand quilting. Can’t wait to practice some more :)
-Soma
Lorna McMahon April 3, 2014 at 04:34
Congratulations, Soma! Your mini kites quilt is so springy and fun! And the hand quilting is gorgeous! Hope you are feeling much better now.
Soma Acharya April 3, 2014 at 14:07
Thank you so much, Lorna!! I am seriously in love with hand quilting, can’t wait to do more :)
-Soma
Rachel April 2, 2014 at 16:45
I love this. The colorful kites, the intertwined tails, the hand quilted clouds… just beautiful! Nice work.
Soma Acharya April 3, 2014 at 14:05
Thank you so much!! This little mini makes me yearn for the outside :)
-Soma
Leanne Parsons April 2, 2014 at 16:33
What a sweet pattern! The hand quilted clouds really add to the quilt too. Great job.
Soma Acharya April 3, 2014 at 13:55
Thank you so much!! This little mini quilt turned out exactly as I envisioned it! That’s always exciting, right? :)
-Soma
Tana Doss April 2, 2014 at 15:35
Oh how fun! I love your kites and congrats on the other!
Soma Acharya April 3, 2014 at 13:53
Thank you so much, Tana!! I am glad you like my happy kites :)
-Soma
France March 31, 2014 at 17:43
I love your motif. The colors of the kites are so vibrant. And I find your hand quilting very consistent. I do hand quilting and started just the way you did. A few stitches taking a very long time… :-)
Soma Acharya April 1, 2014 at 11:54
Thank you so much!! I know, it took forever to get the hang of it on the first day. Then I started having so much fun. I see a lot of hand quilting in my future :)
-Soma
Krislovesfabric March 29, 2014 at 15:48
You really brought this to another level with the hand quilting…wow! I love the brights in this :)
Soma Acharya March 29, 2014 at 17:34
Thanks, Kris!! I was thinking about the bright spring flowers in California when I picked the fabrics. I am liking the brights too, they make me happy :)
-Soma
Janine March 28, 2014 at 01:55
This is such a beautiful pattern and I love the way you’ve quilted it :)
Soma Acharya March 28, 2014 at 15:04
Thank you, Janine! I think my vivid daydreams helped a lot :)
-Soma
Cheryl March 27, 2014 at 20:20
All of your designs are so wonderful I love the kites. Your hand quilting looks great, I love the size of your stitches and they are so consistent. Your Doctor Who quilt is going to look wonderful with your hand quilting!
Soma Acharya March 27, 2014 at 21:33
Thank you so much, Cheryl! I am glad that I got to talk to you about hand quilting the Doctor Who quilt. Can’t wait to start quilting that one :)
-Soma
Susan @TheBoredZombie.com March 27, 2014 at 18:00
omg, that’s so cool! You’re famous and stuff. Only a matter of time!
I saw the hand quilting instantly. It’s perfect for these kites. Love love love it!
Soma Acharya March 27, 2014 at 21:31
LOL!! Thanks for the vote of confidence, dear friend, since I don’t have any! I am really just happy creating what I like :)
I am so glad you like this one. I am extremely addicted to hand quilting now, I want to hand quilt everything around me!!
-Soma
Cathy March 27, 2014 at 16:49
It;s fun to look at beautiful work…nice job!
Soma Acharya March 27, 2014 at 21:27
Thank you so much for the lovely words, Cathy :)
-Soma
Kathleen March 27, 2014 at 12:02
I love this block and your hand quilting too! I can see several of these blocks in a diagonal formation from a top corner to a bottom corner of a quilt. Wouldn’t that look awesome?!
Soma Acharya March 27, 2014 at 21:20
Thanks, Kathleen! What a fantastic idea!! Yes, that would look so beautiful done in nice bright colors! This is definitely going on that ever growing list of quilts I want to make :)
-Soma
AmandaK@whatthebobbin.com March 27, 2014 at 11:40
So bright and fun! I love the quilting too. It’s like a pair of kite lovebirds :)
Soma Acharya March 27, 2014 at 21:17
Thanks so much, Amanda!! I like what you said about the kites, they do look a lot like lovebirds :)
-Soma
Teje March 27, 2014 at 11:22
Hi! This is beautiful quilt and your hand quilting is great! I love to hand quilt, too! x Teje
Soma Acharya March 27, 2014 at 21:13
Thank you so much!! I am really addicted to hand quilting now! I love your hand quilted projects, they are all so beautiful :)
-Soma x
Margaret Andrews March 27, 2014 at 10:48
Wonderful quilt block , as usual. Am going to make it part of a baby quilt that I am doing…it will look beautiful there. Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful artwork. Love it.
Soma Acharya March 27, 2014 at 21:10
I can’t think of a better use for my design. Thank you so much, Margaret!! I would love to see a picture of the quilt if you are willing to share :)
-Soma
Diana in IL March 27, 2014 at 10:19
How very pretty! It makes me think of Spring!
Soma Acharya March 27, 2014 at 21:00
Thank you, Diana!! The colors are definitely inspired by California desert Spring flowers :)
-Soma
Ruthie Quilts March 27, 2014 at 10:14
Oh Soma!!! This is gorgeous!!! This would be such an awesome quilt to work on in the dregs of winter when the scenery is “Meh”. It would make me happy! Hugs!
Soma Acharya March 27, 2014 at 20:58
Thanks so much, Ruth!! You are so right, the bright colors really cheer me up! Hugs, dear friend!
-Soma :)