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Orchard House by Heather Peterson for Riley Blake Designs
I started quilting right around the time when the Little Women movie with Winona Ryder came out. It was my first introduction to the characters and Jo March quickly became by favorite protagonist. I spent many late nights up designing quilt patterns, while watching that movie. When the latest version of the movie came out a few years ago, I loved that one too. I felt such a connection to the scene in both movies where they show Orchard House late at night, with only the attic window lit up and Jo busy creating stories up there. It was so inspiring to me, as I too spent so many late nights getting caught up in my own creating. I can still hear the line from the movie in my head - "Late at night, my mind would come alive with voices and stories as near and dear to me as the real world. I gave myself up to it, longing for transformation." In my case, it was quilt designs, but the connection of understanding creativity was there and I wanted that beloved scene in one of my fabric collections - thus the print with Orchard House and the attic light on. I also tried to capture some of my other favorites things from Little Women - from the muted colors in the movies, to the vintage looking florals inside the real Orchard House, to the mailbox in the hedge and my favorite saying from the book and movies captured in the text print. There are even a few pickled limes in the Orchard House print.
