Did you ever play that song on the piano growing up? I think it's also called "chopsticks" because you can play it with two fingers, and I remember playing it from a very young age and my musical parents would always sing "strawberry strawberry, strawberry, strawberry" with me whenever I played, I think to help get an even beat on those triple notes. Around that same time Strawberry Shortcake (the cartoon character not the dessert) became super popular when I was growing up and I think everyone dressed up like Strawberry for Halloween one year. Except for me, I was a gypsy. lol. That's a story for another time.
In case you're having trouble imagining the song, here is the one: https://www.tiktok.com/@therubypiano/video/6873183572379913478
Anyway, you can see my love for strawberries runs deep! And besides, who doesn't love a good strawberry and they are especially cute on fabric too.
Fast forward a few years and I was really loving quilting and just starting to get to know the quilting community on Instagram, and saw the cutest scrappy strawberry quilt made by Camille Roskelley. I fell in love with it and so did my quilty friends. We thought it would be so fun to collaborate so we could combine our stashes and get a really scrappy look. I hunted all over for a pattern but wasn't able to find one. So, I put my geometry and Illustrator skills to use and drafted a simple one up for us to use. Not wanting to bombard my friends and family with quilt pictures, I added "quilts" to my "fijimama" nickname to make a separate account, fijimamaquilts was born, and I shared my first Quilty instagram post - a picture of my strawberry block.
Then I posted a little about making the pattern and said I'd be happy to share it, which I was! I started getting requests and little by little it snowballed and I ended up creating an Etsy shop and listing it for the minimum amount so people could have easy access to it, and I wouldn't be spending my days emailing strawberry patterns, ha!
It was so fun to make this quilt with friends! We spent days sewing strips together, swapping blocks, chatting and having fun. We even shared a bolt of fabric for the backing which I love, it's a cozy flannel print from the Bonnie and Camille's Ruby line. Another friend had just gotten a new longarm machine and she quilted cute flowers that reminded me of strawberry blossoms, kind of more densely, and I love it! I love the red and green prints my friends chose and all in all this quilt just brings me a lot of joy! I usually have it out somewhere in the house year round.
It's fun when I see my picture and pattern pop up on Instagram or Pinterest, and all those fun memories come flooding back. That, for me, is the best part of quilting.
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