The contrasting colours and textures of the different leaves - spiky mizuna, speckled ‘Meraviglia di Quattro Stagioni’, frilly ‘Lollo Rosso’ and deep-lobed oak leaf varieties in both dark red and lime green - formed a pattern as pleasing as any patchwork. The noted gardener Russell Page, in his brilliant autobiography The Education of a Gardener, talks about the “working garden” of his dreams - an experimental space divided into a series of identical squares to be planted in different ways as the season, his mood and development in plant varieties dictate. More latterly, on a visit to the ground-breaking new garden at Marks Hall near Coggeshall in Essex last summer, I was intrigued to find Brita von Schoenaich, one of the most talented contemporary garden designers, planting in bold interlocking blocks of colour. But in some cases the geometry of the plan remains clearly visible - for instance, in the bands of dark fragrant lavender ‘Grosso’ planted at right angles and pierced by a continuous contrasting line of Iris ‘Deep Black’, like the interlocking strips of fabric in a ‘Log Cabin’ type quilt. If you’re planning a vegetable patch or cutting garden for flowers for the house this year, consider planting or sowing it in a patchwork block pattern. A keen patchwork quilter herself, Jane has made a lovely quilt inspired by her own vegetable garden, with blocks of bright red tomatoes and radishes balanced by fluffy white cauliflowers, rows of orange carrots and neat bright green paths. read more

The new Thimbleberries Lodge and Lakeside rugs are more rustic and traditional; the construction employs both buff chenille and Thimbleberries fabrics. The Thimbleberries fabric design and quilt pattern company serves the independent market with products that generate an estimated $50 million at retail; sales average more than four million yards a year. Jensen has established 850 Thimbleberries Quilt Clubs worldwide and has published 30 Thimbleberries fabric, quilting and pattern books. Supima Association of America held a kick-off party March 13 for its first-ever pop-up in lower Manhattan. Retailers and Vendors Gather at HTT’s Market Retailers and Vendors Gather at HTT’s Market Kickoff at 230 Fifth Avenue. read more

Darnestown Elementary School fifth-graders Michael Pullano (from left), Julia Grinberg and Salman Americanaki write with feather quill and ink during Colonial Day. Girls in ankle-length skirts and colonial bonnets and boys wearing black knickers and three-pointed hats strolled through a colonial village complete with apothecary, blacksmith shop, schoolhouse, colonial home and sailing ship at Darnestown Elementary School. Teachers and parents of Darnestown fifth-graders have collaborated to build a reproduction colonial village in the school’s auditorium each spring for the past 10 years. Designed to teach fifth-grade students about early settlers’ life in America, the plywood structures built by parents John Debelius, a Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge, and Bud Wildeman in 1998 started with a ship stern including mast, sails and gangplank — two doors down stood the town’s schoolhouse with 18-foot spire and shingled roof. The school uses $500 donated from the PTA to hire musician Ginger Hildebrand of Annapolis, who brings dulcimers, violins and other instruments to teach colonial songs and dances, such as the Virginia Reel. At the quilting station, fifth-graders Jace Studley and Ryan Siegel, both of Darnestown traced and cut patterned squares, then drew designs of ships marked HMS Dartmouth and East India Company. read more

Six days a week Grisabella the Glamour Cat watches as Debbie Stanton leads all 14-feet of Honey Bee through swirling, intricate designs. Debbie Stanton of Pine has a hand in helping quilters all around the Rim Country. A quilt with pastel colors and a traditional design dictates music with a softer feel. The gentle lap of water against the hull of their sailboat was the sound Stanton as she stitched. The waterfall and lush greenery of a painting that hung on her wall inspired Stanton to translate it as a quilt. read more