The Seedling Quilts - Peppermint Quilt

When the ancient Greek nymph, Minthe, was caught having an affair with Hades, his wife, Persephone, turned the nymph into peppermint, from whom it gets its name. So strong was the believed connection between mint and temptation, Alexander the Great banned its use in his army! It’s a pity, because peppermint’s medicinal use dates back to Ancient Egypt, where dried leaves dating back to 1000BC have been discovered in pyramids. It was cultivated in Europe in the 1700s and used for stomach upsets and pain relief.

If you've ever had mint in your garden, you'll know that it's quick to take over almost anywhere. Perhaps it's what the ancient Greeks had in mind when they told their story. I started stitching this quilt at a time when I stopped believing that I should 'bloom where you're planted" like peppermint does so well. It was a saying thrown around a lot in my early adulthood, and slowly, through my experiences of trying to garden, and my experiences of trying to thrive wherever I happened to be, I learned that it's just not how most flowers or humans work. Most flowers are actually pretty fussy about where they will and won't bloom, and if you garden, its your job to put them somewhere they'll be happy, with the right amount of sunlight and draining soil and watering. 

My Seedlings Quilts were all made as a kind of prayer. A hope or longing to discover what made me flourish after years of pushing it down. Peppermint was my hope for thriving again, not just anywhere, but in a carefully crafted place with the right ingredients for blooming. 

Making this quilt was happy and easy. I chose a favourite Rifle Paper Co. print and used that as a colour palette guide for my little English paper pieced (EPP) leaves. I had in mind the exact shape I wanted the finished quilt so I could hang it above our sideboard/buffet in our dining room.

Peppermint Quilt is the third quilt pattern in my book, The Seedling Quilts. It's a collection of quilts in varying degrees of complexity for any season you're in. Click below to have the free Peppermint quilt printable templates delivered straight to your inbox, and watch how easy this quilt is to make!