How do you feel about fancy hats? What about bourbon? And, how about horses? If you are saying yes to all three, you are after my own Derby heart!

The first Saturday in May is the annual Running of the Roses and here in Louisville, the whole town comes to a stop to watch the horses run. This year the long shot, Rich Strike, won. It was incredibly exciting!

To honor the Kentucky Derby I created the Run for the Roses quilt and showed how it was made on Episode 3913 of the Love of Quilting PBS show. It features a super simple Rosebud block and a simplified Jacobs' Ladder block to make a wonderful medallion.

Plus, on the show, Sara shared some of the festivals she loves in Michigan including a contest in the Cherry Festival where they measure how far you can spit a cherry pit! :) I'd be terrible at that but I'm willing to try!

Of course, the best part of the Run for the Roses quilt, in my opinion is the outside border. With the rose come the thorns but these are super easy to make. Wait till you see the trick! My good friend Melanie P. did the piecing for this quilt. I designed it and quilted it. I hope you like it!

The Run for the Roses quilt was featured in the May/June 2022 edition of the Love of Quilting magazine. We have a few autographed copies left but get them quick because once they are gone they are gone! If you'd like to watch the episode you can find it on your local PBS affiliate or you can get a monthly subscription and watch all of our episodes on the Quilting Daily website.