Columbine Embroidery

The Rocky Mountain Columbine is Colorado’s state flower.

I was raised there, and loved it when I occasionally spotted columbines growing in the wild.  They are such beautiful flowers, fragile and dainty and yet also strong.  You would have to be to survive winter in the Rockies.  For some reason when I see or think of the columbine I feel hope.

I’ve seen columbines in many colors, but none are as beautiful to me as the blue-violet petals of the flower designated by Colorado.  I have grown columbines in my gardens over the years and have learned that they’re hardy but also susceptible to aphids.  In the seasons the aphids have been bad, I’ve had an almost irrational need to make sure my columbines survive.  I love these flowers.


The years I’ve spent quilting have taught me something about the way my brain works.  While occasionally I learn/make something and quickly move to something else, what happens more often is a tendency to have lots of closely related ideas come to mind, and a desire to explore them is strong.

So it shouldn’t be surprising, I suppose, that after making that fun State Flowerscape quilt , I couldn’t leave my favorite state flower alone.  I drew a larger version of the flower and went to work embroidering it.  My embroidery skills are a little rusty but it worked.


I’ve already sewn this piece into a project and given it away, but I have plans to revisit this design and use it in a future project.  For the sake of my own sanity I’ve written a simple pattern and if you’d like to download a copy as well, you’re welcome to it!

Download Columbine Embroidery Pattern Here Hope you enjoy it.  I’ll share photos tomorrow of what mine turned into.