Crós Bríde FPP - centre of the Take Me Home Quilt

The story behind this pattern is one rooted in family, culture and powerful female role models. It came about almost accidentally but it was one of those moments that felt totally ‘right’ and completely serendipitous! It is a symbol of Springtime associated with light, healing and protection for the home from fire and famine.

After my mother Patsy (Pat) passed away in October 2023 I knew that I had to create something as a tribute to her. She was a dressmaker and her love of fabric and precision was passed on to me. Not long before mum died, one of her younger brothers came over from Ireland to see her. Despite having advanced complex dementia with Lewy Bodies, being with Aidan awoke so many childhood memories in her! It was amazing to hear her talk in such detail about her childhood in Ireland in a way I’d never heard before. She was so animated, confident and eloquent and described her grandparents, aunts and uncles as an incredible network of support, encouragement and inspiration: people who were respected in the community for being wise; for being talented musicians; and for being trustworthy advocates for the rights of others. I felt like I was given this amazing gift to see my mother’s experience as though it was yesterday, because even though dementia had robbed her of the knowledge of where she was, how old she was and so many memories of 50 years she’d lived in England, it had also taken her back to the very foundations of her life, vividly replaying moments.

As my uncle led mum back to her room for a rest (tired from all the talking and in need of a sleep), she looked up at him and said; “When I go (die), take me home to Sligo”. She said it in such in a way that showed she knew that she wasn’t going to be around for much longer and that, in that moment, she knew where she needed to go. And so, as the idea began to evolve in my mind of a quilt pattern tribute to my mum, I knew that “Take Me Home” would be the pattern’s name.

Because of our family’s Irish heritage - and a quilt my mum described her ‘Granny Golden’ making - I wanted to base my pattern on a traditional Irish Chain Quilt. However, as the design already exists, I wanted to add something specific and unique to my pattern to make it distinctly different to the traditional version as well as specifically linked to my mother. And so this is where the Crós Bríde (or St Brigid’s Cross) block comes into the picture. I’d already decided I wanted to use a Celtic symbol for the centre of the block but the one I’d first thought of using was proving too tricky with all its curves and swirls! Then a couple of weeks later, when I was up in Nottingham with my sister clearing out the home where we’d grown up, I noticed the St Brigid’s Cross that mum had always loved being up on the living room wall. Initially I thought ‘ooh that might work’… but it was only when we kept finding more and more versions of the St Brigid’s Cross - from Belleek porcelain, to stoneware and traditional reed crosses, woven by hand -that I knew for certain that the central quilt block had to be based on the St Brigid’s Cross. And, because I have been learning to speak Irish (my mother’s ‘mother tongue’), I chose to use the Gaelic ‘Crós Bríde’ for the pattern’s name and connect her home to my home.

So I set about designing a graphic version of the St Brigid’s Cross that would represent the key elements of this traditional Celtic symbol in fabric form as a quilt block. In the first test-block I tried to recreate the appearance of the reeds woven together, and whilst it looked really beautiful in all the Ruby Star Society yellows, goldenrods and caramels, the bulk on the back of the block was far too thick and the stitching too fiddly and awkward to include in a pattern as part of a quilt. I really liked the way the central square leant itself to being constructed as a miniature log-cabin though, so I decided to stick with this idea and I decided to include three versions within the pattern: from a simple square to a more detailed mini log-cabin to give more choice around the complexity of design makers wanted to choose. The 4 arms (which represent earth, air, fire and water in the Celtic symbol) also leant themselves to having three variations: made either from one, two or three pieces. And so, the pattern was set. Finishing at 5.5” square it was ready to fit into the centre of my “Take Me Home“ quilt block as an optional extra as well as being a stand alone block in its own right, ideal to be used in other projects as a focal point, such as throw pillows, book pouches or even a hanging decoration!

I really hope that you grow to love this pattern as much as I do and I am really excited to see how other quilters interpret this pattern to make it their own. If you create a Crós Bríde FPP mini block then I’d love to see! Please share images of your work using the hashtag #crosbridefpp so I can find them on Instagram and stay tuned for more details about the “Take Me Home“ Quilt and its release date later in Spring 2025.