Happy Derby Weekend, y'all!

I've shown you most of my quilt collection before, but this may just be the most special one of all!

Several years ago, we were able to find some yardage of this gorgeous Lilly Pulitzer print on eBay. The print is "Low Riders," and it features gorgeous shades of mint, periwinkle, and butter, as well as horses and some rather iconic spires.

Of course, it's no secret that Lilly and Derby go hand in hand! My local Lilly Pulitzer store, The Peppermint Palm, goes all out for Derby; they always work with local milliners to match the latest Lilly prints, host the Derby Festival Princesses, and generally have lots of Derby-time fun!

The ties between the Lilly Pulitzer brand and the equestrian lifestyle go back to Mrs Pulitzer's own love of horses. The late Mrs Pulitzer often cited these ties to her own childhood memories of traveling to Kentucky from her family's upstate New York home to watch her stepfather's horses run at Churchill Downs. As a young adult, Lilly even served as a horseback courier for the Frontier Nursing Service in southeastern Kentucky!

My Lilly Derby quilt is such a special keepsake, because it combines so many things that I absolutely love -- Lilly Pulitzer, the Kentucky Derby, and the priceless feeling of having a quilt made by my grandmother!

Happy Derby, y'all!

Check out more Quilt of the Week posts here: