Not too long ago one of the quilters I follow on Instagram asked for pattern testers for a new quilt pattern she had made. This is the beautiful and talented Susannah Kate and the quilt is The Cascade Quilt.
I volunteered to be a pattern tester with the intention of getting a quilt finished for a nursery. I had made all the other items (here) and the baby is now 5 months old, and I think he has waited long enough for his quilt. The rest of the nursery was done with the Sarah Watts line Timber and Leaf. I had plenty of fabric to make a good size quilt.
I will be the first to admit that I am not that good at following a pattern. I get lost, I skip steps, I don't read - just look at the photos. Well, guess what? Susannah made a pattern just for me! This one was laid out perfectly. I very easily followed and stuck to the directions. Thanks, Susannah!
This is a fat quarter friendly pattern. First thing she tells you is to cut your pieces and put them into baggies labeled with numbers 1 - 10. Done.
I did have some quarter yard cut pieces vs fat quarters that I used in this pattern, and they worked just as well.
After getting everything up on the design wall, and Susannah has each row measured out for you in her diagram (she's done all the math y'all!) I decided on some minor changes. One, there were animals in some of the prints and I wanted them all right side up if possible. I didn't have enough of one of the fabrics to do this, but several of the others I did, so I made a few extra cuts to get my animals going in the right direction.
Two, before sewing my rows together, (and I just pulled pieces down from the design wall and started going), I moved a few of my fabrics around to get a better balance of colors. I felt there were several of the darker shades bunched together, and I switched two of the fabrics around. Right now, I can't even tell you which two they were, so it must have worked! And lastly, I traded out one of the solids I had included for another print in the Timber and Leaf line, I felt the solid was too close to the background color and was lost. So you can make these minor changes before you start sewing because everything is laid out for you in the diagram.
Trying to get a good photo on a very windy day was not working out.
Had to use two holders
I took a few more on a much less windy day - as this is still just a top in the line to be quilted.
I used Kona Natural for the background color. There is another Kona solid thrown into the mix and a Riley Blake print, which will also be used for the binding.
Guess what? You can enter to win a free pattern! Just leave a comment below, that's all you have to do! (Make sure I can email you for your winnings if you do enter, please) I will be drawing the random winner at the end of the blog hop.
You can also visit Susannah Kate's Etsy shop if you would like to purchase the pattern.
Please visit some of the the other pattern testers on the blog hop listed below to see their version of the Cascade quilt:
Cascade Quilt Blog Hop Schedule
Oct 26 ␣ Trina @ www.trinapeterson.com
Oct 27 ␣ Alex @ www.sewcutebyalex.blogspot.com
Oct 28 ␣ Diane @ www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com
Oct 29 ␣ Jenny Mae @ www.ohjennymae.com
Oct 30 ␣ Courtney @ www.monpetitlyons.blogspot.com
Oct 31 ␣ Heather @ www.quiltsinthequeue.com
Nov 1 ␣ Mary @ www.fairlymerry.blogspot.com
Nov 2 -‐ Summer @ www.artfulife.blogspot.com
Nov 3 ␣ Susannah Kate @ www.susannahkate.com
Also, please visit Amber @ www.olivegypsy.wordpress.com She has written a great post about the Cascade quilt pattern and has such cute pictures!
We are all Instagrammers and have a wonderful feed under the hashtag #cascadequilt. You will find more wonderful examples of the Cascade quilt including a beautiful one made with all solids! Include your own Cascade quilt We'd all love to see it!
