Warm and Toasty Quilt Throw

Christmas was coming faster than I thought. One day, I realized that I did not have a wonderful Christmas present for my husband. I really wanted to make him something, that he be able to use and enjoy. I always liked the simple patchwork quilt. To me, simple squares put together in rows, is a comforting look and feel. It reminds me of a warm cup of coffee or hot chocolate on a winter’s day.

 

After searching for just the right fabric, I found Moda Turning Leaves Charm Packs. I loved the look of this collection. I ordered four (4) Turning Leaves Charm packs and supplemented with a Neutral charm pack.

 

I always start my designs by laying them out on a bed. I do not have a large table, so I use a queen size bed to arrange squares, blocks and designs. I wanted the design to have a diagonal theme to the rich colors. Grouping the squares by creams, greens, maroons, and browns/oranges, I placed them in diagonal pattern. Whenever, I place a design down on the bed, I leave it overnight and look at it the next day. This gives a fresh look to the familiar design. I arranged 12 squares across and 16 down until I found the right diagonal look.

 

Leaving the squares in place, I removed only the squares that I was planning on sewing. This eliminates a mistake in the pattern. I started by sewing each charm square (5×5) in a row of 12. For each row, I pressed each seam in one direction. On the following row, I would press the seams to the other side. This helped tremendously when sewing the rows together. The seams will nest beautifully together.

 

Note: There are times when this nesting technique does not work. If some of the squares are dark among a group of light ones, then one would want to press toward the dark in order to eliminate any dark fabric showing through the light. In my case, the darks did not show through the lighter fabric.

 

Once the rows were complete and pressed, each row was sewn to the row above. It is very important to keep the rows in the proper order. I leave the rows on the bed and only pick up the two that I am sewing. Then I place it down and add the next row.

 

Next, a 3 inch cream and pine cone fabric border was added and a 2 ½ inch Walnut Leaves fabric binding finished the quilted throw. All of the quilt top fabrics with the exception of the neutral pack, were part of the Moda Turning Leaves collection. The backing was a 108 inch mottled look cotton.

I decided to have a Warm and Natural batting along with a poly batting (for more pile). I quilted this throw on my sewing machine using a Dual Feed attachment. The quilted pattern is a simple straight stitch in a crisscross pattern, from one square to the next in a diagonal pattern. For the border, I double this diagonal stitching. I used a gold thread on the top and a light gold on the backing.

It was so satisfying to sew the entire quilt myself. I truly felt that the quilt was from me.

 

Have a wonderful day!

 

Laura

 

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