This spring, I wanted to make a gift for dear friends who’d become a second family for one of our family members while they were studying abroad. When I first set my eyes on the gorgeous Miss Make Clava Quilt, I had a gut feeling I’d found the perfect pattern, the makings of a phenomenal gift. While I purchased my copy of the pattern on the designer’s website, my instincts were confirmed when I saw the Clava pattern pop up as a tried and true on more than one of my favourite online fabric stores. I knew I would be in good hands. And I was, wasn’t I? Miss Make’s pattern was well-written and easy to follow. I even took some time to make cutting templates out of second-hand dollar-store plastic placemats so that I will have even less work to do when I use the pattern again!
Colour
For the quilt top and backing, I took my time choosing a colour scheme. And instinct paid off here, too. I was thinking, mostly, of the warmth of the sun and stars. So, I chose a fabulous array of warn, sunny Kona colours from The Workroom. (I’ve detailed all of my colour choices, below). Originally, I was going to use a black as my main background, but as fate would have it, I had to substitute a charcoal for the black. And it turned out to be a far better choice. Then, serendipity! After I’d chosen my fabrics, I got a glimpse inside the house of the quilt’s destined owners, where I saw at least five of the sunny colours I’d chosen “swatched out” on a wall in their home! I wish I could have gotten a photo or a screen shot! And their living room couch? A match for the Kona Charcoal! Pure magic!
Warmth
Finally, I decided on a slightly altered size and style from the base pattern. I wanted something larger than a throw but smaller than a twin. So, I decided on a large throw of 72×62 inches, a “cuddle quilt” as I’ve been calling it, and made modifications accordingly. (See all the details in the notes below). Next, I sewed the quilt top, took it to a local shop to pin-baste on a large table, and machine stitched across the 62-inch length in a “matchstick style,” 1/2 inch apart. I bound in the same colour as the backing and made a wee label for the back in a contrasting dark. I named this finished version of the Clava Quilt “Second Orbit” because of the kind of loving embrace these friends have given and because of the warm embrace we wanted to give them in return. [Is it also giving a little CBC? What? A trusted news source? In this day and age? Mais bien sur!]
Visuals
Details
QUILT PATTERN
Miss Make Clava Quilt, purchased from the designer
FINISHED SIZE
Large throw, “Cuddle Quilt,” 72×62
FABRICATION
Background:
Kona Charcoal
Circles and Slivers:
Kona Garnet, Kona Cayenne, Kona Creamsicle, Kona Daffodil, Kona Butter, Kona Butterscotch, Kona Marmalade, Tilda Rust, Kona Paprika
Backing and Binding:
Kona Paprika
All Kona colours from The Workroom
All Tilda Solids from Country Clothesline
Batting:
Quilter’s Dream Bamboo, The Workroom
Piecing Thread:
Aurifil 2630, Dark Pewter, 50 weight, Fabric Spark
Quilting Thread:
Aurifil 2145, Yellow Orange, Country Clothesline
Basting Table:
3 Hour Rental, Country Clothesline
Quilting Gloves:
Machinger’s Quilting Gloves, Fabric Spark
Machine Information:
Bernina 475qe [with 1/4 inch quilting foot], The Workroom
Bernina, New Style Walking Foot with 3 Soles
Other Equipment:
Cutting Mats, Scissors, Rotary Cutter, Pins, Quilt Pins, Quilt Basting Safety Pins, Dollar-store Plastic Placemats (or Quilt Template Plastic), Chalk, Hera Marker, Tracing Paper (to try stitching designs), Graph Paper (to sketch finished quilt with modifications), Pencil, Coloured Pencils
METHOD AND MODIFICATIONS
- Sewing two rows of the moon/sun pattern instead of the 3 recommended for the 57×57 throw in the pattern
- Creating templates for the main pattern pieces by cutting out second-hand dollar-store plastic placemats
- Inserting an additional pair of partial moon/sun slivers of approximately 5 inches in length in each of my two rows.
- Adding narrow strips of the grey background fabric at the ends of these pieced rows to reach the desired 72 inch length
- Piecing long rectangles down the middle and sides of the quilt, approximately 8 inches wide and 72 long to achive the 72×62 size
- Stitching “matchstick” style across the 62 inch width of the quilt, approximately 1/2 inch apart
- Using a 50 weight thread for the topstitching and binding, as I I didn’t want the top-stitched lines to be prominent. One spool of this weight filled 4 Bernina big bobbins and covered the entire quilt top and binding .
- Adding a machine embroidered label on the reverse, signed by the maker and entitled “Second Orbit”
Please note, this is not a sponsored post. This project was a work of love and gratitude.
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