Get To Know: The Cross Lake Quilt

Cross Lake Pattern and Cover Quilt Fabrics

Designing the Cross Lake Pattern was a bit of a different process for me! It all started with the idea of making a pattern with a star design, and it just kind of came to me. I created the design quickly, and fell in love with it just as fast! 

Sometimes when you know, you know. 

Check out the Cross Lake PDF and Paper Pattern here.

I wish I could say there was a deep and special meaning behind the name “Cross Lake”. But if I’m being perfectly honest, it’s just because the pattern looks like a cross!

Cross Lake is a large lake in Manitoba on the Nelson River, north of Lake Winnipeg. For those of you who may be new to my patterns, you should know that naming them has become one of my favourite parts of the design process. I love camping and spending time outdoors, so I choose pattern names based on parks or towns in Manitoba! 

I made my first Cross Lake Quilt with four colours using Essex Linen from Studio 39

For the backing fabric, I used Sprinkles from the Special Delivery collection by Lemonni for Figo!

Cross Lake Quilt Essex Linen Fabric Stack
Cross Lake Quilt Essex Linen Close Up With Thread
Holding Up Essex Linen Cross Lake Quilt Outdoors
Holding Up Essex Linen Cross Lake Quilt Outdoors 2
Essex Linen Cross Lake Quilt Hanging On Wall With Finley
Essex Linen Cross Lake Quilt Hanging On Wall With Finley 2

I released the pattern in March 2019 with two different options - one with four colours shown above and one with six colours. I knew I wanted to make the six colour option next, so I made a baby-size for the cover quilt using different shades of blue and grey! 

Blue Grey Cross Lake Quilt Hanging On Wall

The Kona Cotton colours I used were: 

Blue Grey Cross Lake Quilt Fabric Stack

I am so in love with the backing fabric, which is Sweet Dreams from Sleep Tight Animals (in grey) from Cotton & Steel. So cute, right? 

Blue Grey Cross Lake Quilt Close Up and Backing

When creating my next version of the Cross Lake Quilt, I made a conscious decision to go out of my comfort zone. I tend to stick to mostly natural or more muted colours with my quilts (and my home design), but I wanted to tread lightly into… neons. Yup, you read that right! 

I walked into KTR, one of my local fabric shops, and grabbed the brightest fat quarters that I could find in stock. It was the perfect way to baby step into brighter colours. However, not TOO far out of my comfort zone since I would call these colours “muted neons”! 

Now, I am a self-proclaimed lover of both naturals and neon - and not really much else in between!

Neon Cross Lake Quilt Fabric Stack and Juki Machine

I created a neon wall hanging using the Kona Cotton fat quarters in these amazing shades: 

Neon Cross Lake Quilt

I felt like this one DEFINITELY needed a background fabric with a fun 80s feel, so I chose Sprinkles from the Special Delivery collection by Lemonni for Figo again!

Neon Cross Lake Quilt Closeup

Next, I hand quilted another baby-sized quilt with a subdued colour palette - back to my comfort zone!  I pulled all of these fabrics from my stash:

I used Lucky Charms Fingers Crossed from Figo for the backing!

Hand Quilting Pink Cross Lake Quilt
Pink Cross Lake Quilt Close Up
Holding Up Pink Cross Lake Quilt In Snow 2
Holding Up Pink Cross Lake Quilt In Snow

For my best friend’s birthday that year, I made a navy and peach version of the Cross Lake Quilt. She is a huge fan of Rifle Paper, so I knew I had to use Garden Party from the Wildwood Collection (in navy) for the backing. 

For the Kona Cotton, I used: 

I used a reclaimed cotton chambray for the lighter blue, but the closest fabric I would recommend is Dresden Blue Kona Cotton.

Rifle Paper Cross Lake Quilt On Grass
Rifle Paper Cross Lake Quilt On Grass Closeup
Rifle Paper Cross Lake Quilt On Grass With Bare Feet

The pattern testers I was able to work with for the Cross Lake Quilt were, once again, awesome! Check out their versions of the Cross Lake Quilt below: 

Cross Lake Pattern Tester wren.collective
Cross Lake Pattern Tester wren.collective 2

From Rachel @wren.collective

Cross Lake Pattern Tester penelopehandmade 2
Cross Lake Pattern Tester penelopehandmade

From Jennifer @penelopehandmade

Cross Lake Pattern Tester sarai_hobbies
Cross Lake Pattern Tester sarai_hobbies 2

From Sarai @sarai_hobbies

Cross Lake Pattern Tester cottonandjoy
Cross Lake Pattern Tester cottonandjoy 2

From Fran @cottonandjoy

Cross Lake Pattern Tester xoxsew
Cross Lake Pattern Tester xoxsew 2

From Donna @xoxsew

Cross Lake Pattern Tester kelceyquilts 2
Cross Lake Pattern Tester kelceyquilts

From Kelcey @kelceyquilts 

Cross Lake Pattern Tester meeshquilts
Cross Lake Pattern Tester meeshquilts 2

From Meesh @meeshquilts 

To see more amazing versions of the Cross Lake Quilt, search through the hashtags #crosslakequilt and #blanketstatementpatterns on Instagram!

Have questions about this pattern or any other ones in the shop? Please reach out to hello@theblanketstatement.ca and we’ll help you out! 

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