Let me introduce you to the next TBS pattern, the Crystal Creek Quilt!
This is an intermediate quilt pattern that utilizes flying geese and half rectangle triangles. A great opportunity to level up your quilting and expand your skills!
Featuring an oversized 18” block, this pattern includes 5 sizes ranging from Baby, all the way up to Bed size. Plus, fabric requirements for a bonus two-colour variation because who doesn’t love options!?
You can find the PDF pattern here and the paper pattern here!
Named after a small meandering waterway in southern Manitoba, the area around Crystal Creek is known for camping, berry farms and lush treed valleys. The region is also home to Rock Lake where my husband’s family gathered for many years of winter gatherings and numerous tobogganing injuries!
The pattern features crystal-like geometric blocks with negative space resembling a flowing creek that creates playful wavelike movement throughout.
This pattern includes five sizes ranging from Baby all the way up to Bed size:
- Baby - 36” x 36”
- Small Throw - 54” x 72”
- Large Throw - 72” x 72”
- Twin XL - 72” x 108”
- Bed - 108” x 108”
Here are the Crystal Creek fabric requirements:
Crystal Creek Cover Quilt
I couldn’t help but create the cover quilt using some of my favourite colours. To me they represent memories of sunsets, berry picking and the lush trees found deep in river valleys.
I wanted to play with the palette by pushing the contrast between light and dark to make the design really pop. I also chose rich, saturated colours to give the quilt a vibrant and lively feel. The idea was to mix bold contrasts with intense hues to capture the natural beauty and energy of the manitoban landscape, letting the colours reflect the shifts in light and the vivid glow of golden hour.
I paired these colours with one of my favourite background fabrics, Kona Natural. Not only is it slightly warmer than white because it is unbleached cotton, it has little flecks of natural colour throughout, adding subtle texture and interest.
Here are the Kona Cotton colours I used:
- Natural
- Spruce
- Leaf
- Green Tea
- Caramel
- Cantaloupe
- Sienna
- Plum
- Raisin
- Curry
- Mustard
- Cedar
- Salmon
- Lt Parfait
- Peach
See the quilt top in the wild here.
I chose Fauna in Pine from Winterglow by Ruby Star Society for the backing and Essex Yarn Dyed Classic Wovens in Mustard for the binding.
I sent this quilt to Sylvia of Honeybee Quilt Studio for some extra special quilting! We hummed and hawed about a lot of different panto options but we both agreed that something “orange-peel-esque” was the right choice! In the end, I chose the Twinkle Toes Panto by Karlee Porter Design and I am so pleased.
Inspired by the Canadian Wilderness
I probably shouldn’t choose favourites, but if I did… these colours might just be at the top! If it looks vaguely familiar, that’s because you’ve probably seen the Boreal Forest Quilt. Although similar, I expanded the palette to include some gorgeous new colours.
Inspired by the colours of the Canadian wilderness that shift as you move across the land. In the west, you’ll find deep greens from dense forests and soft greys of misty mornings. Head east, and you’ll see the warm reds of dirt trails cutting through rugged landscapes. Up north, the cool blues and purples of twilight skies dominate, while somewhere in the middle, the golden tones of prairie grasses and sweeping sunset bring a warm glow to the land.
The Kona Cotton colours I chose are:
- Pepper
- Natural
- Spruce
- Old Green
- Ivy
- Plum
- Windsor
- Dresden Blue
- Curry
- Peach
- Green Tea
- Cocoa
- Yarrow
- Salmon
- Sienna
See this quilt come together here.
For the backing, I went with Sprout in Peach from Meadow Star by Alexia Abegg for Ruby Star Society and Kona Plum for the binding.
I finished the big-stitch, hand binding using 12wt Aurifil Thread in Muslin. I also added these adorable labels for a personal touch!
When I hand quilt, I often choose 28wt Aurifil Thread, but I decided to use 12wt this time! Because this quilt is made with solids and the blocks are oversized, I felt like the 12wt thread created better balance. I really wanted the quilting to bring a lot of texture and dimension to this quilt and really SHINE!
One of my goals with the quilting was to have a lot of movement and flow to mimic the design and add to the feeling of a meandering creek. To begin, I used a hera marker to freehand an s-shape curve through the centre of the quilt. I quilted the first line following this marking. From there, I spaced the lines approximately 1.25” apart by using two finger widths. (An easy way to double-check your spacing as you go!)
TBS Greens with pops of Blue & Purple
What is a TBS pattern release without a quilt that features Kona Spruce?! This is without a doubt my most used colour and I’m pretty sure it has made its way into every single pattern, one way or another!
I decided to pair the shades of green with blues and purples because you can’t go wrong with an analogous colour palette! (three colours side by side on the colour wheel)
Here are the Kona Cottons I went with:
- Spruce
- Navy
- Everglade
- Kelly
- Leaf
- Bright Peri
- Violet
- Dresden Blue
- Windsor
- Teal Blue
- Sage
- Pansy
- Cadet
- Seafoam
- Thistle
As I was working on this quilt sample, I realized that I was very matchy-matchy with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and I’m not mad about it! (Notice the gymnastics on screen while sewing)
I chose Miny Starry in Natural by Alexia Abegg for Ruby Star Society for the backing and used Kona Spruce to match the binding to the background colour.
I wanted to try something new for the quilting that would push me outside my comfort zone! I love using smaller quilts as an opportunity to experiment. I see so many people doing organic wavy line quilting and it’s always gorgeous!
Since the colours of the quilt design flow from one block to the next (using a mirrored block), I wanted the quilting to have that same flow. I marked a curvy line vertically across the quilt. Then I just went for it! Easing the quilt around the curves, sometimes following closely, sometimes allowing the spacing to grow. I used 50wt Aurifil thread in Moonshine and I love how organic it feels, plus it added so much scrumptious texture!
Crystal Creek Fabric Bundles
For those of you who are ready to make your own Crystal Creek Quilt, we’ve made things easy for you! There are curated bundles in the shop for all the quilts in this post, plus easy-peasy binding add-ons!
If you make your own Crystal Creek Quilt, I’d love to see it! It makes my day when I can check out your TBS quilts! Make sure to use the hashtags #crystalcreekquilt and #blanketstatementpatterns… and you might even get featured on our social media or in our newsletter!
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!