Meet Cascades - A Modern Mountain Quilt Pattern

I am thrilled to introduce my newest quilt pattern, Cascades! 

Cascades is a modern mountain quilt pattern that is all about the adventure – because you get to choose your own adventure with this quilt pattern! The pattern includes two sizes and you can choose between two options for the mountains (transparent or solid) and two options for the sky (sun/moon or stars). All of this to say, that you can really customize this to your heart's content!

Scroll on down to learn more about how this pattern came to be and see more picture of the cover quilt!

A Modern Mountain Quilt Pattern

If this quilt pattern looks a teeny tiny familiar, you're not wrong. Cascades is a new take on an old pattern of mine that I had to retire due to reasons beyond my control. Long story short, it was a licensed pattern and the licensed was cut short.

But the love for the design, both due to its inspiration and to its modern look didn't abate. I got emails and messages all of the time asking if the pattern would come back in one way or another. Truth is, I had to sit with it for a while because it hurt to have to remove the pattern and I also just didn't have the time to work on a re-release. 

Once I finally felt ready to tackle this re-release, I had to think about how to change it to make it new, but keep its essence. After playing with the design on Illustrator for quite a while, I landed on this design with "transparent" mountains. This look reminded me of driving west on I-5 and coming up on the Cascades Mountains, seeing them in the fog and how their color looked lighter the higher the mountains went. 

That image stuck so much with me that I knew I had to make it happen and I knew I had the new name for the pattern – Cascades.

Choosing Fabrics

The almost transparent look of the mountains did present a challenge when it came time to pick fabrics – specially since I don't usually work greens! So I grabbed my fabric swatches and played around with them on my desk until I landed on the perfect set of the greens. 

I started by picking the darkest green, which is only used on two 60º triangles, and then picking my lightest green. From there, I auditioned quite a few "middle" greens, but landed on the perfect two after a few minutes. 

For the background, I knew I'd be going with my go-to: white. And I knew for this version, I'd be doing the sun/moon sky option. Since I knew I was using white for my background, I opted for my favorite yellow – honey – so it looks like the sun high above the mountains. 

Sewing The Mountains + Sun

The wonderful thing about this pattern is that it comes together quick! The mountains are made up with 60º triangles, and after you cut them, you just sew them into rows. It can be a bit of a challenge to keep them all in the right order but I managed to complete the entire mountain section without using my seam ripper once – I call that a huge win! 

The sun thankfully came together just as quickly – just four quick curved pieces and bam, done! 

After sewing the whole quilt top together, I took a quick picture and I honestly loved the end result so much! I almost wish I had included this mountain design in the original pattern, but maybe it's all for the better since it's such a new, refreshing look!

Finishing Details

I knew from the get-go that I could be sending this quilt off to a long armer, so I reached out to Ashley of The Hen House Quilting and she was able to squeeze me into her schedule. And I am so glad! It felt only right to work with a Washington-based long armer on a quilt inspired by the Cascades Mountains!

Unfortunately for Ashley, I honestly had no idea what pantograph design I wanted for this quilt. She's incredible to work with, however, and offered me quite a few ideas. We ended up going with her very first suggestion, Breeze, for an organic touch. I love how much movement the quilting adds to finished design! 

For the backing, I picked Riley Blake's Shades in Christmas Green. It's the perfect not-quite-solid for the backing! For the binding, I went with one of the greens in the mountains for a soft frame that doesn't take away from the overall design. 

I honestly couldn't be happier with this redesign and rerelease for this well-loved pattern! 

Quilt Information

Quilt Pattern: Cascades by Cotton and Joy
Fabric: Confetti Cottons Solids in Pear, Pesto, Lily Pad, Timberline, Golden, and White.
Binding: Confetti Cottons Solids in Pesto
Backing: Shades in Christmas Green
Pieced on my Janome M8
Quilted by Ashley of The Hen House Quilting
Panto: Breeze