Renata - Improv Log Cabin Variation Writ Large

Renata

Approximately 98” x 98”

In public, she is a force of energy and joy. Alone, she is introspective and prefers to cuddle up with her puppies and a bowl of pasta. In public, people want to hear from her and they listen. Alone, she would rather keep her mouth shut and hear what others have to say. In public, she gives. Alone, she regroups.

This quilt started as a sample on how to use an ugly or simply hard to use fabric. In my case, it was this vintage fabric with cocktail scenes. So very Mid Century Modern, which is why I was gifted it. But it sat for years because I had no idea what to do with it.

Now I have this gorgeous, giant quilt to gift a friend. Improv log cabins to the rescue! Well, three sided logs.

To finish her I rented time on a long arm. I wasn’t planning any fancy stitching but the long arm is a lot more efficient than basting and wrangling this large of a quilt through my domestic machine. Wavy lines to evoke some water inspiration (see it in the fabric?). And nothing to take away from all the gorgeous fabrics I used.

I’m on a finishing kick here, and this was the first one in that. I quilted 4 that rental and another 3 a few weeks later. Which means I have been binding a lot! Having used all my fabrics in this palette, and then some, I did have to shop for some binding. This green was perfect. Nothing fancy on the back, just a serene pale grey in case the recipient needs a change.

Vintage Inspired Log Cabin Variations

Phew! That was a lot of sewing.

When I started playing around with the blocks I did not anticipate a quilt at all. It was just play. Standard, for me, of course. It was a challenge to use a fabric that I had laying around with no clear idea how to use it. In all honesty, it was a sample for a class I was teaching on using ugly fabric. It’s not actually ugly, but I was stuck on how to use it.

So, together with my students, we played around with some ideas. In the end, I settled on a three sided log cabin, made with fabrics picked to match. I stuck to lights and low volumes in order to keep with the breezy feeling of the inspiration fabric. I made a few blocks, smiled, then packed them away. A few years later I pulled them out and made a few more. Then, earlier this year I noticed that a quilt I gifted a friend is getting worn out - it is very well loved. I started a replacement, nearly finished the top, then realized it was completely the wrong quilt. But these blocks? Perfect!

Knowing she uses her quilt on her king bed I went for big ambitions. We know I love a big quilt! But it meant a lot more blocks. And more fabric. Then judicious use of the new fabric with the original fabric so it didn’t look like two different quilts coming together.

It is all improv, so trimming is where I found some order. Each column is unique in width, made up of blocks cut to maximize their use/minimize trimmings. Of course, each column wanted to be a different length so some additions were made here, some subtractions there. It all worked in the end.

Off to quilting so I can get her a fresh quilt before the weather changes.

Quinn - An Improv and Quilt As You Go Experiment

Quinn

72” x 72”

She’s quiet on the outside but inside she is full of energy and desire. You wouldn’t know it, but she is a lover of dance and travel and experimentation. She only needs a fellow warm heart to open her up, then all the colour and joy pour out.

You’ve heard me say before that I am easily swayed by suggestion. I was teaching my Braided Rug class and someone asked about a square block. My samples were all rectangles at the time. So we made a square together. I liked it so much I made more and more of them. Actually, I made 36 of them. And now, if I teach the class again I will need another sample!

The bin of scrap strips was not emptied, but this did put a dent in it. And it forced me to sort those fabrics! I did have to supplement with some fresh strips cut from the stash to get enough in a few colours. Remember, though, fabric is fabric.

Around the time I finished most of the blocks - I sewed each colour into a 4 patch as I completed each set - I cleaned up my batting scraps. The pile was unruly and large. That spurred a decision to assemble this in a Quilt As You Go style. It used up most of what was left of my old design wall (it was wrapped in quilt batting) and a few other pieces. Brilliant!

I want to do a proper comparison of the techniques, but here are my initial thoughts.

1. It uses up more material on the quilt back. But only because my blocks were 24” square, which means more than a half of a width of fabric with an odd cut left over. That’s why I don’t have all the same fabric on the back, I didn’t have enough.

2. It is very handy to quilt in smaller sections. I could change the thread colour to match and there is no wrangling of a large quilt.

3. Assembly is both easy and fiddly. Just a straight seam joining the front seams, but trimming and hand sewing to finish the back.

4. I don’t think it necessarily saves time, because of the hand stitching required, but not a bad technique overall.

This is not the first time I’ve done Quilt As You Go, but the previous time I used strips as joining, an entirely different technique. For this quilt I followed the instructions laid out my Judy Gauthier in her book, Quilt As You Go For Scrap Lovers.

To finish the quilt I found a brilliant Tula Pink stripe. Not exactly a rainbow, but it had all the same colours as my colourful quilt. Originally, I thought I might match the binding to each block, but this was too perfect. One last bit of hand stitching to finish the quilt.

Pat - Playing with Scraps and Slabs

Pat

44” x 44” (ish)

Great grandmother, grandma, mother, wife. From British stock to Canadian stalwart.

This quilt was very recently gifted for an upcoming baby in the family. 28 years ago I made my first ever quilt when I found out my (future) sister in law was expected her first child. That boy is now married and they are expecting their first child. This quilt is a gift for that upcoming baby. Isn’t that a full circle moment?!

As a quilt teacher who loves her scraps, one of my most often made samples are slabs. In the last year I had made a handful of them during classes and they were just hanging out. After one event this spring I decided to add to the pile with some alternate values in the same colours. In the end, I made the 12 slabs you see on the left. However, I felt like these blocks - if they were going to be a quilt top - needed something a bit more. Not a right or wrong situation, but a “why not” kind of thing.

It’s been a while since I made precise curves. I’m usually all about the improv, but precision felt right for these particular curves. Yes, I had to look up my own instructions because it’s been that long. Good thing I have them in this book!

Piecing out of the way, I turned to quilting. After an afternoon flipping through both free motion and straight-line quilting books, I returned to a doodle I’ve done a few times. I don’t even have a good name for it, maybe a connected triangle meander? See? Not a good name. You can see it better below.

The real stars here, let’s be honest, are the corners. Look at those curves. So freakin’ adorable!! You do have to make a bias binding to do this well. Not hard, but definitely uses more fabric. I made the entire quilt from scraps and stash - including the backing and the batting - but had to go buy fabric for the binding. I don’t generally buy big pieces of fabric so I did not have enough of anything in an appropriate colour. Absolutely worth it, though. The binding went so smoothly around the corners.

(Yes, I may add rounded to corners to every single quilt from now on. The bias binding will be worth it.)

Now the quilt lives with my nephew and his wife as they await the baby this fall. I am grateful to them for indulging my creativity and being able to share my love.