Curvaceous Cabins - Bendable Quilts

A few years ago I attended a Peggy Barkleys workshop, Curvaceous Cabins. It was based on her book, Bendable Quilts. Workshop allow you to learn new techniques while chatting and laughing with friends. Certainly that's a win/win situation. This one was more -- I came home with a fail-proof technique to use up those leftover 1/4 yards and less hunks.

First step was to pick out a light and dark color pallet. The blocks began as typical log cabins, but were trimmed asymetrically after each round. Sounds a bit absurd but results in a sliced block with no overlapping seams. I laid my cutting guide over a block so you could see how some strips are 1" and others are 1 1/2".



I ended up with six dark blocks and six light ones. Now for the fun! Stack a dark block on a light one and free hand cut from diagonally from corner to corner. I tried to miss the center blocks to reduce bulk when I sewed the pieces back together. Now I have 12 blocks to arrange into a lap quilt. We put together 4 layouts and invite you to help me decide which to use (or suggest one of your own).

Gram's Pinwheel Quilt

Gram never was particularly tall and as she got older, she became even shorter. Most quilts were too long and bunglesome for comfort. Her eyesight was also going so I put together a bright, pinwheel pattern, lap quilt so it would be easier to pull up or kick off.

I tied it for extra texture.

Here it is at the design stage, laid out on the floor. If you look closely you'll notice my dyslexia. Some of the blocks spiral clockwise and others counter clockwise.

When Gram passed away, the quilt came to one of the younger girls. Here's how it looks today after many more years of love.