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).

Cheese and Crackers, Anyone?

I've had a soft spot for 30's fabrics since I was a kid. They populated my Gram's fabric stash. Only difference between those and the ones you find in the stores now -- hers were the originals.

Fast forward a couple decades and to a quilt guild rummage sale. I found a "Cheese and Crackers" pattern featuring 30s fabrics. I kept my eyes open and collected enough for a quilt. Every now and then I would open the box, cut a few strips, sew a few seams. Last month I decided that I had enough for a nice sized quilt. Actually I had enough for a nice sized quilt and a twin.

The pattern has a single primary block separated by white spaces. In one row, it sets horizontally; the next it's aligned vertically.

Using the 30s fabric and a unbleached background resulted in a relaxing quilt. I imagine you could take another style of fabrics and a dynamic background and the quilt would jump up and down, attracting attention.

(I'll be updating with finished pictures of both the queen and the twin sized versions.)

Quick and Easy Baby Quilt

Are you looking for an easy, almost fail proof quilt you can make up in an afternoon? I stumbled onto one in the back room of a small town quilt shop. During the East Tennessee shop hop, I was introduced to an intriguing cutting guide. It made pinwheel patterns from 9 patches. Although it wastes a bit of fabric, it significantly cuts down on matching seams. The end product looks more complicated than the actual process.



I chose a variety pack of dotted batiks, using a leftover muted background. An abstract butterfly pattern hooks the blocks together. It's machine quilted on my sewing machine. Overall, it's a quick and easy baby quilt.

Five Generation Quilt

This is the oldest of The S’s half finished projects.  About 100 years ago my great grandmother’s mother aunts and maybe grandmother got together to make a multi-generational quilt to give to their daughters.  The plan was to put the quilt together and use it and remember the family. My grandmother pieced hers with homespun linen and saved some of the blocks for her daughter. The quilt my grandmother made her squares are the ones with the thirties fabrics. 

 

These are actually quite cool to have around however maybe it’s time to finish the quilt? Now here is my dilemma ... what to do? Make more blocks as my great grandmother intended? Just sew what we have together? Use new fabric or old fabric? 

Twisted Nine Patch Baby Quilt

I had a bunch of leftover bright squares from another project. They were already cut so what could I do but use them. You understand, right? I know my goal is to complete all our backlogged projects, but a quilter can barely stand seeing a stack of coordinated blocks and not do something with them. Besides, I had enough absolutely adorable lime and orange giraffe print for a back. It was begging for a front...

My First Quilt

This is the story of my first quilt project. Yes, the first quilt I ever finished.

I started it in high school as a home ec project(incidentently it got a bad grade because I never finished the quilt). I started out planning a baby quilt because it would be faster. Then I thought, "Bigger is better." The finished size ended up a small queen but it took a lot longer than the couple months in home ec.

It spent months on my Grams T's dinning room floor. The great uncles all offered color advice during the long process of cutting squares. Much to the surprise of everyone I finished the quilt in just five short years (well maybe six and with tons of help from the other S's).

Do you remember your first quilt?  Small? Big? Had real issues piecing it? Happy memories of the first quilt or did you just want to toss it in the trash?

I ended up loving it. And promised never to do a pattern with triangles again. Ten years later, it still graces my bed in all its aging beauty.




One of the porpoise blocks


A fishy border

Bunnies for Baby

A grand baby quilt! In my mind, I've made this quilt a hundred times or more, but now none of the patterns seem quite right. What would do for an October baby? A wee baby boy?

I've got it! Bunnies! Not in baskets, but hopping along, peeking up over the border or standing up staring. Our pattern began with Easter bunnies in "Our Best Seasonal Quilts by Fons and Porter. Then we made a few changes. They'd be made of felted wool with whiskers and tails to pull. We pieced tiny split, modified 9-patches in pastels and beige between the bunnies. How did that work out? Judge for yourself. Here it is fresh off the long arm. If you look closely you'll see that R quilted machined pow's behind the bunnies and added carrots in the borders and in a few beige squares. I believe a butterfly and buzzy bee might be flying around there somewhere as well.

We brought it home and added a border. You can also see the back, an old-fashioned bunny print on navy. A pair of booties sneaked in the photo. I don't know how that happened. ;)

Whiskers and tails joined the quilt at long last. The whiskers are a bamboo, silk yarn; the tails snipped wool circles.



Such happy bunnies. Great job on the faces, S!