Grandmother's Cabin

I finally finished my quilt last week, Grandmother's Cabin, and thought I would share some photos with you, since I know I am long overdue for an update.  Some of these pictures are before I put the binding on, some are with a different camera so colors may vary, but you get the idea. 

I had hoped I'd finish it long before now, but a few of life's interruptions during the month of September pushed my finish date up a bit further than I originally planned.  However, I was still able to meet a deadline I had set for entering it into several shows coming up, so on that note, I am quite pleased it is done and ready to send off into the quilt show world.

"Grandmother's Cabin"

I made the top back in 2012 and it has been sitting in a closet waiting to be quilted up until a couple of months ago.  I knew I wanted a lot of quilting on it, but really wasn't certain as to how elaborate I wanted it to be.

The log cabin blocks were foundation-pieced on paper.  The hexagon flowers were made using the English paper-piecing method.  The Dresden plates and the hexagon flower vine are all hand-appliqued.  This is only the second quilt I have ever hand-appliqued.

Since the quilt is so busy visually with so many pieces and such a wide variety of different fabrics, I decided to keep the quilting clean and simple with lots of grid quilting and straight lines.  Although though there is still a ton of quilting, it tends to play a more supportive "background" role instead of obliterating the details of the quilt itself.   This is also the first time I have used a wool batting, which is Hobb's Tuscany Wool.  The top thread is Wonderfil Invisafil 100 weight and the bobbin thread is Wonderfil DecoBob 80 weight.  The quilt finishes at 91 inches square, the log cabin blocks are 9 inches and the border is approximately 9 1/2 inches wide.

 

I did mark every single line with a fine-tipped water-soluble blue pen.  The grid lines are a half-inch apart and all of the lines were quilted with free-motion quilting.  The only thing I used the walking foot on is the narrow cable in the border.  The log cabin blocks are free-motion quilted in the ditch, spiraling out from the center by quilting in the seam line of each strip.



My inspiration for this quilt came from my infatuation with traditional quilts from the 1930s.  After I finished the log cabin blocks and was deciding on a border, I got the idea to combine a couple of classic quilt motifs that are easily recognizable into a single quilt to pay tribute to the 30s era as well as to our grandmothers that made them.  Since I also love scrap quilts as well as collecting fabrics that are reminiscent of the Depression Era, I challenged myself to use as many fabrics in the quilt as possible.  I kept the overall values on the lighter side in order to evoke a sense of the pastel, candy colors associated with that time period.  This is an original design and there is no pattern available.



And finally I would like to send out a big thank you to all of you who have been e-mailing me as to my whereabouts, your various questions, and the lovely comments I receive on my tutorials.  I am so flattered and appreciative of all the e-mails, as well as being overwhelmed at the interest in my work.  You never really know how many people you reach when you blog, but I will say that the response from all of you is very gratifying and I wish there was a way I could meet you all in person to say thanks from the bottom of my heart!  Until next time. . . Happy Quilting!

Brotherly Love

Thought I'd show you what I've been working on now that the weekend is over.  I made this quilt for my brother's birthday, which is next week, and gave it to him yesterday while we celebrated Mother's Day.  He was surprised, which is how I had hoped it would play out, since I have been really good about refraining from posting pictures anywhere he would have seen them until after the fact.

I challenged myself to use what I already had on hand, even the backing and batting, and the only thing I had to go out and purchase was thread.  Once again, it is such a great feeling to use up fabric that I've had forever!  Even the blue and white squares are actually leftover parts from a quilt I made several years ago.

I quilted it with a walking foot, doing in-the-ditch and crosshatch lines through the center part of the quilt. . .

and straight diagonal lines in the setting triangles around the outer edge.  In the outer border I did a cable, of course!  I can't resist cables when I have the opportunity to add them.

And I didn't even bother trying to figure out the spacing in order for the cable to wrap around the corner, I just let each side dead end into the seam line or off the edge of the quilt.  I think it looks fine doing it this way.  So many antique quilts were quilted just like this.

Here's a peek at the label I machine embroidered for the back of the quilt.

And for those of you that are curious, I used Quilter's Dream Request 100% cotton batting.  The threads I quilted with were Wonderfil Invisafil 100 wt. 100% polyester for the in-the-ditch quilting, Wonderfil DecoBob 80wt. 100% polyester for the straight line quilting, and Mettler Metrosene 3-ply/100wt. 100% polyester for the cable quilting and in the bobbin.  I've just started using Metrosene and so far am really happy with the way it works in my machine, a bit less finicky than Invisafil, and the final result is very similar with its matte finish and the way it sinks into the fabric.

And here is my brother, Steve, and me, with his quilt, Oswego Memory.  I am so glad I have a brother who appreciates quilts and all the other things I've made him over the years!  Happy Birthday Bro!

Happy Quilting!