Left Over Log Cabin Finished

Another UFO bites the dust!! Only a couple more to go! I call this one Left Over Log Cabin because it is made up of the left over 1 1/2" strips I used for my Omigosh Redux quilt. I just kept cutting and ended up with way too many. I'd never made a Log Cabin quilt before, so I thought this would be a good use of the strips. I made may Pink and Grey Zig Zag log cabin at the same time.

I played around with the layout for a while and came up with this one. I like the old school look. This is my second quilt with a wool wadding. I think this will be a great lap quilt. I had it quilted with baptist fan by Kathy at KoolKat Quilting. She did a great job. The only issue, and this has NOTHING to do with the quality of the quilting, is that it is a bit closely quilted and as a result, stiff, for my taste. I wish I could've had it done on a large scale.

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Small Log Cabin Community Quilt

I've been pretty bad at blogging (and sewing) recently. Work has been full on and when I get home I just don't have the strength to sew. I have been doing alot of cutting out with my Sizzix, getting some leaders and enders sorted out. I have some leave coming up and I wanted these ready to go when I do finally get some time infront of the machine.

Over the recent Easter/ANZAC Day long weekends, I did get some sewing done.

 I received these blocks as part of a job lot I bought at our Guild swap/sell day. Not enough for me to do much with. Sew I put on some sashing and a border. I figure this is a workable size for a baby quilt.

 

I will take it to the next 5th Saturday and give it to the Community Quilts to add to the pile to give away as needed.

 

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Repro Log Cabin Progress

On Saturday I decided the jobs I had planned weren't that important, so I stayed home and worked on my Repro Log Cabin quilt. I was able to lay the blocks out ready to be pinned together. I only pinned to keep them in the right order.

Here you can see Miss Cleo assisting with the layout.

I got this far and then was totally exhausted, so I layed down for a while as I had to go out in the evening. I figured best to stop and wait until I had a clear head. Sleepy head equals quilty mistakes!!

I'm glad I did. As I was waiting to go out, I checked my Log Cabin board on Pinterest and found a layout I liked better. It still has the star in the middle but rather than just continue the radiating lines (which I wasn't super happy with as they don't quite work on a quilt with this few rounds), I found one with a corner treatment I preferred much better. Almost like Geese in Flight. Here are some of the other layouts I considered.

Only problem is, once the rows were sewn together, I was one block short!! (Top right corner). At one stage, I was two blocks short but I found one. So I need to make one more block. It won't be an issue as I have heaps of strips left. It shouldn't take more than half an hour to cut, sew and iron. Anyway, I got all the other rows sewn and the top one is done bar the missing block. So just need to iron the rows and sew together and the top will be done. Not sure whether to do cotton batting or make another one with a wool blanket. Thoughts?

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Blue & White and Yellow Split La Moyne Star Finished

Another finish!! I managed to get this quilted in only a couple of hours. I kept it very simple, stitch in the ditch. It is by far and away the worst workmanship in any quilt I've ever made but it's finished and it's a useable quilt. The quilt finished at 55" x 55".

Cleo was pretty good, she waited until the quilting was finished before she tried to lay on it!! 

As I was working on finishing this off, I was adding rounds to my repro log cabin blocks. By doing it this way, I was able to get another 55 blocks finished without much additional effort. These blocks finish at 7".

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Pink and Grey Log Cabin Finished

My Pink and Grey Log Cabin Quilt is finished! I am SO happy with how this one turned out. I don't normally work well with lots of printed fabrics, but I think I've nailed it with this one.

Here is the finished product. It sits nicely on the top of a double bed, with a teeny bit of overhang.

I wanted to keep the quilting on this one simple, as the colours and fabric are quite busy. So I just did quite wide apart straight line quilting following the zig zab pattern of the quilt. This also worked well with the back of the quilt which I did another pieced back on (I am sooo hooked on these as it means I can use normal width fabric for backs and not spend on the extra wide).

I gave plenty of thought to the binding. I really wanted to do a bright green to mirror the centre square of each block but didn't have the right colour on hand. So I went with the grey dots!!
And here is a final arty shot. I suck at these!!

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Pieced Back for Pink and Grey Log Cabin

I didn't want to buy a backing specifically for my Pink and Grey Log Cabin quilt. And I didn't have enough of any one grey fabric to make one. Added to which, I had have seams on the back. So this equals the need for a pieced back. As I planned to do a zig zag quilting following the lines of the log cabin I wanted to do a pieced backing that would reflect this design, this is what I came up with.

It looks a bit saggy here, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I've now got the quilt basted and the challenge will be to make sure the back and front zig zag line up. I think this would make a great, quick quilt project.

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Progress Report - Omigosh and Log Cabins

I was able to get two tops sewn together this week after work.

Omigosh Redux is top is done. I love how it looks. I will go with simple quilting. Not sure what colour binding to go with though. Might have to consult some quilt shop ladies.

Pink and Grey Log Cabin is also done. I am thinking of putting one more round on two sides as it's a bit smaller than I thought. I will have a think about it over the weekend. I will be doing straight line quilting following the zig zags. I am thinking of a pieced back for this one.

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Pink and Gray Log Cabin and Competition

So I've finished a pile of traditional layout Log Cabin blocks using modern colourings. Now comes the hard bit, what layout do I use? Below is a collage (thanks  PicMonkey!) of some of the more common Log Cabin settings.

As with my Repro Log Cabin blocks, I'm having trouble deciding what layout to use.

Competition 


NOTE: I had the wrong date for this competition - it finishes 18 Feb 2013!!

Anyway, in an effort to make a decision, it's time for a bit of audience participation. I've put some more detailed photo below. The prize is a 20 wedge Dresden Plate template from Matilda's Own. Somehow, I've ended up with a couple spare of these, so I figure better to give them to a new home than just sit in my cupboard. It's brand new, never used.

If you've never used these templates, they are super easy to use. You can complete a plate very quickly and it's all straight sewing, no funky seams.

So, to enter the competition, just post a comment telling me which layout you like best for these blocks. Or, if it's not shown here the name (or a link to a picture) of another setting you think I should try.

If you want a second entry, then start following my blog or let me know if you are already a follower.

I will cover postage costs and it's open to anyone, anywhere in the world. Competition will be drawn Monday 18 February 2013 (Aussie time).

Barnraising

Fields and Furrows

Streaks of Lightening

Log Cabin Star

Straight Setting

Sunshine and Shadow

On a side note, if you are interested in Log Cabin quilts, a publisher is making a free ebook (pdf) on Log Cabin Quilts available. You have to sign up, but the book is really good, a bit of history of the style, diagrams and names of various layouts and some REALLY useful tables of cutting instructions for various sizes and styles of Log Cabin. Definately worth signing up for. They also have five other free ebooks if you sign up for a website account.

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Repro Log Cabin Comp Winner

A little bit late with this one, but it should affect the results. So the winner of the Dresden Plate template is:

Congratulations to: Cait 

who voted for Barnraising (which I called Barnstorming). So, I've emailed Cait, and should have her prize to her by the end of the week.

The Results

• Barnraising - 3
• Fields and Furrows - 1
• Streaks of Lightening - 5
• Star - 9
• Sunshine and Shadow - 1
• Other - 1

Very interesting results, all options got at least one vote. And the votes pretty much align with my top choices (Star, Barnraising and Lightening). I think at this stage I am going to go with the majority and make the Log Cabin Star. I think I will make a few more blocks, to make the barnraising outer section stand out a little more. And I have the feeling that I might have another one or two Log Cabins in me at some stage.

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Repro Log Cab Pattern and Competition

So I've finished a pile (about 36) of traditional Log Cabin blocks. They will be 7" finished. Now comes the hard bit, what layout do I use? Below is a collage (thanks  PicMonkey!) of some of the more common Log Cabin settings.

I don't have a real favourite at the moment. But this block is a real good example of how important getting good definition between your lights and darks. I'm working on a pink and gray log cabin as well, and you get a very different look when the colours don't contrast so strongly.

It's quite small at the moment, so I will probably need to make some more blocks, but they work up very quickly.

Competition 

Anyway, in an effort to make a decision, it's time for a bit of audience participation. I've put some more detailed photo below. The prize is a 20 wedge Dresden Plate template from Matilda's Own. Somehow, I've ended up with a couple spare of these, so I figure better to give them to a new home than just sit in my cupboard. It's brand new, never used.

If you've never used these templates, they are super easy to use. You can complete a plate very quickly and it's all straight sewing, no funky seams.

So, to enter the competition, just post a comment telling me which layout you like best for these blocks. Or, if it's not shown here the name (or a link to a picture) of another setting you think I should try.

If you want a second entry, then start following my blog or let me know if you are already a follower.

I will cover postage costs and it's open to anyone, anywhere in the world. Competition will be drawn Moday 21 Jan 2013 (Aussie time).

NOTE: if you don't have a Blogger account or you are a No-replay blogger, please make sure to leave an email address so I can contact you if you win!!

Barnraising (Not Barnstorming!! duh!)

Fields and Furrows

Streaks of Lightening

Log Cabin Star

Sunshine and Shadow

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Reconsidering The Log Cabin Block

I have to admit, I've always been a bit biased against the poor old Log Cabin block.  I don't know why. I've always been drawn to the more traditional designs of patchwork and quilting. So I'm not sure where the bias came from.

So now I find myself in the postion of making two Log Cabin quilts. Well, the blocks for them anyway.

These are the strips for the very traditional version of the blog. The strips are left over from my Ohmygosh Redux quilt. They are 1 1/2 inches wide with varing lengths. I went with the traditional Turkey Red for the centre square. I should end up with about 36 squares.

The second one is going to be a more modern interpretation. I've been slowly sucked in by all the lovely greys that are now so popular. Normally I'm not into grey, but there are so many nice, warm greys at the moment. So I ordered up quite a few and had to come up with something.

I have a pretty good collection of pinks and that with grey is a pretty traditional combo. Below, on the left of the cutting board is the various strips cut out. The long strips on the right are the leftover pinks. I might have gotten a bit carried away with the cutting out! I didn't really calcuate the requirements, just kept cutting.

Below are the left over grey, after I've cut the required strips. Again, a bit over excited with the cutting. But, I have another quilt planned for the left over grey involving some nice orange fabrics.

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