Log Cabin

I attended a great workshop back n the 80's conducted by Barbara Macey. Many new approaches were completed in the workshop using the various techniques. The one I most favoured was where you fold the strips in half ( iron them) and sew down the middle and fold back and iron in place. These strips were sewn on a pre drawn grid on calico fabric (pre washed and shrunk). It made a solid foundation for the quilt blocks which were then sewn meticulously together in the true Barbara Macey style.

What impressed me most was the fact that the sewing of each block did not let you take the needle out and you sewed, twisted and turned until the block was complete!

What a time saver, however ALL strips needed to be pre measured and cut to length and placed in the respective order.

The best part was if you made a mistake you discovered a new layout or design you may not have thought f in the first place!

This is the best part of making quilts. The unknown and the surprises that happen along the way!

detail:

I used red and green 100% head cloth/cotton and red polyester to get 2 different shades in the design. I don't think this photo does the full justice of the colour combination.

Detail of same:

Note the different fabric textures used.

This is a scanned copy of a print which is the only record I have of this log cabin wall hanging in the same series. It was sold to someone in Sydney and I only discovered this photo recentyl. It is so important to photograph all your work. With digital cameras today this makes the process so much easier.

This is a detail of the above.

In the design process I played around with strips of colour and placed them together on a piece of black fabric (background) and stood back to view the order. After I was satisfied with the order I stitched them down roughly, pinned the template to the pin board and began to cut and sew to my hearts content. Here is the sample.

Another quilt I used a piece of fabric I was going to make a skirt from. I decided to use all the skirt fabric together with black headcloth until it was all gone. This determined the number of blocks and the way in which I placed the blocks together. Quite plain really but it hangs proudly at the entrance to my home and many peole have asked how this quilt was made and why so much black fabric. Each if us have our own appreciation of art and design so I dont really answer - just smile.