Wonky Log Cabin Completed

Yay.

This one has been a mission.

I see I started it last September and then put it aside until the Christmas/Jan hols when I finished all the blocks. I have mucked around with the quilting of it and for a long time I was just sick of it. However, the closer I got to finishing it the more I wanted to get it finished. So finally, last week I got it done. The weather has been rubbish for photographing it outside. And I had no where to photograph it until I rigged up some black orchard string between the cabbage trees and the magnolia.

I think it's great looking summer quilt. Summer because it's very fresh looking.

It's the biggest quilt I have ever made and it's taken over 200 metres of thread to hand quilt it. It measures about 2.06m x 2.06m or about 80" x 80".

In the process of making this one I learnt:

• to keep a pin in the centre of each block facing north
• not to use masking tape to mark a square on my cutting board because the masking tape won't come off the cutting board once it's been cut into 1000 pieces
• that buying a 14.5" square piece of perspex on Trade Me is cheaper than buying a quilter's ruler
• that I had favourite fabric combinations that I had to force myself to break so the blocks didn't end up the same
• that white jelly rolls make sashing much easer and there's a gap in the local quilt market for them
• that there is maybe an optimum width for binding before mitred corners don't look so flash.

As an aside, if you are interested in Modern Quilts, over at the Auckland Modern Quilt Guild Jacqui, Megan and I have started a series of posts examining Modern Quilting. I get a bit tired of the 'no rules' description. Anyway, we are looking in the origins, fabrics, colours, inspiration and techniques of MQ over the next four Sundays.

Binding Ready

I decided to go with the aqua fabric for the binding my Aunt's Wonky Log Cabin. I have cut the binding four inches wide so I can experiment with a wider than usual border. I think (hope!) I have just enough length by my dodgy measuring skills.

I hope to get the binding on over Queen's Birthday Weekend and the quilting finished this week.

More Square Spirals

I am making progress on the Wonky Log Cabin. I have finished 16 blocks and have a mere nine to go. Last weekend I thought I would be binding it this weekend, but sometimes other stuff (usually work) gets in the way of how I can spend my time. However, another couple of weeks and it should be done. I do like it!

Perseverance and Resilience - A Quilt Series

It's been a very, very busy three days. It's been a year since our last 3 day ep (blame the Rugby World Cup for that) and I had forgotten how full on they are. Great, but super-full on. Kids don't leave at breaks - they want to keep working. That doesn't happen ever during regular classes!

Anyway, by the end of the three days 8 quilts are finished and 6 are nearly finished. Most of the children hadn't done any sewing since Intermediate School four or five years ago. They found handsewing the binding on the most challenging part and it took them half a day to do it. Huge perseverance and resilience.

If you want to see more pix or read what some of the children wrote, here's the blog.

Made from the Heart

It's 3 Day Episode time at school where we 'suspend the timetable' for three days and kids opt into one of about 45 different three day programmes. I have a group of 13 lovely Yr 10 and 11 children, including three boys, and we are making baby quilts for Middlemore Hospital.

We achieved more in day one than all of last term during i-extend (module) time. Having big chunks of uninterrupted time makes a huge difference.

By the end of today (day two) we got one finished quilt. This one below is now finished.

The girls who have finished or very nearly finished took their quilts home this afternoon to show their Nanas and Mums. Cute!

One of the Design Principles in our 3 Day Eps is the Independent Learning Qualities. I have seen truckloads of perseverance and resilience (the unpicker is known as the 'untangler') and awesome collaboration.

The Wonky Log Cabin

I can't start quilting another quilt until this one is done ... or this one will never get done. This weekend I have managed to get three blocks quilted while catching up on My Sky-ed episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles. I must have this quilt finished to take down to Hawkes Bay in the next holidays.

I imagine it's going to be a full on week ahead - a Danish University Researcher at school Monday and Tuesday here to study 'positive learning relationships' so she is with me and then tracking one of my classes, the ERO in school for three or four days starting Monday, and 3 Day Learning Eps Wednesday to Friday. 



Wonky Log Cabin Update

Fortunately there were some fuit bins stacked up by the house to which I drawing pinned(!) the quilt. (I did have to get Mum on the forklift to straighten up the bins for me. While I am a skilled tractor driver, the forklifts were acquired well after I left home so I am not a forklift driver.) I have been around each block once, and a few twice. I decided to cut all the excess batting off to tidy it up and to lessen its weight in my suitcase for my flight back to Auckland.

9 Blocks Done ... Kind of

So, I have decided to go around each block with a single spiral first. At least I can get rid of all the safety pins. I have managed 9/25 so far. I am liking the mis-match of lines where the four corners meet.

More Wonky Quilting Lines

I have a cold. I have a painful cough and I sound like a wheezy old man. I think the long and busy days of the last 5 weeks have caught up with me.

I persevered Wednesday and Thursday at school, but took Friday off. I spent Friday morning doing computer-based school work, and then retreated under my sick blanket onto the couch to listen to National Radio. I do love Radio NZ in the daytime.

I haven't moved far. I have watched/listened to numerous My Sky-ed episodes of 'Shameless' and have been quilting the Wonky Log Cabin blocks.

I am sure I will be good enough for school Monday.

Quilting Progress

Possibly a little over-exaggerating calling it progress, but I have now completed 3/25 blocks. That equals a big 12% of my quilt quilted. Crikey. I need to get A into G. Term 1 is tough though. Long and busy 10 -11 hour days.

Yeah, I still haven't unpicked the crosshatching. It does a good job of holding the centre of the quilt together.

Wednesday tomorrow, so me and the girls will get some more baby-sized wonky log cabin blocks done during i-Extend. The blocks are only wonky because we don't have cutters, boards or rulers. We just have scissors.

Square Spiral Quilting

Two and a half blocks done out of 25.

I feel it is a lot denser than any quilting I have done before. And, surprisingly, it's much harder to do a crooked line than a straight one. I have to make myself go wonky.

I start by using the best quilt marking pen in the world ... whose brand I don't know because I have thrown the packet away, but I have only ever found at Fabricland in Papakura. I like it best out of all the ones I have tried because it's a medium tip, it doesn't dry out, the line stays on until I wet it out. So many pens I have tried are skinny as tip and the markings disappear within an hour or two before I get to quilt that part. And anything chalk-based is useless when hand quilting because the quilt gets moved a lot and it just all rubs off. I use the best quilt marking pen in the world to free hand a square spiral starting in the middle of each block and working out. I aim for the lines of my spiral to be 4 - 5 cm apart. I then quilt that line and then just freehand quilt the second line of the spiral 2-ish cm from the first spiral.

The next meeting of the Auckland Modern Quilt Guild is this Tuesday evening at Patchwork Passion in Onehunga. We are showing and telling different types of quilting.

Quilting Lines Take 2

I am not in love with the crosshatching for this quilt. Nicole suggested Leah Day's blog. There are hundreds of modern quilting ideas there.

I got the idea for a square spiral (an oxymoron?). I free-handed it modern styles!

Not sure you will get the idea from the pics but I think it will look good once more than one block has been quilted. I like the idea of the spirals overlapping slightly in the sashings.

I think I am going to go with it and unpick the crosshatching.

Quilting Lines

Just for a change, I thought I'd crosshatch this quilt. Using 3 inch squares. Was confident I would get it finished by the end of March. Not so much now.

I really had no other ideas for quilting it. I found lots of quilting stencils on line, but none of the big 14" block stencils really suited - they were a bit flowery and curly. I did find a cool all over honeycomb one though. I might purchase that for later use.

I would like to learn more about modern quilting - the actual quilting not just the quilts. From what I have seen on the www, it consists of lines, lines and more lines. Usually placed close together.

I should say what a breeze it is quilting this though compared to Cara's Quilt. This one only has two layers of fabric and wool batting rather than two layers of fabric on top, the wool batt and the flannel backing that Cara's Quilt has.

Wonky Log Cabin Basted

I look forward to removing each of those safety pins. One at a time. It's quite satisfying re-filling the pin container as I quilt. It always feels like progress.

I am still not sure how I will quilt it yet. Probably crosshatching. Maybe 3 or 4 inch squares?

Wonky Log Top Completed

I didn't really mean to get this done today. I was waiting for my slow as printer to scan some pages for school and I thought, I might as well make a start. I gave up on the stupid scanner because it was taking forever and thought I might as well keep on going because adding the white jelly roll sashings wasn't taking forever.

It's a monster. About 2.08 x 2.08 metres or 82 x 82 inches if you prefer. We (I say 'we' because cousin Kell paid for the fabric) are backing it with the red Kei Honeycomb because she could not find the blue pretty much anywhere in the world. I might get it basted this evening once I shift half the furniture out of my lounge. I want to have it quilted by the end of term. Aunty Judy's birthday is in March. I don't think I can work that quickly.

PS On my bedside table at the moment, Obedience by Jacqueline Yallop, which is very good so far, and a Lonely Planet guide.

Wonky Log Cabin Blocks Done

Had a test layout on my bed and it's a good size. It will be about 82" x 82" or 210 cm x 210cm when I have sewn the sashings on. The biggest I have ever made.

I have ordered a white jelly roll which I will cut up for the sashings - way easier than accurately cutting one million strips 2.5" wide. We've decided to go with the blue honeycomb for the back so that's been ordered. As has a wool batting. Exciting.

I am relatively confident about getting it finished in March, so long as the fabric doesn't take too long to arrive.

I think I will crosshatch quilt it ... I might google and see how other people have quilted wonky log cabin quilts.

PS On my bedside table, The Fosterling by Emma Neale. It's an ok read so far. I don't really know where it's going though. The plot line would be a flat if we were making a tension graph on the whiteboard. Still about a third to go though.

Wonkyness

I have worked out I need 25 blocks to make Aunty Judy's wonky log cabin quilt. I have completed 10 and a half. I aim to have all 25 done before I go back to school in Feb.

W.I.S.B.D

What I should be doing ...

 Making more blocks for Aunty Judy's quilt - due in March.

Making my cushion for the Akld Modern Quilt Guild Challenge - Due 1 Dec. Am trying to disguise the ugly top right fabric with others from my stash. I will choose a pattern this week. Once I make that decision I don't think it will be a big job.

Making more clams for Cara's quilt. I am about 1/3 done - due January.

Meanwhile, I have finally put everything away after the holidays, put summer sheets on the bed and done some school work today. Now I will go outside and sweep up seed/cone things that have fallen from the totara trees onto the deck. It's been a fine weekend after some rain first thing yesterday morning.

Wonky Log Cabin Update

3 more blocks completed.

Wonky Log Cabin - A Start

All of the fabric has finally arrived - the downside of buying it from America. Washed and dried it yesterday. Cut and sewed it today.

Have made 5 blocks. Not sure how many I am going to need. Between 25 and 30 is my guesstimate at this stage. And while they are slightly different sizes at the mo, I will straighten them up later to about 14" x 14".

The fabrics we (me and cousin Kelly - because the quilt is for Kell's Mum, Aunty Judy) chose are:

• Timeless Teasures C8224 - light turquoise on turquoise
• Honeycomb by Kei Fabrics in Blue and Red
• Mamma Birds by Valorie Wells
• Mini Mikes Ting Gingham by Michael Miller - red
• Plain grey and plain white
• Just Wing It by Momo for Moda - blue on blue fine stripe
• Metro Living by Robert Kaufman - navy with white circles

I found these tutorials useful Tall Grass Prairie Studio's, Blempgorf''s and Quilt Dad's.