Better Late than Never

Ever since these RJR fabrics came in the May 2016 Quilty Box, they have haunted me.

The fabrics with an 'X' were not part of the Quilty Box

I've never made a quilt from modern fabrics. Most of my quilts are landscapes, and my few bed quilts have consisted of traditional florals and exotic animal scenes from donated upholstery fabric sample books.

Frankly, I didn't know what to do with these contemporary fat quarters. (Included were patterns for small projects, which just didn't appeal to me at the time.) But the bright colors and bold designs kept calling my name.

So now, months later, I've decided to make something totally crazy and out-of-the-box with them. You know, like...a log cabin quilt.

Yeah (said with a grimace). Not so out-of-the-box. But maybe a little crazy? You see, a good friend of mine recently told me that her favorite quilt to make is the log cabin pattern. I didn't get it. Wouldn't that be boring? (And wouldn't it look crazy in these very modern fabrics?)

No, as it turns out! I had no idea how many ways log cabin blocks could be arranged and how different the overall look would be with each arrangement. Wow!

Anyway, this is how it's played out so far. And I do mean played. Total permission given to self to relax and have fun. And gosh, what a fabric saver, since the strips are trimmed to exact length as you construct the block--something else I was unaware of until now. Do I sound like a total greenhorn? Well, when it comes to traditional quilt patterns, I am exactly that.

The shadow from my table light makes the lower right quadrant look darker. It isn't!

A few batiks and prints had to be added to make enough 12-1/2 inch blocks for a twin-bed quilt. Quilting will be done in three sections, with the batting cut into thirds and then rejoined after the center is done. That takes more preparation, but will save me lots of neck and shoulder pain in the long run (something learned while making The Visit), as my plan is to use a quilting design that requires plenty of thread-breaking and re-positioning.

Two finishes in recent weeks are more wonky-block quilts for The Center for Women and Families here in Louisville. I'm finally getting close to using up all the center motifs cut from those donated upholstery fabric sample books. (The calico-type centers came from a Quilty Box offering of pre-cuts from the Little House on the Prairie fabric line.)

Some of my favorite blocks from the fabric sample books:

That's it for now. Happy fall, and happy Halloween!

Linda