Cabin Fever

House Log Cabin: 1989

Tamworth Town

I made this quilt by foundation piecing each block so that it was finished (or pre-quilted).  Following Georgia Bonesteel’s directions for her “Quilt as you Go Technique”, I stitched the blocks together to make a finished quilt. I chose this particular method as it didn’t require any further quilting once completed.  Time was of the essence when you had to produce a major work in 6 weeks.   I can’t say though that I enjoyed working this method, but what I did develop further as a theme was the use of odd, scrappy backings.

I decided to add a piped edging around the inner blocks and found adding the border to that something of a technical challenge but it all sat quite flat in the end.  I hand quilted the border. The piping adds a dimensionality to the quilt.

Lap Leftovers Floor Rug
Collection: Home# 019 (Lap Quilt)

I had so many left overs that I stitched together a baby floor rug out of them (91.5 x 125cm).  This was totally machined.  I remember really learning how to get the most out of my machines from this TAFE course, so in some ways, I was taking a giant leap from my very traditional hand piecing & quilting beginnings in Queenscliff.  Endless possibilities offered themselves and whilst I still enjoy the Zen experience of hand work, I have since used the machine to perform more mundane tasks faster. 

This quilt was completed as a major project for my Commercial Needlecraft course at Tamworth TAFE in 1989/90. Elective: Patchwork

I used kiddie prints for the back of Tamworth Town

Given that I had made a quilt for the elder son some years earlier, this one was for A (Mr Mayhem). I intended for this one to be used, hence the choice of cheaper fabrics and somewhat rugged machine stitching.  Heavy duty is a byword for boys.  (I have to laugh now to think that neither of them at the time had quilts anywhere near their beds!!!  Don't feel sorry for them.  I later made others, one of which expired from hanging rather too long on a clothes line - we are talking months here!)

Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: 131.5 x 226cm
Block Size: 12”
Cut in: 1989
Pieced & Basted: Machine 1989
Quilted: Machine 1989 (Quilt-as-you-go technique)
Quilt Type: Single Bed
Quilt Finished: 1989
Exhibited: 
Collection: Home# 018 (Log Cabin)
Pattern Name: Log Cabin
Pattern Source: Georgia Bonesteel
Fabrics Purchased: 1989
Fabric Design: Prints & Plains; House print
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Thin Poly Batt
Backing: Cotton

Lessons Learned:
One of the joys of this course was the chance to trial a variety of techniques during class time. To me it was play time too. This course was not structured around finding yourself; it was a business class.  Like any apprentice, we needed to become familiar with our tools but also with managing a business or seeing scope for professional development within the trade.  To this end, I concentrated on technique and used the opportunity to determine if running a shop or teaching classes would work for me.  It most certainly was not wasted time!

Creative Tendencies

Creative Landscapes: UFO (now lost to the Bermuda Triangle of stitching) 

I signed up for a workshop on sewing creative curves by Marcy Paynter (10 Sep 1988) at Geelong Quilters Guild.  It was an interesting effort to make up our own landscape designs.  The design was sketched on card, cut into a jigsaw of shapes and then a variety of fabrics were paper pieced by machine stitching it (a close zigzag) all together.  The concept was good but I flagged when we started to use clear nylon thread to applique the pieces together.  Somehow, plastic thread did not align with my orthodox habits – cotton fabrics and cotton threads….

Needless to say, the piece still languishes in my garden shed waiting to be finished.

Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: cm
Block Size:
Cut in: 1988
Pieced: Machine 1988
Quilted:
Quilt Type: Macy Paynter Workshop
Quilt Finished: Not Yet Finished
Exhibited: 
Collection: Home# 012
Pattern Name: English Paper Piecing
Pattern Source: Macy Paynter
Fabrics Purchased: 1986/87
Fabric Design: Plains & bold prints
Fabric Style: Mixed
Materials Type: Mixed
Wadding Type: Thin Poly Batt
Backing: Cotton

Lessons Learned:
Not my kind of thing.  Perhaps I wasn’t quite ready for this type of “creative” play with various textures and thicknesses of fabrics.  The final issue I had was using monofilament thread (clear nylon).  I can understand why of course, but just couldn’t take to it.  As a result, this piece languished in my UFO box until the final decision about what to do with it was made. Despite my feelings, I believe it was a worthy exercise.

Ed Note:  5 April 2015
Finally I've decided to consign this project to File 13....  It has taken some courage to come to this decision but really, there comes a time to just let go.  This was never a masterpiece in the making or even a personal favourite.  After giving two old projects a new lease on life recently, I made the decision that this little number was never going to improve no matter how much hard work went into it.  So rather than keep fretting, it was time to wave goodbye and take it off my stress-inducing UFO list.  Just so I'll remember it, I've taken a few photos, and I think you'll understand:

A gaudy mix of velvets, cotton, sateen and silk

Paper-pieced back view

This was the original drawing

  All gone, no regrets!  

Vintage Tea Cups

Tea Cups in Lightning: 1989  (Started: 1988)

Tea cups were used to mark quilting lines

A machined foundation pieced log cabin block made with the Fort Queenscliff Quilters in 1988.  Lyn Cross (may have?) led this group workshop in 1988 following on from either a demo or showing in 1987.  Patterns were provided at the class and we used thin white cotton as our foundation for each block.  I chose a brown and cream colour way – very safe and very neutral. And now just so vintage!  This style of machining was easy and accurate, so we had our required number of blocks ready, and by the end of the day most of us took a top home.

We chose to attempt a lap quilt size, given our busy lives and being somewhat daunted at the time needed to hand quilt (another) finished top.  I set the log cabin blocks in a streak of lightning setting and then tied in the centre of each log cabin with perle thread.  Each block was then hand quilted with a fan to highlight the log shapes.  Finally, I did a traditional tea cup quilting design (overlapping circles) in the border, also by hand.

The batting was a very low loft poly and overall added to the vintage look that I was attempting.

Perhaps you remember some of these fabrics?  Classic  80's

Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: 93 x 138cm
Block Size: 19cm
Cut in: 1988
Pieced & Basted: Machine 1988
Quilted: Hand quilted and tied 1989
Quilt Type: Foundation Piecing Workshop
Quilt Finished: Apr 1989
Exhibited: 
Collection: Home# 009
Pattern Name: Log Cabin set in Streak of Lightning
Pattern Source: Workshop
Fabrics Purchased: 1988
Fabric Design: Plains & vintage look prints
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Thin Poly Batt
Backing: Cotton

Lessons Learned:
I was starting to learn that to finish quilts and workshop samples I needed to keep them small so my preferred size became “lap quilt”.  This quilt was fun and easy introduction to foundation piecing and better yet, needed little quilting.  My Elna (blue top) purchased many years ago was earning its keep although perhaps not quite how my mother had intended.  We had bought the machine together at Myer in Chermside (a Brisbane suburb) after I had agreed (more or less) to make more of my own clothes.