These will finish at 4" and contain every style of fabric--prints, solids, plaids, most colors, fabrics of different decades, and a variety of string widths. They are a hodge podge. I love brights but usually make a mess when I try to put too many together. Still, I kept making more of these. I don't pull them out often enough: I started them in 2014 and have only 86 blocks!
I think they usually end up back in the closet, not for lack of strings, but because I haven't been able to decide how to use them. They're too busy to lay side-by-side in a quilt. And really, with only 86 made (and another 20 in progress) it would take me more time than I want to spend to make enough for even a small quilt. (I love the charm of little blocks but my enthusiasm wanes when progress is slow.)
I happened to be at Walmart last week on an errand with my daughter and stopped to look at their fabrics. I remembered reading someone's recent post about a dollar-a-yard sale. I doubted our local stores would have the sale but, sure enough, there were some bolts, including Waverly solids, for a dollar. You know I'm not a fabric snob when I use thrift store shirts for fabric but still, I like new fabric to be quality fabric. But a dollar a yard! It was too good a bargain to resist.
These solids captured my attention and I brought home 6 yards of the green, a yard of the red, and a half yard of the coral. Surely I could use them somewhere. (Have I said how much I love red and green quilts? They are irresistible to me! So much energy.)
I washed the half-yard piece immediately (not the others so I could return them if the small piece didn't wash well or feel good after drying and pressing) and was really pleased with the result. I don't know about long-term wear but the piece I washed felt comparable to Bella and better that Kona (but not quite as nice as Riley Blake Confetti Cotton).
So I had this long piece of green fabric and these log cabin blocks. A strippy quilt had crossed my mind for those blocks. What if I put the cabins and the green fabric together?
And what if I added alternating strips of vines with leaves? I pulled some scraps from my applique box and put them together. Maybe.... Maybe colorful leaves. (Or would they be too much color? I should cut some and see what I think.) Maybe larger leaves. Or maybe not vines and leaves but some other alternate stripe...? Concentric circles? A series of strips? Or what...?
The questions I must answer before continuing are: How much do I love that green fabric? Will I love it in five or 10 years? And, will I enjoy cutting, preparing, and appliqueing hundreds of leaves (or any other motif for alternate strips)?
I think choosing a solid color for the quarter cabins is a good idea. I think it will help unify them. (And the only unifying factor of the blocks now is the red centers, which use a variety of reds.) But the other questions.... But I do love that green.... But would brown or black or some other color be better for the cabins?
If you have any thoughts (positive or negative), please share! Thank you for taking the time.
I'm linking to
> Humble Quilts Stringalong Month 6
> Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework
> Moving It Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag
> Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
> Main Crush Monday (MCM at Cooking Up Quilts
> Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
> WOW at Esther's Blog
Thanks for hosting, ladies.
--Nancy.
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Ooooh! I liked your quarter cabin blocks on point the best but when I saw them on the green with the possible applique strips I gasped! You are so clever and it looks wonderful. Yes, I know, it will take hours and hours more to do the applique but WOW it would be wonderful. You're right to question whether you would love the green or get tired of it in 10 years. What is a color that you liked when you were young and still like? What is your go to color? Mine is usually some shade of red. I think every quilt I've ever made had some red in it. That green sure makes things pop!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your thoughts on these blocks and possible layouts, Robin. I looked at the photos again yesterday and thought perhaps the sameness of size of the cabins and the vines and leaves caused them to cancel each other out, so to speak. Maybe one should have more dominance than the other? I started to pin one more round to the 4.5" blocks and they just seemed too large.... The other consideration is leaf color: all greens or multi-colored.... You can tell I'm still playing with ideas.
DeleteI think my favorite childhood colors were red and green/teal. By high school I also loved coral. My go-to color these days seems to be red, in all its variations (except leaning toward purple). I keep eyeing the green and think I could love it for years.
I'm not really concerned about the time to applique the leaves. I'm not looking at this as a quilt to be finished in the next few months.
I love the blocks together and I love them on that green with the vine and leaves. I think you have a WIN WIN situation.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Beth. It will be interesting to watch this quilt evolve.
DeletePersonally I love the chaos, and bold brightness of all the blocks together, but I understand your reluctance to make a zillion more of those tiny blocks. Setting them on a solid is a good alternative and will give you a beautiful quilt with a lot of space for some fabulous feather quilting in the solid areas. And you thought this was going to be a quicker alternative! Probably not with all that applique you're thinking of. It will be a great quilt however you decide to proceed!
ReplyDeleteI love the chaos and that bright mix of colors, too, Pat, but not for very long. I don't think I have enough bright, bold strings to keep up the look for a hundred or more blocks, and since I'm trying to use up strings instead of create more, I don't want to cut strings. Yes, cutting, preparing, and appliqueing leaves (if that's what I end up doing) will take a while. I put the idea of a quick finish out of mind, especially if I applique. I appreciate your encouragement! Thank you.
DeleteWith all the curves in the leaves, you could quickly raw edge machine applique them down and get it done sooner.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the suggestion, Chris. I've never machine appliqued. My machine only does straight stitch, so I guess sooner by that method is not an option.
DeleteThose Quarter Cabins look AMAZING on that green!! I love what you've come up with. The leafy vine is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Joyful. I appreciate your comments.
DeleteI LOVE the blocks all together, on point. I think they are beautiful that way even if it takes another ten years to make enuf. However: I also love the strippy setting on the solid. It is unique and wonderful. My drawback, for me, is I despise needleturning leaves and couldn t do so many. I prefer hand applique, but years ago I gave my self permission, All Leaves Can Be Machine sewed,lol.
ReplyDeletelizzy
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Lizzy. I like the quarter cabins together but I don't think I would like a whole quilt of them long enough to make them.
DeleteIf I do the vines and leaves I will have to have the attitude that it will be a long-term process to make the top. I don't do needle-turned applique. I prep by folding and basting which, I suppose, some would consider double the work. I just haven't mastered the needle-turn process yet. I have only a straight-stitch machine and I wouldn't like to stitch the leaves that way so, if I decide on vines and leaves, it will be prepared-edge and hand applique for me -- over a few years' time, I suppose.
I actually like all the blocks together BUT laying them on point on the green looks just wonderful. So that's no help at all... :-D
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts, Allison. I think the strippy quilt is a go, I just have to decide about the green and whether to use vines and leaves or some other option.
DeleteI really liked all the blocks together, but when you put them on the green, I LOVED them even more! It was surprising as I read along the post to see this project transform.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the vines and leaves in between... very cool!
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts about these blocks and the possible layouts for a quilt. I appreciate your ideas, Kathy.
DeleteI love, love, love that green and the strippy setting with vines is sensational! You go girl!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the encouragement, Wendy. I appreciate it.
DeleteOh the options you have!! I really like them in the on point pictures - but then when you laid them of the green - it gave them a total different type of pop!!! I love it!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Alicia. Oh, yes, probably too many options. It makes it harder to make decisions when there are so many options!
DeleteOMG .... you are onto something unique here! Love the green fabric as it makes everything shine.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rose Marie. Yes, that green is a good one!
DeleteSince I'm a scrappy lover, I like how the blocks look all together. However, I really like them as you have then laid out on the green fabric. They look like flowers on a field and the leafy vine is just perfect in between the rows of blocks. Awesome idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts about the blocks and layouts, Karen. I like the blocks together but think they would outwear my enjoyment. I just have to decide if I would get tired of the green, too.
DeleteLove the green! All put together will make it the best!
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting and sharing your thoughts about the colors and layout, Joyce.
DeleteWith leaves is great but I love the scrappy look of the cabin blocks sewn together. Wishing you luck on the fabric. A year ago I was in a bind for a last minute quilt. With only 1 lqs which was closed and Walmart I put on my big girl pants and went to Walmart. Got to my site and search Minion, it will pull up 2 posts, read my experience with their fabric on the mostly blue Minion.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your thoughts about the blocks, colors, and layouts. What a horror story about your Walmart fabric, and how sad that you had to remake the quilt. I will be careful with this fabric I bought and even more careful when thinking of buying any other fabric from Walmart. Thanks for the heads-up.
DeleteI love your little quarter log cabins. So many possibilities. I do love them all together. But the strippy folky leaves are also great!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts, Cynthia. There are always so many options when one makes a bunch of blocks with no particular plan in mind! I'll finish the rest of the cabins I have in progress then make a decision about how to use them. A quick glance at the photo of them with the vine and leaves makes me wonder if the two elements are too close in size, with neither one being dominant, and whether that's good or bad.
DeleteI like all the blocks together - there's an energy about them that pulls me in. I also like where you are going with using them on the green background fabric. I'm not sure I would want to do all that applique with the leaves either. Maybe you could iron them on with a fusible and then stitch them down when doing the quilting? Might save a little time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting and sharing your thoughts about these blocks and possible settings. If I do the vines with leaves I would absolutely have to look at it as a long-term applique project. I don't think I consciously thought about the time it would take to cut, prepare, and applique the leaves... but it might be worth it. More playing to do.
DeleteI love the little blocks all together, but understand the desire to not have to make more to get a reasonably sized quilt. I really like the green with the blocks on point. The appliqued vines and leaves would be a wonderful combo with them, but if you don't want to do all the applique, would it be big enough just using the green as alternating setting squares?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comments and thoughts about these blocks and possible layouts, Janet. They are fun together but I would have to make so many, many more for a whole quilt, unless I put them as a center medallion and added borders to make a larger quilt. You're not the first person who commented about "all the applique" if I choose the vines and leaves. When I laid them out I wasn't thinking about the work and time, just about the final appearance. If the vines and leaves keep pulling me I'll have to think of them as a long-term effort. I'm still finishing a few more cabins just now.
Delete1. I LOVE them set together! 2. Definitely stems and leaves, if you go that way. Frankly, I like the mix of red and green stems, too! It's a bright green background, but trying to imagine it on a lighter or darker color doesn't work, either.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts about the cabins and vines, Susan. When I was trying to envision the cabins on a background I couldn't imagine any color I thought would work. But I think the green does, so it was a happy surprise purchase.
DeleteI'll throw my 2 cents in now: Love the quarter squares all together on point but I really love them on the green. I certainly understand how it would be very tedious appliqueing all those leaves (the vines wouldn't be too bad). Did you set up the circle idea? Maybe that would be equally appealing but less boredom sewing down? It's going to be fabulous whichever way you decide to go!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your 2 cents, Susie. I didn't try out the circle idea between the cabins. In my mind the cabins with the red squares at the top with successive "borders" compete with the circles. I don't know why I think they might but I do. Still, I'll pull out some circles when I next lay out the green fabric and see what I think. For me, circles seem harder to applique and keep the curve smooth (even if not round) than leaves. I don't know where these are going yet. Will make a decision after I finish the cabins that are in progress and maybe after I finish another applique project.
DeleteI love them on the green! I have some little scrappy courthouse steps blocks just getting started here.
ReplyDeleteHi, Jeanne. You are the first person to comment that you like the blocks on the green best without mentioning the other option. I guess many people like what they see first best, and I notice that I often go with my first idea for a quilt instead of exploring other options before making a decision.
DeleteYou have a great idea & color sense. Don't over think it, create!! Have fun! I love your little blocks.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your thoughts, Holly. I appreciate them.
DeleteI love all your projects. I have been following your projects for some time. Each of your projects is unique.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cotton Bee.
Delete