Cabins

I am really interested in making log cabin patches. I was making squares, and as always, found squares very interesting and compelling. But something about the cabins Jude has been posting about spoke of lots of new possibilities and learning. So I jumped in.

It is a simple process, really. I can’t explain why my first one (below) looks the way it does. There’s no use trying to count out the blocks in the spiral form, the way they’re supposed to go. I know it started with the green and blue inch squares under the moon, and it ended with the batik piece at left, but there’s no accounting for what went on in the middle. Just trying to fill space?

This hodgepodge motivated me to focus and try again. I also wanted to try a threadcrumb patch in the center. The second one is better. I had squares on hand so the piece in the #2 position is two pieces stitched together. I also tried the glue stitch basting Jude posted about. I like the way it looks and how it firms up the integrity of the patch. The white piece on the right is not square. And there are only 5 “logs” in this cabin because the center was already so big. I seem to want to make patches no bigger than 5 inches square. Try again.

For the next one, I found a wee stitched patch in the scrap basket that already had the #1, #2, and #3 pieces in place. Building onto this as a foundation seemed meant to be. And I managed to get up to nine.

Keeping going. For #4, I wanted to use the tree-like shape as a center piece. So far so good. I’ve been a little more fussy about the color choices as I’m starting to get the hang of this form. This one uses the fold-and-stitch seams that Jude talked about today. Easy and familiar.

I’m still obsessively tapping my finger around the spiral to figure out what spot to fill next. Maybe this is just how it goes. I can be somewhat spatially-challenged, at times hopeless at the mechanics of things. Maybe that’s why I love squares so much, so simple! It takes me awhile to catch on to how a real world object goes together. But I love all the seaming and the sense of finding homes for scraps. I like the meaning in the form, how the centerpiece is held and pulls in energy. And how the outside pieces create a frame, a protective ring around the center, a nest. It’s just very intriguing. More to come, although I don’t think a quilt like Grace’s or Deb’s Good Enough Covid 19 quilt is in my future.