I finally finished my MQG Challenge quilt this week, just inside the deadline. This is the first of these fabric challenges I have done it was fun to challenge myself to use the fabrics given with only some solids in a supporting role. The fabrics I started with were:
After a month of umming and ahhing I finally settled on a plan… log cabins. A classic block that I approached in a completely different way (for me anyway).
As soon as I started cutting the fabulous challenge fabric into 1 inch strips I saw the patterns and the colours so differently. With the help of a couple of yards of Couture Cotton in Soft White and smattering of Couture in Breeze, Sun, Apple, Dirt, Spa and Fog the 7 inch log cabins came together.
I placed the colour strips randomly around the log cabin., and was not afraid to chop up a log into different colors.
I managed to use every scrap of fabric I could.
The wonderful flower print in particular was great fun to work with, as every piece was so different.
For the back of the quilt I “borrowed” some of a friends extra fabric, as well as some of the scraps left over from my top…
For the quilting I went with straight lines in a plaid formation, dictated by the log cabins. I used a cream thread and stitched right down the middle of the logs and I love the result.
The finishing touch was to add some white binding. I played with other colours but the white was the least intrusive binding. There is a small splash of blue amongst the white binding, but you have to really search for it!
I must admit it was a challenge for me to work with this much white. I am not particularly neat and if you add to that a black cat and a clumsy husband and you have a recipe for disaster. Luckily I managed to get it photographed before it got too dirty… about 5 second after the photos were taken it got its first splotch of dirt thanks to the cat! So the quilt is heading to the washing machine now…
Quilt details:
Name: Chopped petals
Pattern: 7 inch log cabin block
Technique: Paper piecing
Finished size: 42 x 42
Fabric: Michael Miller Petal Pinwheels & Couture cotton
WOMBAT QUILTS 
I really like your final results. With me, 2 little boys, 2 cats and a man, no way I could do a whole quilt and keeping the white clean till the end. Cats always put their paws on my quilt when I am photographing them, leaving stain, wrinkles… About yuour quilting lines, did you follow a guide (painting tape) or just the lines on the quilt ?
Chantal I used the log cabin lines as a guide…I just sewed straight thru the middle of the logs. Worked like a dream.
Hi!!!! It is very pretty!!!! Very modern and cheerful!!!! No white is safe here either!!!
How creative, really like it, I have the same affliction with white hahahahaha
It’s so pretty! It looks like confetti and the stained glass looks beautiful!
Renee confetti is the perfect description.
Stunning, I love. I think ruminating about it really paid off in the end.
Now I think that this is a really smashingly great quilt!! I love the way that cutting up the fabric changed the way the colors play together. Nice to see a log cabin turned modern! Thanks for finishing and thanks for sharing. I’m going to miss your posts while you are traveling. You help me feel alive. Thanks.
Mary Helen in OR
You have a couple more months of post before I disappear for a couple if weeks. Promise.
This is so gorgeous! I’m ready to quilt mine and sneak it in under the wire, too. 🙂
I was so glad there was an extension. I would not have been ready in June.
It’s a real departure for you, and I absolutely love it! I sympathise about the difficulty in keeping it clean – we’re both total klutzes and if coffee can be spilt, it will be spilt. I love the back view before the sandwich too, like ‘blond’ stained glass!
Thanks Kate. I love doing things that surprise you or you see as a different for me. It is a great challenge for me and keeps me in my toes.
Lovely!
Great job. I really like it.
What a fantastic quilt for this challenge. I love the way cutting the fabric up into tiny pieces gave the line a completely different feel in your quilt. I agree with you and Renee – confetti is a great description. 🙂
I love what you did with this fabric, what a way to change up a traditional block. I also really like your quilting, it works well with those blocks.
It looks amazing, with all the straightline quilting (I would’ve gone crazy), and the log cabins with little bits mixed in to make it all look completely different. So complex and beautiful.
I am totally afraid of making a white quilt, so congratulations! I would love to see it crinkled up after a couple of washings.
AMAZING!!!!
Wow! Cath I love what you did with the challenge fabric! Very clean and modern! I’m quilting mine this weekend. 🙂 Thinking I’ll post next Wednesday. You have a great weekend, I know Portland’s beautiful this time of year! We lived there a few years back, miss it especially in the summer time.
I love this Cath…I might actually consider making log cabin blocks. A great way of making a traditional block modern!!
Okay, this is fabulous! Really love the way the fabric pieces look so different in the log cabin blocks. It take a good eye to make out the individual blocks. Those little pieces play with the eye and add to the fun. Just really thankful that I didn’t commit to seven inch log cabin blocks!
Wow! I love your super modern take on log cabins!
I absolutely LOVE this quilt!
Wow. I really love this! I have never pieced that much white either, but I might give it a try after seeing yours! Nice!
Amazing! I love it!
I”m totally in love with this! Totally in love! It’s fantastic!!!
Hey Cath, this is a really great quilt. So modern and fun and looks improvised although it has a guideline. Brilliant 🙂
It looks great, I love the thin bits of colour, and that you chopped some of the logs up.
I love the splash of blue in the binding. Confetti is a perfect description for the quilt! I also really appreciate your quilt details included in each post, and I think I need to start including a similar bit for my finished projects. I always seem to give the gift before measuring!
I love the quilt! What a cool way to reinvent log cabins!
If you think a splotch of dirt form the cat is bad, you wouldn’t want to see what the cat puked up on all of my window seat cushions this week. I have been washing lots of cushions – covers and inserts.
simply beautiful!!!
That is lovely. I think the white fabric and narrow strips are lovely!
Love your quilt! I’m doing a challenge to get rid of my outdated fabrics & this gives me some ideas!
What a wonderful use for this fabric ~ you do such lovely work!
Just fabulous!
This quilt is completely fabulous! You always challenge me to see color differently. Thanks for sharing!
It’s so great! I thought the prints were spaced so perfectly for improv, and then saw that they were cabins! Genius.
Absolutely glorious! Even though this fabric challenge is just finishing, I can hardly wait for the next one to start. How’s that for quilting ADD? I’ve so enjoyed seeing the unique designs everyone has been creating (and playing along!)
GORGEOUS! I can appreciate what a ton of work this was, but what a great end result. I would be honored to hang it on a wall in my home. I made something similar last year and I love it.
love love the quilt. very cool take on the log cabin. Might be a way to use up some of my not so pretty fabrics.
I LOVE this. Simple, elegant, modern. Wow.
Congratulations, Cath! I just saw that you are one of the nine finalists! I absolutely love, love, love your quilt!!
Our guild, Lake Superior MQG, also has one of the nine finalists- our president, Deb Westerberg, created, Retro Rings! It’s so exciting!
I vote for the both of you to win it all! I’m so impressed by your talents!
Thanks Sue. I love Debs quilt…actually they are all fabulous. I would hate to have the job of picking the winners.
Congrats on being a finalist in the challenge.,your quilt really caught my eye. Thanks for sharing and good luck! Mary in Boston
Thanks Mary.
I love your quilt. If you don´t mind I´ll “steal” the idea from you, as I have lots of scrap that I don´t have the heart to throw away and this is just the perfect way to use them.
I love it when other quilters interpret my deigns. I would love to see the finished quilt if you are happy to share.
Simply Marvelous! Have always loved the diversified looks of log cabins variations. Yours has set a new standard. I think I will join Mimi and tackle one myself.
Karee I am also a big fan of the log cabin and what you can do with it. It is such a versatile block and I must admit I had a blast playing with it’s structure in this quilt.
Pingback: Quilters are amazing people… | WOMBAT QUILTS
Pingback: Re-purposing Challenge Fabric | WOMBAT QUILTS