Mom’s Birthday Quilt
My mom was turning 75 years old and I had never made her a quilt. So, I planned a quilt shop hop with her to the Missouri Star Quilt Company and then on to the two Amish fabric stores in Jamesport, Missouri. We had a great time on our road trip. The birthday quilt was a suprise so I told her we were going to get some fabric for my cousin’s new baby quilt (which was true), but I was secretely hoping that she would mention fabrics that caught her eye.
As we were shopping, I was drawn to a gorgeous line of blues and whites from Michael Miller, the Bleu et Blanc line. As I held a jelly roll in my hand, my mom said, “wow, if I were ever going to get a quilt, that’s the fabric I would want.” Score!!
Choosing the Pattern
We saw the Simple Joys (Curved Log Cabin) quilt in the store and it was especially beautiful in person. Curved Log Cabin was featured in the Summer Vol. 1 Issue 3 of the Missouri Star Quilt Co Block Magazine.
Curved Log Cabin magic. White Honey Bun with Jelly Roll.
The curved log cabin is a bit of a mind trick using wider and narrow strips to give the illusion of circular movement. In this case, the blue strips are 2-1/2 wide, and the white strips are 1-1/2 inches wide.
Mom’s Birthday Quilt
The blocks are square, but when stitched together the narrow strips do indeed give the illusion of movement and a circular shape. Notice the medallion shape in the middle and how the whole quilt seems to curve out in a unique wave.
Log Cabin Challenges
I’d never made a log cabin quilt, and learned a lot in the process. In the Curved Log Cabin video, Jenny Doan demonstrates a more traditional way of piecing the log cabin blocks by placing the middle squares along a long strip of fabric, stitching, and then trimming the new pieces to match the size of the middle square. Each new log of the block is added to a long strip, and then cut to size.
I ran into a few challenges with this method and it took a while for me to identify some of the issues.
Unwieldy strips were tamed with the Marti Michell 1 inch to 2 inch ruler
If you like this method of construcing log cabins, keep on going!
But I found some issues: I felt like I was cutting 2-3 times more than Jenny, and the fabric was stretching and causing blocks to be wonky.
These challenges led me to look at other log cabin construction methods. Through this process, I became a fan of Marti Michel and her method of pre-cutting the logs. She claims this method is faster, and more accurate, and my own experience would confirm that.
Log Cabin Methods – Pros and Cons
With this ruler, I cut the logs, rather than sewing them onto a long white strip. Pros: Cut once!, no stretch, accurate blocks, fabric doesn’t stay strewn everywhere, fast – really fast piecing. Cons: purchase another ruler.
For me, the Pros far outweigh the Cons because my blocks were getting really wonky and I was ripping out and stitching again – Yuck!
Love those Blues & Whites!
Don’t hate me – but I pin
I pinned the logs to the block because for me, this makes the piecing much faster. The pinned blocks stay together and I can move them quickly through the sewing machine. Do what works best for you!
Hand Quilted by the Amish
My mom loved to road trip with me to Missouri Star Quilt Company, have lunch at the Blue Sage Restaurant, and then continue to Jamesport, which is home to Missouri’s largest Amish community. Large enough that they have two Amish fabric stores. We have built a friendship with some of the Amish in Jamesport so it’s always fun to visit and catch up on the latest weddings and births. And the Amish quilts for sale are truly stunning.
Amish Hand Quilting shows off the log cabin and highlights the border.
To make this quilt extra special, I decided to have it hand quilted by the Amish. So all totaled, we road tripped together three times, and each time we took the same route – visit to Missouri Star Quilt Company, lunch at the Blue Sage Restaurant, Jamesport to the 2 Amish fabric stores, dinner and homemade pie in Jamesport, and then back home. Those are such sweet memories.
Amish Hand Quilting – wow!
The handquilting is beautiful. I love how she highlighted the border design with the quilting.
Hand quilting takes time. Ours took months. Keep that in mind if you’re getting a quilt hand quilted. We worked through one of the Amish fabric stores to secure an Amish quilter.
Quilt Label
Love means having a quilt label
We hear over and over about the importance of quilt labels. They are a visible signal, not just about the quilt artist, but of the importance of the recipient. For this quilt, I used a pre-printed label and added key details: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your heart.” Ecclesiastes 9:10 Celebrating the 75th Birthday of Patricia (last name), started August 24, 2014, completed June 22, 2016, Love you mom, my name, and my city.
Yep, I actually stated on the quilt label that it took almost 2 years to complete. And I’m OK with that. My part actually took about one year, and then it took a really long time for it to be hand quilted (I understand that’s not necessarily normal, but I think they had an issue with the first quilter and had to find another).
In Memory
Now this quilt and it’s quilt label are precious to me. My mom died recently having the quilt on her bed for only 9 months. The quilt is back in my home, and I love looking at the label, and reminding myself of the fun road trips with her to choose fabric, bring the top to be quilted, and pick up the quilt. I love you mom…and I miss you.
Supplies I used:
- Marti Michell 1-2 inch ruler – this is the perfect size for 1 1/2 inch and 2 1/2 inch strips – Honey Buns and Jelly Rolls. They finish at 1 inch and 2 inches
- Bleu et Blanc 2 1/2 inch strip roll by Michael Miller
- Robert Kaufman Skinny Strips, White (1 1/2 inch strip roll)
- Border fabric – Toujours Bleu et Blanc by Michael Miller
- Preprinted Quilt Label
- Permanent Marker with Fine Tip .25mm or Medium Tip .50mm for the quilt label
- Knit Interfacing (light weight) to hold the quilt label in place
- Binding Tool