The history of a simple traditional log cabin quilt.... It all starts with a picture from Pinterest saved back in 2022 some time. A little seed of inspiration followed by repeated admiration of the picture and examining the fabrics up close. The post took me to the original source, where I learned more about the maker and the process she took to make it. The more I admired it, the more I fell in love with this quilt.
Information for context: This quilt was made by the maker with French General fabric in all the shades of red and creams, through all the different lines of their fabrics. I wanted my quilt to be the same, or at least as closed as possible to the feeling of warmth that I get when I look at this picture.
Fast forward a bit, when we took a trip to Ottawa back in Feb/2023 during my son's reading week. I being a true quilter, already scouted out all the quilt stores within an hours drive of where we were heading....lol. It turned out to be one of the worst days we could have gone, as we got hit by a snow storm part way up. With the snow came delays..... A long story cut short, we made it to the shop that carries a very large selection of French General fabric, where I proceed to take one of each....lol....within my colour scheme.
When we got home, I promptly washed all the fabrics, and little by little, throughout the year, I proceeded to cut all of the fabric I needed for all the blocks. One distraction after the next and this got put aside, where it stood for a long while, cut and ready to start....then I hit what I am calling a road block, with my diagnosis of breast cancer in late April/2024.
During the time off work, dealing with my health issues, I didn't do a lot of sewing. About the only thing I could do was get myself to all the appointments/treatments and in between....take long walks with my dog. I would walk usually on average 10km per day, just to clear my mind. Walking out in nature, was about the only thing I felt I had control over. Though after the first surgery and treatment, some time in June through to Oct/2024, I had to take those walks alone, as I couldn't take the chance of the dog sprinting and pulling my stitches. My strength just wasn't up for it.
Much later, as I started to mend, I knew I wanted to start sewing again. I missed sewing so much, but I just couldn't bring myself to concentrate on doing it. I figured I'd try to ease myself into it. I decided to try and do some easy paper piece sewing of these log cabin blocks. If nothing else, I should be able to at least sew one block a day......
It took me until Dec 16/2024 before I could get motivated and when I took this picture of the first completed block. I thought I was going back to work some time in the beginning of the New Year 2025, so I thought, I have to get back into the swing of things....get back to my life and a bit of normalcy.
It didn't happen every day, but it did happen many days. All the fabrics were already cut from back in 2023, so all I had to do was sew them down while following the lines on the paper.... Some days I even got a second block done!! Things were starting to go smoothly, my health was getting better, blocks were being made, I was feeling more like myself and with the help of my family and of my sewing friends who gathered to sew, my quilting mojo and spirts started raising.
Though that was short lived, as I encountered a second road block in Jan/2025 with the onset of another surgery Mar/2025, for the other side. By this time, I had already been through it once, so I knew what to expect.... Don't get me wrong, it was still an ordeal, however my support team and cheerleaders were already in place, and forever keeping my spirts high.
This time around after recuperating from surgery, I was able to gently ease myself back into sewing these paper piece blocks. It didn't take much, as they weren't hard. By June, I calculated that my time off work mending was going to be coming to an end shortly, so I bumped up production and started doing them every day, and sometimes as many as five in a day, on a good day.
By July 9th, the quilt top reached to this stage. All the blocks were sewn, trimmed, de-papered, and assembled into the barn raising layout. I am loving it!!!
My health is much better these days and I was able to return back to work on the first day, yesturday Aug/2025. It will be a gradual return to work, to retrain and catch up on all the new things that went on while I was away. Today I have the day off, so this top is going to be getting it's borders put on.
From the beginning, this quilt has always been destined for our bed (my husband and I). It took a long time in the making and it's still not quite done, but getting much closer. This quilt will forever have profound meaning for me, as I navigated through a difficult time in my life.....and through it all with the help of my family and friends, for whom I am and will forever, be grateful.
Stay turned for the final finish once I get it quilted and bound.
Take care everyone.
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