Cabin Visit and Friendship Quilt

We’re still in North Carolina enjoying some R&R.  When we arrived the weather was miserable, cold and snowy.  What a difference a day makes! We didn’t see much snow but we did see four deer traipsing across the mountain behind the cabin. Can you see the one who posed for the camera?

Look closely at the center of the picture. There were four deer behind the cabin, but this is the only one who lingered long enough for this photo.

Even though we came to relax, there are always chores to be done.  Bob cleaned out the gutters and climbed the extension ladder to take down some quilts that needed de-dusting and then fixed the damper.  I spent time putting up  Christmas decorations, brushed the wall quilts, and scrubbed the stone face of the fireplace which had some soot accumulation.  I’d like to know who made this mess by forgetting to open the damper!

The  souvenir quilt hangs above the hot tub in the cabin. The country colors and down home style fit perfectly in there.

This picture was taken for the vacation home rental site to show off the new hot tub.   So the quilt isn’t centered or shown in its entirety.    I’ve cropped the image but wish I had a better photo of it hanging.  The lighting was bad the day I was taking snapshots,  so I took the quilt outside.  It’s just thrown over a rock in the picture at the top.

It was made for the 3-day Country Quilting Bee that Suzanne Sawko and I hosted several years ago.  We offered a variety of quilt technique classes for students from several states.  The friendship quilt was signed by each participant, making a textile record of this special gathering.   It was a really fun, special event.

Glenwood Church 1886

The  was quilting bee school was held in the 1885 old church/fellowship hall of our community Glenwood Presbyterian Church.  For many years it served as the school house Monday through Friday and as the house of worship Sundays and Wednesday evenings.  It’s likely that many other bees were held here, as the church has always been the heart of our little community.  The quilt’s corner church blocks record the location.

As was the common custom, this building served as the school house Monday through Friday and the house of worship Sundays and Wednesday evenings.    For manyof you, the age of this building is unimpressive.  But in Florida, this is a pretty ancient structure.

The technique for this quilt is so unique and so easy.  Beginning with 8 or 10″ blocks of muslin as the foundation, two diagonal lines are drawn from corner to diagonally opposite corner, 1″ on either side of the center.

Scrap fabric is cut into random width strips, from 3/4″ to 2-1/2″trips are cut.  The first strip is placed face down across the 2″ center aisle, marked off by those lines.  With a 1/4″ seam allowance,  that strip is stitched in place.

That strip is then flipped to the right side and pressed in place.  The next strip is placed face down, raw edges matching, and stitched in place.  After the first strip, the seam allowance doesn’t matter.  You just stitch, flip, and press until the square is covered.

Repeat on the opposite side of the aisle, which is now 1-3/4″ wide.  With the application of the first strip, in the same manner as first strip on the opposite side of the aisle, the aisle is now reduced to 1-1/2″, wide enough for a signature.

Blocks are squared up and sewn together.  The button at each corner covers any imperfections, adds interest and separates the signatures.  This is a great beginner quilt.  Laurel will use this pattern for her next quilt.

After re-reading this, it doesn’t seem very clear.  If anyone requests clarification, I will do a mock up of the block as a sort of tutorial to make this easy technique easy to understand.

The fabric used for the backing just makes me smile.  Much like the print, Glenwood is a closely knit community with large homes, small homes, little farms, a tiny post office, the church, and orange groves.   Okay, so they look like apples on the fabric, but I choose to believe that they are dead ripe tangerines, whose color appears nearly red.

It  was fun to label buildings and homes on the fabric with names of neighbors.  If I had had an embroidery machine at the time, I could have labeled locations more nicely.  At the time, I was so thrilled to have the capability to stitch the text with my Pfaff 7550.

This quilt further proof that sewing projects and textiles are intertwined with almost everything I do.  Is it that way for you?  What have you stitched that records a significant event in your life?