Canada Blogathon-Hand Pieced Log Cabin

I just love hand work of any kind. When I considered participating with Sew Sisters Blogathon Canada, I wanted to invite anyone who wants to sew, anyone who sews into the joys of quilting. I aspire to become a slow quilter. For me this is where sewing is best empowering to anyone, even those who don't have a sewing machine can sew.

Simplicity is where my mind spends time. Using up fabric from clothing, from antique blocks hand sewn by another and miraculously find their way into my hands.

Many of you follow this blog and the hand work of embroidery that I do to inspire your own work in whatever form that takes. 

This inspires me and around we go.

Sew Sisters shop located in beautiful Toronto, Ontario is a shop that is bricks and mortar as well, its an online shop for our pj's shopping experience. For me, living so far from everything, I drool over the kits and fabric supplies offered at their shop. 

It takes a bunch of time and effort to organize a "Blogathon" and with their huge resources at their their site, its a wonder I get anything done!! :)

I decided to show you my method for making a log cabin quilt, mostly hand stitched without a line to follow. I made our son Paul a Log Cabin for his graduation with 1.5 in. strips collected over his entire childhood and his choice.

Then I hand quilted the entire thing over one winter, the love and attention to my stitches give the quilt a "hand made look."

I posted these log cabins done by machine piecing earlier this year. I've begun to get comfortable with the life changes that have arrived in my life and quite simply, it means a slower pace and slow quilting is my mantra.

Over this past summer, I moved totally into hand piecing the remainder of these log cabin blocks. 

The block above is all pieced to completion without a machine, without pressing and without any lines on the 1/4 inch edge of cloth. I cut strips off of all scraps and even my yardage is a quick way to get ready and organized for hand piecing. 

I work from two bags, one with lights and one with dark's. I also cut red squares because I love starting all my log cabins with a red square to keep with the old fashioned start of the warm hearth in the center of each log. You can see that my stitching is not what some would call perfect, it varies slightly and overall, no ill effects are seen or discovered late in the game.

My work area in this shot is missing my lap surface, but I've make hundreds of stitches without the hand surface made from fabric and cardboard. I intend to make up a handy tute for a portable work surface.

I have also made a zippered small bag to catch all my little clippings and threads so my living room space or the car is left without a scrap!

These two bundles are in the works for some pretty zippered bags for Christmas gifts! Thanks for dropping by to visit and do go and visit others participating with Sew Sisters Blogathon.

I see that I am a tad late, but no worries, do visit http://staceyinstitches.wordpress.com/

for a full listing of all participating blogs. Plus there is a giveaway!

http://sewsisters.blogspot.ca/

Happy Quilting!

Carli