Liberty Log Cabin Hoop Art

I'm loving this little hoop we made!! It wasn't planned and I think that makes it even more special. Last week, when mum was making her Liberty Log Cabin Pincushion, I was curious to see how the mini-quilt top piece would look in a hoop.

Log Cabin is a style of quilting, for those who aren't familiar with it, whereby strips of fabric represent 'logs' surrounding a centre square. This square can be red, symbolising the hearth of home, or yellow, symbolising the glow of a candle or light in the window. Ours aren't as traditional because we wanted to make the most of a heap of Liberty scraps we'd been saving up for a small project. And this was ideal!

So after mum made the top piece for her pincushion, I pinched it to test it out - and here's how it looked:

Fantastic right? So I asked her to make me one for a little hoop. I picked a bunch of my favourite Liberty's:

And it didn't take long at all. Mum is in love with log cabin mini-quilts, so she was happy to make one for me.

And here's how it looks in a hoop:

Thanks mum x

 

Liberty Girls Patchwork Skirt and Heart T-Shirt by Rhapsody and Thread

I was so excited for my daughter Isla to start walking so that I could make cute little skirts and dresses for her to wear. I had made her a patchwork skirt when I was pregnant but I had no idea what I was doing, and I made it so big that she hasn't even had a chance to wear it yet. Whoops.

So I thought I'd try again now that she's trotting around and the weather is warming up. And I thought I would try the patchwork thing again. It was much easier this time around. Mum had a few quilting tools that made cutting the squares a breeze. And I got mum to sew the waistband for me - I'm still a bit scared of elastic. But I did the rest myself - and I'm pretty proud of myself!

On the t-shirt, I hand-stitched on two hearts. The bigger heart is Liberty Fairford print and the smaller heart is Mitsi (red). I decided on satin stitch to create a strong, bright border.

For the skirt, I wanted bright colours and decided on Fairford, Frank, Mitsi (red), Mitsi (green), Saeed, and Willow Rose for the patches. And then I used Meg's Garden on the waist-band and hem.

This is how the skirt turned out.

And this is the finished combo!

 

I couldn't be happier and I can't wait to see how my beautiful girl looks. Very pretty I'm sure.

 

Liberty Log Cabin Pincushion by Rhapsody and Thread

Liberty Log Cabin Quilted Pincushion by Rhapsody and Thread

Mum first fell in love with the 'log cabin' style of quilting during her visit to an Amish village in Lancaster County. Her favourite quilt has a huge star made up of 'log cabin' blocks - you can't even tell until you get up close. The detail is amazing, and even more special because the quilting is done by hand. Very impressive.

And so, when mum saw the Log Cabin Pincushion design in Alexia Marcelle Abegg's Liberty Love: 25 Projects to Quilt & Sew Featuring Liberty of London Fabrics, it went to the top of the list!

Liberty Love Book by Alexia Marcelle Abegg

This book is gorgeous and a must-have for lovers of sewing and Liberty of London fabrics. Mum and I goo'd and gaa'd over almost every project, but we were most inspired by the various quilt patterns and great use of Liberty fabrics. We just HAD to try something and mum recently learned the Foundation Method of quilting. She used the technique, also known as "paper piecing", to sew the logs together and I think it really helped to achieve perfectly pointed edges. The other great thing about Foundation Method is that it is a great way to use scraps of material without having to cut your pieces to a specific size.

Here is a look at Alexia's beautiful Log Cabin Pincushion:

Liberty Love Book by Alexia Marcelle Abegg

And here is mums slightly varied, but just as magnificent, Liberty Log Cabin Pincushion:

It's so beautiful that I doubt I'll have the strength to poke a pin through it. I may need to rename it the "Liberty Log Cabin Minicushion". Haha.

I just have to have one! Now, I'm off to beg mum to make me one too!!

Seeya x