OK. It’s another quilt. Yeah. I know. Send help!! It’s an obsession!
This is a gift for one of my dearest friends, one of the very first people I met when I moved to New York. She’s expecting a baby boy next month, and I’m just so excited to meet him! So when I saw Miss Make‘s wonky log cabin tutorial, I knew I wanted to try it! I like that it’s a free-form way to build a quilt and that you don’t really need to be precise. Plus, the end results are so cool!
These quilt blocks came together really quickly, especially because I had help! My friend Carrie came over to help, so I cut and stitched and she pressed all the seams open- man, I wish I could always sew with an assistant! We came close to finishing the blocks in one afternoon! Piecing is a blast when you can chatter away the whole time! Anybody wanna be in a quilting bee with me? 🙂
The quilting part went much more smoothly on this quilt, thanks to the suggestions in The Practical Guide to Modern Patchwork.* I bought curved safety pins and they made a huge difference. And instead of trying to stitch in the ditch, I quilted 1/4″ from the seamlines inside each piece to kind of emphasize the irregular shapes created by the wonky log cabin process. It looks much better!
The only trouble I ran into with this project is that I found I needed more fabric than Devon suggested. I picked up an extra 3/8″ yard of fabric from the get-go and needed to buy another 3/8 to get the blocks to the correct size. So maybe grab a bit more just in case if you follow her tutorial.
Picking out coordinating prints was so much fun! My friend tends to wear lots of grey, so I wanted to start with grey and add in some soft color, but not go nuts with bright colors (always my first impulse!). She and her husband love cats, so I wanted a kitty print, and when I saw the dignified lion, it really made me laugh to include it with the kittens! Here are the fabrics I used, if anyone is interested:
- Doe Mismatch Stripe (Carolyn Friedlander for Robert Kaufman)
- Cotton & Steel August Lion
- Cotton & Steel Moonlit Grid
- Riley Blake “Oh Boy” Elephants
- Michael Miller Wee Wander Nature Walk
- Imaginarium Tigers Yellow
- Tula Pink Moon Shine Static Dot Silver
- I used a leftover strip of Indelible Threaded Shreds Dim to finish the backing… it’s leftover from Hazel Hedgehog!
I really liked making this quilt, mainly because it was fun to make something for a dear friend with another dear friend, but also because it’s so stress-free to construct quilt blocks this way. If you’re looking for a way to try out quilting but you’re worried about accuracy, you should really give this a try! C’mon, do it!! We can be quilt-obsessed together!
*Before I forget, the winner of the Practical Guide to Modern Patchwork giveaway is Laura! Congrats!!! Also, I just realized I never announced the winner of the Girly Style Wardrobe giveaway! It was Raquel from JC… I sent her the book ages ago, but forgot to mention it on the blog! Hope you’re enjoying the book, Raquel!
Ginger Makes... 
oh, that is my style of quilt – nothing too precious or precise, just a well balanced set of colours and shapes. Lovely!
My first quilt is still underway but I’m not sure how big to make it. How big is the quilt for your friend?
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This is around 42″ x 52″. I feel like I’ve seen them a little bit narrower than that, maybe 36″ instead of 42″? Hope you’re having fun with your quilt!
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So cute! I love the wonky nature of it. And the fabrics you choose are just perfect!
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It’s fun to be free to be wonky! No rules, no rigidity… ahhhh…
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Yes I am!!!! Cute book and cute patterns! Love the colors of your quilt, it looks fresh and cool!
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Yay, I’m so glad!!!!! 😀
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I demand that you stop this now! Do you hear? Don’t go any further down this rabbit hole or before you know it you’ll be wearing pieced and quilted moto jackets. Is that the look you’re really going for? *LOL* The quilt is darling and I’m sure your friend will love it!
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The horror!!!!! LOLOLOL!
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Fabulous work! I suck at stitching in the ditch. Will have to remember to just stitch along the seam like you did.
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Oh man, I did a terrible job stitching in the ditch on that first quilt and it looked so ugly! Elizabeth Hartman recommended against doing that in the book- she said it actually weakens the seams, which I wouldn’t have thought of! Whoops!
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Omg this is awesome! The lion fabric is my favourite. I love making quilts but I find I don’t do it very often. I made one for each of the kids before they were born. Imogen is probably due for a new one soon.
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The lion fabric really is the cutest! I bought a bit more in the coral colorway and am hoarding it until I think of the perfect project! 🙂 Your kids are so lucky… handmade quilts AND amazing mom-made clothes?!
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So cute. Stop it now, I don’t want to get sucked back into quilting.
On a not so serious note, an instructor once commented that the ditch is for drunks, just stay out.
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Heeheehee! That’s an easy way to remember!
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It looks great and I really love the back. I love making quilts too and it’s a good idea to get your fix and hand it over to someone else. It sounds so gratifying. I might need to do that as we really don’t need anymore quilts, throws, blankets!!! It’s funny that we only get to see your legs in this post 😉
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I know what you mean- I have way too many quilts already! I’m glad that I can scratch the quilting itch without adding more clutter to my apartment!
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Oh and it’s my husband’s legs… I would never wear sandals with socks! 😉 Do you like his R2D2-inspired sandals? Ha!
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This looks gorgeous! I’m sure your friend will love it x
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Thanks, Marie! 🙂
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Yay! I started making a quilt a few years ago but in my naivety I chose an amazing Kaffe Fasset super complicated quilt with a million tiny pieces. I still have all those pieces in a box but I think I have to come to terms with the fact that it’s just never going to happen. This looks like something I can actually do!!!
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I don’t think I could ever get through something with small pieces like that! But I hope you do one day! His designs are super cool!
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This is the prettiest baby quilt! I love the colors. Baby quilts are so addictive
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They really are addictive! It’s nice that you can try something out without a huge commitment of time or money. Plus I’m not sure I’ve got the perseverance for a queen-sized quilt! 🙂
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Quilting!!! This came out beautifully! I’m sure your friend is going to absolutely love it. I mean, how could you not love a gorgeous quilt made with love by a dear friend? 🙂 Reading this post was dangerous because you’re re-igniting my desire to jump back into quilting. It’s a slippery slope!
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Do it… you know you wanna! 😉
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Oh I love it! I might have to make one of those after I finish my queen size denim quilt (I have finished cutting all the squares and now need to see if I have enough!). I’m also totally obsessed with granny squares right now. I’m trying to “perfect my skill” so I can get going on my afghan. I’m kinda digging crochet. It sure is faster than knitting. I’m not such a knitting snob now. 🙂
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Granny squares are so portable, too! The only thing that stops me from making them is that I know I’ll never want to sew them together, heeheehee!
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You did such a great job picking the fabrics!! I love the soft mix of animals, and of course anything with cats gets my vote. Very cute!
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There are so many cool prints for cat lovers! I bet it would be easy to make a quilt out of nothing but cat prints!
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ooh it’s lovely! quilting is so fun. have you seen the Catvent Quilt? http://ohfransson.typepad.com/oh_fransson/catvent-quilt-along/ you could make a kitty quilt with kitty prints.
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Quilting really is fun! I think I’m going to try her new Kittens pattern- it’s so cute!!!
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Hahahaha, I’d love to become Quilt Obsessed with you! But only if you could hold my hand the whole time and remind me that wonky is ok! I’ve made only 1 good quilt but it took forever, my friend had another baby by the time I actually gave it to her. LOL, very late baby present!
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Wonky is OK! Wonky is OK! 😀 I’m always late with baby presents, too. It’s so hard to stay organized and on top of deadlines!
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This is so totally perfect for them!!
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Yay, I’m glad you think so!
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GAAAHH it looks awesome!!! lucky baby! so glad you followed mah tute. and i will add your feedback about the yardage to the post. :]
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Thank you so much for writing the tutorial! It was so much fun to make! Your quilt was THE CUTEST! That’s one lucky baby!
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This looks great Sonja!! I love wonky quilt blocks and you’re quilting looks awesome. This looks like it would be a great way to use up scraps too! Also how awesome to have a pressing assistant! That would make things go so much more quickly! What a great gift!
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If only we could always have assistants! 😀 Maybe we should train the pugs?
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Yay! You finished! It’s absolutely adorable. The color combo is right on.
I’ve always wanted to try quilting, but I figured with the knitting, sewing, and spinning, I don’t need one more hobby. One day I do want to make a Denise Schmitt quilt though. They are so modern and fun!
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I’ve never heard of her before, but I just looked up her patterns and they’re so fun! I like “Cog and Wheel” and “Spoolish”… super cool!
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This is brilliant! I love the colours you’ve used, and I hope the new baby likes it. I would love to join you in a quilting bee, sadly there is the small matter of the Atlantic Ocean between our locations!!
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Too bad! I wish we were closer!
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It’s adorable!!! Great colors. I really really really want to make that quilt too. I love wonky free-hand blocks 🙂
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It’s just so freeing to sort of let go of the rules and precision and just stitch things together! I hope you find the time to try it!
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I’ll be your quilt buddy. I haven’t made one yet, but after seeing Miss Make’s tutorial I pinned a bunch of fabrics to use for a wonky quilt.
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I bet you’ll enjoy making it! It’s very, very fun!
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Super cute – what a lucky friend. Your choice of fabrics makes me want to go out and buy…Buy…BUY! Well done…
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Oops, sorry for tempting you!!! 😀
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Oh I love it! The wonkiness is so appealing. I had a highly skilled quilting mum and my own skills are sadly lacking. I’d like to do quilts more like my drawings though….xx
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My mom is a major quilter, too, and I would never attempt the kinds of designs she prefers! But you should feel free to do things your own way! It’s very fun to work on quilt designs that are simple and clean!
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love the fabrics you chose for making it and love those wonky lines… I personally never tried quilting but… who knows… maybe someday 😉
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I always said I would never quilt, but now look at me! So strange! 😀
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I love it! I saw the tutorial too right before starting a quilt and thought about it but decided to just do a simple squares quilt, which, as it turns out, feeds my OCD quite nicely 😀
But yours looks freaking awesome!!! Well done, nice colours!
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I’m planning a simple squares quilt next, but I am a little nervous about getting all the corners lined up neatly. I’m kind of a sloppy stitcher… we’ll see how that goes!
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I want to be in the quilting bee!! I jump at every chance to make a baby sized quilt–they’re fun sized! And picking out all those coordinating fabrics? Such joy 🙂 I love the colors and prints in this one–great job!
I am curious if you’ve read or heard about how quilters press their seams? I recall (15+ years ago) being told to press the seam allowance to one side rather than open. I don’t really know the reasoning for this tho, and I wonder if you heard otherwise?
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In the Elizabeth Hartman book that I referenced before making this, she suggested pressing seams open. She said that some quilters like to press to the side because it’s quicker and they think it’s stronger than pressing seams open, but she feels that piecing will be more even and precise if you press them open.
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The thought of making a quilt never crossed my mind as I’m a garment sewist through and through – BUT now that I have seen your quilt I see that they can be super cute and well curated in terms of colors. You’ve got me tempted…. Maybe I should finish my SWAP first.
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I’ve totally always thought of quilts as kind of cheesy, but really, they can be curated and fun. Give it a try! I bet you’ll enjoy it. 🙂
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OMG, so flippin cute!! I will totally be in a quilting bee with you! I love this wonky quilt idea. I’ve got a baby quilt coming up on the horizon but I’ve yet to buy fabrics.
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Yes! Quilting bee!!!!! 😀
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What a wonderful obsession!!
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And really, I need a new obsession, or I’ll have too many clothes piling up! 🙂
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I love this! I adore the wonky lines and your colour combinations – so fun! 🙂 What a generous and thoughtful gift 🙂
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It was so much fun to put together! I’ve found myself hoping for another baby shower soon so I’ll have an excuse to make another quilt!
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Fabulous-great job!
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Thanks lady!
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Oh dear me… those colours, the pattern fabric choices (huge dots… lions!). This is perfick in my eyes! After your and Erin’s log cabin quilts I’m really starting to wish for time to get involved in the quilting gang!
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I love your quilt. I will show it to my quilting friends. And of course I must make one!
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High five for this awesome quilt!
Good to know about needing extra yardage!
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Such lovely fabric choices! I get a kick out of the lions with the kitties too. 🙂
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Catching up on a bit of blog reading, and I have to say I LOVE THIS! Yay for quilting! You chose some beautiful colors and prints, and I’m sure the mama to be will treasure it.
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It’s very impressive!! I kinda want to try quilting as well but I don’t know if I’ll be patient enough!! I really love this one, the colours and fabrics are going very well together!! (I have to comment with my facebook account as I can’t figure out this wordpress.com thing…!!)
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This is a quite simple way to start quilting! I definitely recommend it if you’re interested in learning!
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