Thursday, February 19, 2009

Liberated Log Cabin Blocks

I got home from work last night, and went right into the sewing room where I made these five Liberated Log Cabin blocks. These are going to be fun. It was -so- liberating to sew complementary colors together (blue & orange). I had great fun using temperature contrast (cool blue and warm red), and I finally to to use that crazy black and white swirl fabric, and that multicolored one on the upper right...

I'd say I was in trouble, but I have too many other things to make before I can devote myself to this project.


To wit: the next time I decide to use a white-0n-white fabric on the binding of a quilt, and to do the hand sewing on the front, because I like to show off my blindstitching (yeah, I know, it's an ego thing,) will somebody please whack me upside the head and slap me silly?

It's bad enough I wear bifocals and can't thread a needle without help. I had to move a Very Bright Light near my chair so I could -see- what I am trying to sew. (Let's get real here, I can barely see what I am doing clearly.) The thread wears out quickly and breaks where I least expect it, so I can't sew more than about 16" at a time. The white on white is so THICK that it's really slow going. Add that to the fact that I have arthritis in my right thumb and holding a -pen- makes my hand hurt, and now I am trying to hold a needle... which means I can't work on this more than 30 minutes at a time...

Let's just say I've been dealt a huge piece of Humble Pie.

And I'm eating it.

9 comments:

Sharon said...

Wow, those log cabins look GREAT! How fun! I especially like the one with the b&w swirl fabric. Very graphic.

I'm right there with you on the arthritic thumb. What a pain - and difficult to do anything. I'm supposed to be embroidering a crazy quilt block, and it hurts to hold the needle. Yow! Hope you manage to get your binding done. Pacing yourself is good - I keep reminding myself of that too! Good luck!

Joyce said...

I love the log cabins. Liberated is my favorite way to sew. Maybe you should sew the binding down with a fancy sewing machine stitch. Then you could showcase the stitching and also be done in minutes.

Quiltdivajulie said...

The effort will be worth it (white on white issues)...

LOVE LOVE LOVE the liberated log cabin blocks ~ they are WONDERFUL!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey! I had a similar problem when I did the binding on my mom's white quilt. It was really hard for me and I don't have arthritis, I can only imagine how hard it is. Hang in there, I know you will love it when you are done!! You have a masterpiece!

And. I love the liberated log cabin blocks, my fav is the white and black with blue in the center! WOW!

YankeeQuilter said...

A couple of years ago I took any fabric with the heavy imprint (like your white on white) and donated to the girlscouts. It is just too tough for me to deal with anymore!

The little log cabin blocks look great...

Magpie Sue said...

You have my sympathy with that binding. I'm having a harder time seeing these days too, and for some reason every binding I've sewn lately has been black on black! I've never felt so blind before in my life.

Those log cabin blocks are going to be a ton of fun :- )

Millie said...

Sharon,
I know my limits. I don't do any hand sewing that isn't absolutely necessary.


Joyce,
Nope, no fancy machine stitches. And that's not just because my sewing machine doesn't have any fancy machine stitches. Done in minutes is not the goal here. I don't mind that it's taking a while.


Julie,
Thank you, I agree, the effort will be worth it.


Chris,
You're right! It's tough stuff! I think it will look great too!


Yankee Quilter,
Well, I sure won't do this again!


Magpie Sue,
Yeah, it's a bitch getting older, but it sure beats the alternative. Black on black, wowza! You go girl!

Gari in AL said...

Boy, do I understand the arthritis thing. I haven't been able to knit for 20 years and sewing binding on is painful. But, that said, I love to quilt (machine) and will machine bind when I can. Otherwise, I just sew for a little while, every day, until I get it done. I tell people the only thing I do by hand is push the "on" button.

Clare said...

Love the swirly black block.

Binding is my least favourite part and I do sympathise with you.