September 12, 2006

     Do you need a quick wallhanging for the fall season?  Do you have lots of scraps?  If you answered "Yes" to both of these, then this is the project for you!

Materials Needed

  • Pre-washed, 100% Cotton fabrics, Dark/Medium Browns and Golds, Light/Medium Creams and Yellows

  • A fat quarter of oranges

  • Scraps of Greens

  • Double-Sided Light-Weight Fusible Webbing/Interfacing

  • Sewing thread

  • Black embroidery floss or Size 8 Perle Cotton

  • Scissors

  • Pins

Preparing the Quilt Top

     If you look at this quilt top carefully, you will notice that it is simply one large rectangular log cabin block!  This presents several options, which are discussed at the bottom of this page.

  1. Either cut a single rectangle from a very light cream or white that measures 6.5" x 8.5" OR cut 12 - 2.5" squares from a variety of whites/creams.  Once cut, then sew the squares together in a three by four layout, as shown below (Each X is a square):
    X X X
    X X X
    X X X
    X X X
    Once you have the four rows sewn, then sew them together, so that you end up with a rectangle that measures 6.5" x 8.5".  This is when it pays to sew with a scant 1/4"!  However, the great thing about this pattern is that the seam allowance doesn't really matter!  As long as your final rectangle is close to 6.5" x 8.5" and is rectangular (with 90 degree angles).

  2. From the lights/mediums and medium/darks, cut 2" strips.

  3. Begin sewing the strips around the finished light rectangle, beginning at the bottom.  Sew in a clockwise motion, using medium/dark, medium/dark, light/medium, light/medium.  This completes the first round around the rectangle.  You will recognize this as the start of a huge Log Cabin!
  4. Press the first round so that the logs are pressed away from the center rectangle.
  5. Continue doing this, going in the same direction, until you have 7 "logs" on each side of the beginning light rectangle (if you cut your strips 2", as I did, then you only need 5 "logs" on each side). 
  6. After each round, again press the logs away from the center rectangle.
  7. Just to clarify:  All of the logs that are on the bottom of the rectangle (one of the shorter sides) are dark.  All of the logs on the left side of the rectangle are dark.  All of the logs on the top of the rectangle are light/medium.  All of the logs on the right of the rectangle are light/medium.
  8. Once finished, press the huge rectangular log cabin flat.

Preparing the Patterns

  1. The patterns for this wallhanging are available at:  http://quiltingpassion.com/QPU/TouchOfAutumn.jpg
  2. Print the pattern.
  3. Once it's printed, it may or may not be the correct size.  This depends on your printer, computer, and browser!  If the largest pumpkin (1) is not approximately 5.25" from the dotted line of the stem to the bottom of the pumpkin (in the middle of the dipped area), then enlarge it until it is.  Once the graphics are the correct size, you will need 1 copy of the entire page.
  4. Note:  You can have these any size you want... as long as you are happy with how they look.  I roughly cut a few out of an extra printed copy of the pattern and scattered them on top of my quilt to get an idea of what I wanted.  You can see pictures of this at: http://quiltingpassion.com/QPU/6leaves.jpg and http://quiltingpassion.com/QPU/7leaves.jpg and http://quiltingpassion.com/QPU/8leaves.jpg.  You can place the patterns anywhere and any way you want on your quilt!  Mine are just examples.  So, in a nutshell... all you are doing so far in this section is getting the patterns and making sure they're the right size for you.
  5. Using the sheet of patterns printed, trace each pumpkin onto one side of double-sided fusible webbing.  You can trace a pumpkin in a pumpkin, as I did, to save on the fusible webbing (refer to the picture in step 7).
  6. Trace each stem of each pumpkin separately.
  7. Trace as many of each leaf as you want (I traced 8 leaves).  Once traced, it should look similar to this:  http://www.quiltingpassion.com/QPU/Tracings.jpg.  Notice how I wasn't exactly precise?  The tracing needs to be very close, but it's the cutting that is going to count!  I also used a permanent pen and didn't wait for the ink to dry, hence, mine smudged. Plus, I now have the most creative lines on the edge of my hand and arm.  In permanent ink.  I wonder how much scrubbing it will take to get them off?

Cutting the Appliqué Pieces Apart

  1. Roughly cut each of the pieces apart, as shown here:
  2. Next to explain something about using double-sided fusible webbing.  As long as it's small pieces, like the leaves, I leave the center of it alone.  But, if it's larger pieces, such as the two pumpkins, that's a lot of space and it should probably have some type of quilting in it if you remove the webbing.  This is optional, however.  If you leave the webbing, it simply makes the whole appliqué piece stiffer.  If you remove all of it but about 1/4" on the edge, it leaves the middle of it soft and easier to quilt (especially by hand!).  Here's a picture of mine trimmed:

Fusing the Pieces to Fabric

  1. Place your fusible patterns on the wrong side of the fabric, and iron into place, as shown here:
  2. After all of the fusibles are ironed to the wrong sides, then cut each one out.  Again, you can roughly cut around pieces, as shown here:
  3. Next, cut each individual pattern out on the drawn line.  Do not add 1/4" seam allowance because you do not need it if you are using the button-hole stitch.   This is the time to be smooth and accurate!  Shown here:
  4. Time to lay out the design, so begin experimenting by laying your cut pieces into various positions.  Do this until you are happy with the look.  (Note:  Read step 5 before beginning step 5!)  Here's my rough layout:
  5. Carefully transfer this to the ironing board.  I found that if I picked up two opposite corners, it worked well.  However, once I got to the ironing board, it wasn't wide enough to hold all the pieces and the ones on the end fell off.  So, if you're not sure you can get them back to where they were, pin them in place in the fourth step.  Once you have it laying on the ironing board, follow the instructions for your fusible webbing and iron the pieces with the fusible side down against the top of the quilt top.  Here are examples:
    http://www.quiltingpassion.com/QPU/fabricsironing.jpg and http://www.quiltingpassion.com/QPU/fabricsironing2.jpg and http://www.quiltingpassion.com/QPU/fabricsironing3.jpg
  6. Once you have all of the pieces ironed on, lay it flat to cool, as shown here:

    (Notice that I added an extra leaf or two!)

Beginning to Appliqué

  1. To appliqué the pieces in place, follow the button-hole stitch instructions given or use any method that you prefer.  Appliqué sample:
  2. Here is a photo of mine completely appliquéd and ready to finish!

Finishing the Quilt 

  1. Press the top flat.
  2. Layer it with batting and backing, then quilt it.
  3. Don't forget to add a label to the back!

Options

  • Cut the "logs" wider to make it sew up faster.
  • Continue sewing "logs" around and around until you make a larger quilt!
  • Vary the colors used in the logs for a different look.
  • Vary the patterns used to appliqué for a different look, making this very versatile.
  • Make this using a different appliqué stitch.

For more information, please contact quilting@quiltingpassion.com

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