My Cotton Bole Quilt

Was it seriously September 11, 2012 when I posted this picture on Facebook with a promise to have the pattern together in “a couple of weeks”? Indeed it was and despite the fact that I don’t enjoy writing up the patterns for the pieces I design, I have to admit that is a bit ridiculous. Nevertheless it is finally here.

I do love this quilt which I find fresh and modern even though it’s based on a very traditional block. I call this my Wonky Log Cabin because the strips are all different widths and it doesn’t hold to the light on top and dark on the bottom pattern for a traditional Log Cabin block.

I also call it my Cotton Bole Quilt because for the life of me I can’t think of anything other than big old cotton boles ready to be picked when I look at the focus print I used for the center blocks and the backing.

Much like this earlier quilt, which I wrote about here, it was made as a quilt-as-you-go project, which makes it ideal for hand quilting on road trips or while attending those tedious community meetings. Did I say that out loud? With quilt-as-you-go, you quilt all of the blocks separately and then join them together For the earlier quilt I did, in fact, do all of the quilting by hand – mostly while sitting on the beach watching my husband learn all about surf fishing. This newer Cotton Bole quilt was in fact machine quilted and I can’t tell you what a joy it is to machine quilt on a block that is only 12 ½ inches square.

I really like the wonky log cabin technique for using up leftover fabric too. With the fabric I had left from this quilt, I made a crisscrossed bag which I will hopefully get photographed and show you soon.

Do you ever start a project thinking it will be a gift for someone and then find that your family has appropriated it before you can give it away? Such is the case with this little gem. Well I guess being able to claim your work is all done in a pet-free environment is overrated anyway.