Log Cabin Tree Tree Skirt & Ornaments by Deonn Stott & Debbie Proctor
featuring Comfort & Joy fabrics by Dani Mogstad for Riley Blake Designs
I am happy to be participating in this fun blog tour - and even happier to have collaborated with my quilting friend Debbie for this project.
When thinking of what we could make with these sweet fabrics, Debbie showed me a tree skirt her mother had made for her, a Diamond Log Cabin Tree Skirt by Eleanor Burns, circa 1988.
Her mother had made both the tree skirt and a tablecloth, then used the scraps to make little matching log cabin ornaments.
She even signed them, which, now that "Grandma Gardner" is gone, makes these a treasure for her family. So sweet.
I loved the idea of the log cabin-style project, because it could feature more of these adorable prints. Then the thought occurred to me to try a tree-shaped log cabin configuration, starting with a triangle instead of a square for the center.
I checked my AccuQuilt dies and sure enough, there was an equilateral triangle die in my collection, #55429. Yay! Perfectly trimmed corners, notches for the centers, and you can cut 6 layers at the same time. Debbie had a die cut with mini triangles which we used for the mini tree ornaments, plus some strip cutters which made quick work of cutting our strips. Traditionally, a log cabin quilt block begins with a red square to signify hearth and home, so... red triangles became the center of our trees.
It's a 60-degree triangle, and as most rulers have that marking, it's an easy triangle to rotary cut as well. Decide how tall you want the triangle and cut a strip 1/2 inch wider. Then, just line up the 60-degree mark along an edge to make the first cut.
Turn the ruler around to find the next angle, then repeat.
We also decided that with these prints, we could give a little dimension to the tree with the light prints on one side and medium prints on the other. Debbie made all the blocks.
Finally, after taking family surveys of our background choices, the modern, clean look won out and we went with Riley Blake Swiss Dot tone on tone White:
RED: 3 vs WHITE: 5
(We didn't count Debbie's two sons' votes, because they are both color blind!) The red seemed to look better in pictures, but the white really does look best in person!
Once the quilt top was made, it was time for quilting! I quilted branches in to the tree, switching direction at the center seamlines.
Then I couldn't help it, I had to quilt some little gifts under the trees... I think these would be super cute if done as applique'!
Then some easy swirls between the trees. To me, it looks like a big snowflake and the swirls could be, well, snow? snowballs? At any rate, it will eventually get covered up with presents anyway, right?
To me, the toughest part of the whole project is making myself cut a slice and center hole so the tree skirt can fit around a tree! Whew!
Bias binding around the center hole with long enough ties to tie around the trunk.
Then, like Grandma Gardner, we used scraps from the tree skirt to make little matching ornaments. (Stay tuned or subscribe to the blog for the full tutorial in a few days.)
All set for Christmas! And just so Debbie and I don't have to draw straws, of course we'll have to make another one ~ It went together so fast, it will be a breeze! Now we are kinda giggling about calling it a "Tree Tree Skirt". If you have any other suggestions, let us know!
Big thanks to the folks at Riley Blake Designs for sponsoring this project, and thanks to you for stopping by! You can find the fabrics at Missouri Star Quilt Co. or Pine Needles in the store and online. For more inspiration to put you in the Holiday spirit, visit these blogs both from last week and in weeks ahead.
May 22: Julia @ Riley Blake Designs
May 30: Deonn @ Quiltscapes
June 5: Andy @ A Bright Corner
Juen 17: Amy @ Ameroonie Designs
