It was a gray day when we recently visited Fairhope, Alabama, but I had a bit of color in my purse. Early in my quilting adventures (2003, I think), we visited Fairhope and I saw a log cabin quilt made from reproduction feedsack fabrics. I came home and started sewing.
When we headed to Fairhope last week, I rolled the little quilt and tucked it into my purse just in case there were any photo ops.
The skies were heavy, so I stopped at the first picket fence with a color-coordinated house behind it, and snapped this view.
In a couple of shops, I saw welcoming vignettes and store owners graciously let me drape the fabric about their merchandise. It’s amazing what a crazy old woman can get away with if she bothers to ask.
In a tee-shirt shop, I was amazed that they had laid out a display of shirts in just these feedsack colors!
And then, Sailor sauntered by and plopped down for a nap. He was kind enough to model the quilt, creating a unique spot for Fairhope Feedsacks to rest.
At the pier, pilings and tree roots served as quilt racks.
And, at a candy store, more fences, porch railings, an old dresser, and even a baby carriage, a blue baby carriage, gave the little bit of a quilt a place to perch.
Now I’m looking for places to take some other small quilts. I love making the little ones. And since I”m doing it for fun, who cares what size it is? I know a lot of people think a quilt has to cover a bed. I’m so glad they are wrong!
Fairhope Feedsacks measures 19” x 24” . The logs finish at 3/4” wide. I probably used Dream cotton request batting and cotton thread.
Lessons learned from this quilt:
Washing a quilt gives it a softened aged look instantly.
I personally don’t like the same fabrics used in the same position in a log cabin (that’s what I did here, giving the double dose of turquoise every time the blocks meet). I like the colors to be more random, scrappier.
The result, this little piece, was one of my first attempts at free motion quilting. I used a variegated thread and a simple meandering stitched path. It’s not complicated, It’s not a competitive piece, but the little quilt is pleasing to hang about the house…or on fence posts, or at the beach, or on a cooperative doggie.
Here is a photo of Fairhope Feedsacks at home, atop the clock in the breakfast room where it hung out all summer with a compatibly colored rooster.
What fun I had seeing your quilt in all of those locations!
and what fun I had playing there!
Love this!!!