.Quiltscapes.: Log Cabin Trees... continued

Thursday, November 3, 2022

Log Cabin Trees... continued

I feel really honored that the gals from Missouri Star Quilt Company have chosen a couple of my patterns to feature in recent tutorials, including the Log Cabin Tree Skirt pattern (previous post)!

I have found a few more scraps and 2-1/2-inch strips, and my friend Debbie and I have been sewing more Log Cabin Tree blocks - well, they go together so quickly!

Debbie made a smaller version of the tree skirt with a variety of 2-1/2" strips. She made the log cabin trees with one less round than the original pattern, and smaller sashing strips between the trees.

The top measures about 42" from tip to tip and 36" from side to side; the perfect size for a smaller Christmas tree, or leave it whole for a cute table topper. Here it is, ready to quilt.

I ended up with a couple of smaller trees, so I made placemats. For background, I used a fat quarter, folded it in half, then cut triangles to fit on both sides of the trees using the 60-degree mark on the ruler. I trimmed each tree section to about 13-1/2" tall and 15-1/2" wide.

After quilting the table topper, there was enough backing to fit the placemats on the longarm. I basted on the placemat squares, then stitched a couple of strips to one side, quilting through all the layers. The edge of my hopper foot is 1/4" from the needle, so I just used a channel-lock and stitched the strips into place: a 1-1/4" accent strip, then a 3-1/2" strip of yardage.

And, of course, I had to add a faux-piped binding. The Edge-Joining or "Stitch-in-the-Ditch" foot makes it a breeze to stitch! This one is Bernina's #10.

The placemats measure about 13" x 19". I think they turned out just darling!

Faux-piped binding (< tutorial) is a great solution for a fancy finish, to add that tiny pop of color. It even works when you don't have enough fabric to make a one-color binding! I repeated the same treatment for the table topper.