Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Mountain Cabin, Island Batik Log Cabin Blog Hop + giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the Island Batik Log Cabin Blog Hop!  Each Island Batik Ambassador was given a half yard bundle of one of the Fall 2019 collections and tasked to make whatever variation of a log cabin quilt they desired.  I was given the beautiful Catching Dreams collection, designed by Kathy Engle for Kari Nichols of Mountainpeek Creations.  The colors in Catching Dreams make me think of the Blue Ridge Mountains, so I wanted to create mountains with my log cabin. I named it Mountain Cabin.


To get the mountain look, I first thought of a Streak of Lightning setting.  I wanted to use my new gift of EQ8 to design my mountains but my skills with the program are not good enough yet and I had a deadline.  I found a printable coloring sheet and got to work trying to turn the sideways streaks of lightning into mountains.  My husband saw me with the coloring sheet and coloring pencils.  He had a better idea for getting the look of the mountains--I quickly abandoned my sketch and switched to his.  And then he even helped me figure out the orientation of each block so that I would get the lines the way I wanted them. I keep saying if you give me 20 years I can turn that man into a quilter--it may not take me that long!

The bundle I received, plus 2 different 2 yard cuts
Materials used in this project were given to me by Island Batik, Aurifil, Hobbs, Accuquilt, and Schmetz.

I used my Accuquilt Go! to cut 2 1/2" strips for the log cabin blocks.  I chose 10" blocks in a 6 x 6 layout for quilt that is 60" x 60".  That turned out to be the the perfect size for the Hobbs Tuscany 100% wool batting that I had from an ambassador box last year.  This was my first time working with 100% wool batting and I loved it!  It is much fluffier (higher loft) than I expected.  I've been sleeping with this as my second quilt and it's the perfect weight!  I think this may become my couch/snuggle quilt.


I used 18 of the 20 fabrics in the collection and I added 4 fabrics from the foundations line.  Foundations are basics and blenders (and now solids!) that are always available and coordinate beautifully with the seasonal collections.


I really wanted the quilting to mimic the mountain peaks, so I did straight line quilting using my machine's stitch guide for parallel lines. I did a slightly different interval for each color family/mountain range, though I'm not sure the different widths are particularly visible.  For the sky, I quilted organic wavy lines.  My husband thinks it looks like winds passing over the mountains.


I started with a brand new Schmetz microtex chrome needle, 80/20.  I used four different colors of Aurifil thread in the quilting--2735 (medium blue), 2770 (light blue), both from the Como blue color builder, 2520 (medium pink), and 2465 (darkish purple).  The purple was 28 weight just because that's all I had in the correct color; all the others were 50 weight, which is what I use the most. 

Mountain Peak Quilting
You can see the effects of the mountain peak quilting pretty well from the back.  In addition to the half yard bundle, Island Batik sent me 2 yards each of a dark and a light from the collection.  I used those for the backing. The blue print is Sun in Shark and the white-ish print is Beads in Thistle.  I used Aurifil 2735 in the bobbin for the mountains and Aurifil 2770 in the bobbin for the sky--so the bobbin thread isn't completely matched to the backing fabric, but it is close.  I had enough of the Sun fabric to use it in the binding as well.


As much as I love the look of the mountains, my favorite part of this is actually the sky!  The light blues in the collection plus some of the lighter neutrals and blenders from the foundations collection come together to make a perfect sky.


I've said before that the Island Batik ambassador challenges really push me creatively.  This challenge really pushed me technically.  I don't typically care for complicated layouts; if each block that looks similar has only one correct place in the layout, I'm usually not interested.  My husband helped a lot in helping me figure out the correct color placement and orientation of each block, something my brain struggles with.  Then when I pieced my blocks, I used a small piece of painter's tape to mark the center of my log cabin, since the first piece added to the block is exactly the same size.  Later, I used a sharpie to mark the row and column combination so I would piece the rows together correctly.  It worked!  I didn't have to rip any of the blocks or rows!


Want a chance to win some Catching Dreams fabric?  I used my Accuquilt Go! to cut out 2 1/2" strips of the fabric I had left, and I have 30 of those strips for a giveaway. There are two ways to enter: a comment on the blog (make sure you are not a no-reply blogger!) or visit The Darling Dogwood on Facebook--or do both for 2 entries.  If you need a prompt for a comment, tell me: if you owned a log cabin, where would you want it to be?  Mine would be in the Blue Ridge Mountains that inspired this quilt, either in North Carolina or Virginia.

30 strips of Catching Dreams
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to visit my fellow ambassador Mania to see what she made with this collection!  And you can find the full blog hop schedule here.


Mountain Cabin is my second finish of 2020.  My goal is 52 finishes by the end of the year.






61 comments:

  1. Beautiful fabrics, I especially like the light colours and I love the way you used the fabrics on the back too, it shows off the wonderful way you quilted it. A lovely quilt Emily, I have only used wool once for a had quilt which is sadly still a UFO. I would love to try it on a machine quilted quilt but I’m always worried about messing it up when it’s so expensive. Any tips?

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  2. In the UP of michigan yahooooo. .. happyness04431@yahoo.com

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  3. Your mountains are beautiful. Great pattern to show off all the fabrics. It is fantastic!

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  4. Beautiful finish and wonderful post. I really like the wool batting too because it defines the quilting so well.

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  5. Beautiful fabrics and quilt. If I had a log cabin it would be in the Ozarks of Missouri on about 100 acres with nobody around me, a stream running through it and lot's of wildlife.

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  6. Beautiful quilt! Your husband would make an awesome designer. I live in the N.E. section of Georgia and I can see lots of mountains from the back of my house.They are so beautiful and change their colors with the weather. Sometimes there are pinks, blues, and greys. Other times, you see them like a mystery with the clouds hanging over them and it is hard to tell where they end and the clouds begin.
    Thank you for the giveaway. I would love to have a log cabin in the North Carolina mountains.

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  7. Πολύ ωραίο πάπλωμα.
    Υπέροχα τα βουνά σας.
    Θα ήθελα μια ξύλινη καμπίνα στη Βόρεια Καρολίνα.
    Ευχαριστούμε για το δώρο.
    Φιλιά από την Ελλάδα.

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  8. I love this! My log cabin would be on a luscious lake or an island in Maine. I am glad your husband is a big help...the reversals do me in so many times!

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  9. Beautiful quilt! I would love to have a log cabin on a lake in northern Minnesota.

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  10. love your design. If I had a log cabin, I think I would want it in the Smokies although in the Rockies would also be good.
    Nancy A: SewingGranda@gmail.com

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  11. Clever design, Emily, and the purple colors are you! I'd have a log cabin on the shores of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota - or in Maine, if I had to choose another state.

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  12. I love your quilt, reminds me of the Norwegian mountains. I would like to place my cabin in northern Norway.

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  13. wow but these fabrics are gorgeous. you did a fabulous job on this quilt. so nice to have a husband that is willing to help like this. mine is the same way. if I had a cabin it would be in the upper peninsula of MI. we love to go and vacation in the mountains there. thanks for sharing
    quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

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  14. I would want a log cabin that faced a lake in one of the southern states. I lived in Minnesota until I was about 40 years old. I loved the summers by the lake. I don't miss the winter weather.

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  15. It would be in Estes Park Colorado...I used to look out my bedroom window at it, when I lived in Longmont.

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  16. Your quilt is gorgeous! I was impressed to see that your husband wanted to help. I've made one log cabin quilt many years ago! I would love to have a log cabin in the Rocky Mountains!

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  17. This is a beautiful quilt. As long as the log cabin is somewhere secluded I don't mind where it is

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  18. Love your mountains. I would love a log cabin somewhere in the middle of nowhere...where it would be peaceful and quite and no traffic!

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  19. Beautiful quilt and fabric combo and like how you.play with them

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  20. Beautiful quilt! If I had a cabin, it would have to be near a lake so I could sit and appreciate God's beautiful creation!

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  21. Beautiful quilt! I think the patterns showcases the fabrics well.
    We actually lived in a log cabin in VT for 5 years. It would have been nicer if we had a view of the lake.

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  22. Love this non traditional looking log cabin quilt the play with light and dark my cabin would probably be in the blue ridge mountains too I live in Massachusetts now but lived in North Carolina for about four years loved it

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  23. I would want my log cabin to be in the mountains of the western Pennsylvania near where I grew up.

    Your quilt is so beautiful.

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  24. I love your Mountain Cabin!!! You and hubby collaborated to create a stunning quilt!! If I could have a log cabin anywhere...mountainous island where it is always warm, covered in trees but still a place where I could grow my own food (including livestock), and accessible only by boat. Robinson Crusoe-type situation!

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  25. Great quilt!! I would love to have a log cabin anywhere there are woods!!

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  26. Mountain Cabin is a beautiful creation! Your use of color is perfectly placed and the quilting just takes it over the top! If I had a cabin, I'd choose to locate it in Northern California near the ocean. It's so lovely there!
    duchick at gmail dot com

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  27. Beautiful quilt! I have only made a few log cabin blocks for a swap. Will have to make some more now!

    If I had a log cabin I would want it to be in the Smoky Mountains somewhere a little away from civilization but close enough to get to a store if I forgot anything!
    Sandy A

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  28. I really wanted to build a log cabin home on our property here in NC but my husband wasn't interested. The technology wasn't there yet. Your quilt is beautiful. I love the colors and the design.

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  29. I would love a log cabin in the mountains. Your quilt is perfect for this beautiful collection.

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  30. Love your mountains! I can see how it would be a challenging layout since all the fabrics blend so well together. My cabin would be right here in the Blue Ridge Mountains!

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  31. Great jpb looks like a lot of mind work. ...tyty for sharing your talents with us.... happyness04431@yahoo.com

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  32. When we were kids we used to vacation at a lodge in Northern California, near the town of Ukiah. Perhaps that would be a good place for us to have a log cabin now, at a place filled with happy memories.

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  33. Beautiful quilt! I'd like a log cabin in the mountains where it doesn't get too cold, so maybe Arizona.

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  34. I visited your Facebook page. I don't have a Facebook account, but I really loved seeing the photo of your dog resting on the "dog faces" quilt, along with several examples of pretty Island Batik fabric.

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  35. Really beautiful! I kind of live in a cabin in the woods already - Montana- I love it! :)

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  36. I would love to have a cabin in the blue ridge mountains. Thanks so much for sharing

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  37. I do have a log cabin and we live in it year round. It is on a pretty little lake in central Alberta and we love it! Thanks!

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  38. love your use of these gorgeous batiks!

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  39. Just got the 2.5 die... so anxious to try this!

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  40. How beautiful your mountains
    are! Love the colors and
    stitching. My cabin would
    be in the mountains of Utah,
    where there is the fresh
    smell of outdoors.
    Carla from Utah

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  41. Love your Mountain quilt! My cabin would be in the Sierras by Lake Tahoe.

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  42. What a beautiful quilt scene of the mountains! I love the Smokey Mountains so that is where I would have a mountain cabin!

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  43. Love your mountain quilt.... I love the smokey mountains.

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  44. Wow! That's a stunning quilt! You captured the mountain vibe really, really well.

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  45. The subtle blues make a lovely sky indeed. If I owned a log cabin, can I get the one next to yours? I mean what is the point of being in the woods if I don't have a quilty buddy?

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  46. I love the purple mountains. Since I'm not much of a country hills kinda of woman, my log cabin would be just off the shores in some tropical paradise like Bali or Bora Bora where I'm surrounded by colorful beauty.

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  47. Your quilt is beautiful! It reminds me of the Blue Ridge mountains, which is where I'd want my log cabin! Thanks for sharing this.

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  48. I would love to have a log cabin in the hills of Alabama where my Grandparents lived.

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  49. It would probably be in my current town as my full time home in northern Wisconsin.

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  50. Log cabin blocks are my favorite block to make. They are so versatile. -- soparkaveataoldotcom

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  51. Totally see the colors of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the collection. Such a lovely quilt. The quilting is a perfect compliment.

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  52. I would choose a place in a beautiful area of Nebraska.
    barbkaup(at)(yahoo)(dot)(com)

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  53. What an amazing quilt. I love how different it is from the typical log cabin and I can see all the mountains. Way to go to both you and your husband. :) The name and the quilting are perfect for this fabulous quilt.

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  54. I love how you made a common block into a unique pattern! The colors are perfect! I would live in a log cabin in the mountains of western Montana.

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  55. Gorgeous colours and I love your mountains, great idea!! Your quilting is perfect too!!

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  56. Your quilt is beautiful for sure! -- soparkaveataoldotcom

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