The Wentworth Valley

This month's Island Batik Ambassador challenge was to create a project using log cabin blocks. It took me awhile to decide what to make, as I love every log cabin quilt I've ever seen!  One design I've had in mind for a good many years is to interpret the patchwork of colours created in the fall when the frost hits our maple trees.  

One of the most spectacular spots to see these colours in all their glory is in the Wentworth Valley, between Amherst and Truro, N.S. They even have a Festival of Colours there each year, where visitors can take the ski lift to the top of the mountain.

What I see when I look at these pictures is a full rounded top, tapering narrower at the bottom.I decided to make a block with different widths of strips so that your eye sees a faux curve when the blocks are set together.  Our project needed to be at least 36" square, so I drew the block in EQ8 to finish at 6".  This gave me easy to cut strips of 1/2" and 3/4".

In the boxes of fabric supplied to me by Island Batik was a collection of Paisley Dot "Earth Tones", as well as coordinating yardage.  Perfect! I added a few more colours from my Blenders and Basics stash, including bright reds and yellows, and a few Paisley Dot "Brights" which were left over from Twinkle.

 Here you can see the curve formed from the uneven logs.

As I pieced each block, I added it to the design wall to ensure that each one coordinated with its neighbouring block.  Originally I planned for a 6 x 6 layout of blocks, but decided making it a bit longer would yield a good sized lap quilt.

 My final layout was 6 x 8  blocks, plus a narrow inner border and a 6" outer border, giving me a finished size of 49" x 60".

I used my very favourite Hobbs Tuscany wool batting for this project, which was generously included in our Ambassador boxes.

 Of course, I chose a variety of contrasting and coordinating threads from Aurifil.

I wanted a design which would pop up, and spirals with the wool batting underneath filled the bill. The spirals represent the wind rustling through the trees.

The block itself gets lost in the finished quilt, but you can see the individual patch below.

 I am very pleased with how it turned out.

 I quilted more free-motion spirals in the border, and added maple leaf motifs in each corner.

Thank you Island Batik, Aurifil, and Hobbs for supplying the beautiful products for this quilt, which I have name The Wentworth Valley.