Grade 2 Log Cabin quilt

This quilt was brought to me from Rumpled Quilt Skins - the quilt shop in Okotoks. It is the second "class quilt" I've done for them. When they launch a new class, the instructor makes up a finished quilt top to show prospective students what their class time will yield. The first piece I did for them was for their "Russian Tiles" class/kit.

Rumpled Quilt Skins has a clever way of organizing a series of classes they offer on a continual basis. Their beginner quilting class is called "Grade 1". And just like grade school and high school, there are subsequent classes that teach more difficult skills and techniques. An interesting side note: I've had to adjust to this terminology since moving to Canada. In the States, we would more likely say something like: when I was in the "second grade" - but Canadians say: when I was in "grade 2". They even refer to the students that way. Americans = "the second graders are going on a field trip". Canadians = "the Grade Twos are going on a field trip". And as far as I can tell they don't use the same high school terminology either. "What year are you, Jesse? I'm a Grade 12." You won't hear someone say they're a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior. You WILL commonly hear a high school kid talk about being a "midget" (which strikes me as chuckle-some), but that's in hockey, which is a vast and mysterious world that I have yet to figure out.

This will be the new wall quilt for Rumpled Quilt Skins' Grade Two class, which teaches students how to make the traditional Log Cabin quilt block. Linda (shop owner) and Lorna (quilt top sewist and Grade 2 class teacher) had originally proposed feather wreaths in the blocks, but after careful consideration, we were afraid that the high-contrast batik fabrics would not really allow for the quilting to show up that well. So I just went with free-form feathers all over the body of the quilt. Ribbon candy in the thinner inner border. And piano keys in the outer border.

All quilting is non-computerized, hand-guided on an APQS longarm quilting machine.

This was a fly-by-night quilt. Lorna brought it to me on Friday, Dec 18, and I returned it to the shop on Thursday, Dec 24. They wanted it to be bound in time for the shop's Open House and class registration on Saturday, Jan 2. So I got busy, busy, busy, and made this project happen! If you're in the area, stop by 64 N Railway St., in Okotoks, to visit this lovely quilt in person!