After knitting like a crazy person for the past few years, I have once again been bitten by the sewing bug. This new fever has been stoked by my latest acquisition: A book by Japanese Quilter Yoko Saito. Simply titled “Japanese Quilting, piece by piece, the cover photo of a beautifully shaped, wonky log-cabin quilted bag, seduced me at once.
The book includes full-sized patterns in an envelope at the back. I was astonished by the small size of the bag as it measures no more than 12″ across. What a good starter project I thought! So off to the store I went to purchase an assortment of taupish fabrics with which to begin.
My fabrics are a mix of neutral browns and wine. I also purchased some beiges but decided they were too light for the outer bag, but might be great for the lining. The log cabin squares are meant to be wonky and uneven. I cut my strips around 1 to 1 1/2″ wide. After settling into a comfortable spot at the table with excellent lighting, I began to hand-sew my log-cabin squares to resemble the provided picture. It took me around 45 minutes to complete one square, and the bag requires 26 squares. After sewing two more squares I gave in and started piecing with my machine…soooo much faster.
The “squares” are arranged on the bag front (and back) overlapping each other and are then hand-sewn to each other. Once they were attached to make a fabric, I cut out the bag front.
That is where I am at for now. Next I have to do this all over again for the bag back.
mnbergh 