Blog / log cabin

Something I've enjoyed doing the past few years is working with local photographers to photograph my work. Through doing this, I've been able to meet other local creative women, have my work photographed in a number of beautiful spaces, and create a high-quality visual archive of my quilts.

My most recent photoshoot took place last February, in the Cause Creative space in Essex, MA. I drove out there with a handful of my quilts and a pair of pillows and handed them over to Ashley Brooks (the owner of Cause Creative), who styled them in her beautiful space, and Jesika Theos, who photographed them. 

The resulting images are some of my favorites. Because the space was so large, I was able to bring my larger throw quilts to be photographed---something that's harder for me to do on my own. Among the work I brought that day were an Amish Hourglass Throw Quilt (pictured above); a Chambray Log Cabin Throw Quilt (featured in the beginning and end of this post); and the Minimal Stripes Throw Quilt pictured below.

I also brought along two improvisationally pieced lumbar pillows, made from an assortment of neutral scraps, including treasured hand-printed fabrics from Cotton & Flax and Maze & Vale. 

Having my work photographed so beautifully in such a warm space meant so much to me, and I hope you enjoy the images as much as I do. If you're interested, you can shop all of the pieces that were photographed that day here. 

All photos in this post by Jesika Theos. 

Ages ago (I honestly can't even remember when!), my friend Natalie and I decided to make a small dent in our respective fabric stashes by creating collaborative quilts together to donate to the charities of our choice. Our idea was to pick a block pattern, each make 1/2 of the blocks needed for a quilt, and mix them together. We then split the basting, quilting and binding duties. 

Though this is a very informal project, we did want to create labels for the quilts so that they could both be identified and numbered. We came up with the name "The Modern Quilt Collective" and I designed a simple label which I printed through Spoonflower. Each quilt is hand numbered. 

We both really like the quarter log cabin block, so for this first round of quilts we made, we stuck with that design. This large rainbow quilt went to a family in Newport, NH, who lost their home to a fire. (Photo by Natalie.)

We also made a batch of baby quilts using restricted color palettes, which were sent to recently resettled refugee families in California, who are either expecting, or recently had, a baby. I loved shipping these quilts out knowing that they were destined for brand-new babies!

As you can see, we stayed scrappy on the backs as well. It was so nice to use up so many cuts of fabric!

I was able to connect directly with these families through the amazing organization Miry's List. You can either donate directly to Miry's List to support their work, or purchase needed items from families' Amazon wish lists. These tangible items help families set up and start their new lives here in the US, and perhaps bring some comfort during what otherwise must be a very disruptive time in their lives. I highly recommend checking Miry's List out if you're interested!

Sometime last year, I connected with Erin Dollar, the designer behind Cotton & Flax, an LA-based home goods company. Erin creates awesome surface patterns from simple repeating shapes, which she silk-screens onto linen-cotton fabrics.  

In addition to creating the free Double Dash quilt pattern for her first fabric collection for Robert Kaufman Fabrics, I've also been working with her leftover screen-printed scraps to create new quilts (like this flying geese wall quilt). The two log cabin baby quilts pictured here are my latest work made from Erin's scraps; in this case, I worked solely with her designs printed on a flax-colored/natural linen-cotton blend.

This first quilt features her designs printed in black, paired with strips of cream and white, and squares of solid peach, to form four Courthouse Step blocks. Each block was pieced improvisationally using strips of various widths, so each block is unique and varies in size and shape.

This second quilt features Erin's patterns printed in white, and the fabric strips are arranged in a much more orderly and uniform fashion to form four log cabin blocks. The layout is the same as the one I used to create this neutral log cabin baby quilt earlier this year. Each of the blocks' centers feature a unique, warm-colored solid. 

I really enjoy the act of working from scraps---making design decisions on the fly since I'm limited to the fabric that's in front of me---so I really loved the process of making both of these quilts and am so happy with how they turned out. 

Both of these quilts are now available in the shop, if you'd like to take a look. And you can read more about this collaboration in Erin's write-up from last spring.

All photos by Jane Cuthbertson of Gray Green Goods. 

This quilt is the result of my two sewing worlds colliding. In addition to making the quilts here at Salty Oat, I’m also in charge of sewing production at The Everyday Co., where I sew napkins, tea towels, and more. Kathryn, the owner of The Everyday Co., and her husband are currently expecting their first child, so when her parents commissioned me to create a quilt for the new baby boy’s nursery, I was honored and excited to get started.

Knowing Kathryn’s love of neutrals, and getting a peek of the nursery in progress, I quickly settled on a gray and cream color palette for the quilt, with pops of blue.

I pulled lots of gray cotton and linen scraps to construct the four oversized log cabin blocks that make up the top. Amongst those scraps are pieces of gray linen, leftover from making napkins like these. The block centers are made from an upcycled men’s blue dress shirt (which has made appearances in other quilts, including this baby quilt and this throw quilt).

A quick glance at my stash reminded me that I had the perfect backing for the quilt——a linen-cotton blend I bought during a trip to Japan a few years ago.

Kathryn and her husband have spent time in Japan, so I thought it would be a fun tie-in to their travels, and the colors of the fruits/vegetables coordinated beautifully with the front. And just for fun, I added a pop of orange to the binding.

This quilt now resides in its new nursery, in anticipation of the baby boy that will be here in just a few weeks---and I can't wait to meet him!

UPDATE:

Kathryn sent me these gorgeous photos of the quilt in its new home. Isn't that wave wallpaper stunning? 

Photo by April K Photography

Photos by Elizabeth LaDuca

You can see even more photos of the room in this recent feature on Style Me Pretty Living. 

P.S. I'm currently accepting commissions for custom quilts. If you're interested in working together, just fill out this form to get started and I'll be in touch!