A quilt for the cabin...

A year ago we helped our friends move into their vacation condo near Leavenworth, and as Julie and I made the bed in the guest room, it wasn't hard to imagine the quilt and pillow shams being right at home in my rustic cabin.

It's a very simple design, with an appliqued central part of the quilt surrounded by large squares of different plaids sewn in rows, and a deep brown border. The pillow shams have both applique and pieced fabrics, and there's a coordinating throw pillow.

I took photographs, and when we got home, I sketched out a plan for my own quilt. First of all, I'd use homespun-type plaid cottons for the outer blocks, and make them smaller, maybe 12 inches. I love these plaids and have quite a few in my fabric stash, and I've set them aside already: red and black, dark blue and green, gold and brown, and a few tartan plaids too.

I'll play around with different settings for the plaid blocks, since the scale of the plaids is different from piece to piece. Maybe alternate the plaids with plain colored blocks, which could be quilted or appliqued with bears or mountains or other designs to go with the central appliqued scene. Or I could separate the plaids with a sashing strip. Or I might decide that for a rustic quilt, it just doesn't matter. Once I've made the final choice of fabrics, I'll set them up on the design wall and decide.

The appliqued center will be fun to design, and I'll make it all mine. A lake of course, to reflect the lake that's just outside the windows. Probably a bear or two, although we've never seen them at the cabin. A moose, definitely... my favorite woodland animal. Plus lots of evergreen trees, a cabin, trails through the woods, and some mountains, too. Maybe even a bald eagle or osprey. It will be a fun quilt to make; the applique blocks and the center design will be perfect projects for road trips (and family gatherings).

Next time we're at the cabin I'll measure our bed, then sketch out the final design. I'll also take out the fabrics I've chosen. We have a handmade quilt on our bed, which I'll move to the guest bed. So I'll want to make sure the fabrics go well together. It will be so nice to have a handmade quilt on both beds.