Log cabin quilt blocks, a common, and widely popular block of the 19th century, the design typically starts with a center square symbolizing the home’s hearth, then light and dark “logs” are added to opposite sides. A red center square symbolized the heart or hearth of the home, while a yellow center square meant a welcoming light. In my research I discovered that a black center square is said to have been a signal for stops on the Underground Railroad! I find it fascinating how much quilt history there is in this country and will most definitely be taking a deeper dive into this, particularly the Barn Quilt trail and Underground Railroad. Anywho! Log cabins were our assignment for February, to do with them as we wish.

So on the second Thursday of February, Mother Nature decided to unleash yet another serving of winter on us and consequently we only had 19 of the 46 of us able to make the meeting. 19 of us showed up with 28 log cabin blocks! Kind of crazy and I suspect we’ll get some more when we meet next. I’m loving the enthusiasm for this project!

At the end of the year we will gather together and assemble all of these blocks we are collecting into quilts to donate to Mary’s Place by the Sea in Ocean Grove so we may continue to provide a handmade hug to the women who come there for respite while undergoing cancer treatment. I cannot think of a better way to support them!

Deirdre D was in charge of the “program” portion of our meeting this month. Every month we have an educational portion of the meeting. This is member led, we take turns teaching a technique, sharing something that is near and dear to us, or even just talking at great lengths about machine needles, binding a quilt, different types of batting, and so on. It’s always enlightening and there’s always something new to learn. Deirdre schooled us on the technological side of it all. She taught us how to use some of the resources available to us as part of our membership in the worldwide Modern Quilt Guild, how to gather information from and use social media as a learning tool and how to get information about quilting, instructional and otherwise from the internet, in particular how to differentiate between what is real and what is AI. At the end of the day we are each other’s best resource! We collectively hold a wealth of information, this is something that is evident every time we discuss things amongst ourselves. It was a captivating lecture for sure. Thank you Deirdre!

As always, member show and tell is the best part of any meeting. I’m sure that holds true in any quilt guild meeting. For your viewing pleasure..

Behind that quilt is MaryJane P, the maker! Eventually this will find its way to its new owner at Mary’s Place.

Thanks for following along!