This Lil Pig Studios

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul

My Mother tagged me in a quilting hack video for the Robbing Peter to Pay Paul quilt and it piqued my interest. So I delved into the collection of quilting magazines that I have looking for some direction. Yes, a paper magazine with black and white pictures and graph paper patterns.

Let’s go back to the beginning, way back. The term Robbing Peter to Pay Paul dates back to 1296 in the Science of Cirurgie of Lanfranc of Milan in reference to the taxes that were required to be paid to Saint Paul’s Cathedral of London and Saint Peter’s Cathedral of Rome. With the Reformation, London parishioners neglected paying Peter’s tax to pay Paul’s. In subtle, gentle fashion women put this rebellion into their blatantly domestic voice – a quilt. I might be obsessed.

I set about re-creating this pattern with craft paper and testing. My first attempt was off by about half and inch and left lots to be desired. Not discouraged, I tried again and changed the order of my piecing. In this process, I learn. I learn more about my pattern drafting. I learn piecing order. I learn patience and understanding. I learn why young women of years ago were required to make 12 quilts before marriage. They were not only learning a skill of homemaking, they were learning so much more about themselves.

Not The Average Log Cabin

The Log Cabin quilt block is a very traditional pattern. Historically, the center block would be red, representing the fire from the hearth and the center of the home. The strips would be made from scrap strips separated by color for high contrast. Please note that none of our quilting ancestry went to a fabric store with a pattern and color palate in hand to purchase supplies to create a new quilt. My depression era Grandmothers used what they had on hand. Re-purposing an up-cycling before either were part of the lexicon. This is my favorite part of the beauty of antique quilts and the traditional patterns, the utilization of small scraps to create something functional and beautiful.

I made three Log Cabin quilt variations for baby gifts. The blocks are laid out the same for each, however by changing the direction of the blocks and changing the hand quilting pattern over lays the affects are completely different.

By turning the turquoise and yellows there is a cross affect that I quilted in a diagonal to create the illusion of dimension. The light blue and white were turned to form a star pattern and set to stand out with the star over lay quilting. Finally, the pink and white were turned to create a meandering path across the quilt. Three very different quilts all utilizing the same traditional Log Cabin block.

If you would like more information or the pattern, please drop me a line in the comments. As always thank you for spending time with us in the Pig Pen and visiting This Lil Pig Studios!

Denim Up-Cycled Quilt

A little over a year ago my very talented photographer Jen Whitfill ( Check out her website showcasing her beautiful work at https://jenwhitfill.zenfolio.com/ ) gave me 50 gallon garbage bag of denim blue jeans that were out grown, worn,or otherwise not being used.

I started this project by deconstructing the jeans. Removing the waist band, pockets, and thick double stitched in seams. This leaves large leg irregular rectangle pieces that can be cut into the 7 1/2″ squares for piecing the quilt. A side note: a cutting mat, rotary cutter, and square are essential tools for the heavy duty fabric cutting.

Breaking the king sized quilt into 4 patch blocks makes it manageable for a home machine. This also provides an opportunity to check the squaring of the blocks and make any corrections needed.

I used my White Serger to complete the piecing. I am very pleased with the quilt top and look forward to the completion of the basting, tie and binding to wrap up this project!