I have seen some beautiful quilts, and I’ve got friends who quilt, but somehow the art has never called to me (possibly because I suck at sewing. Just a thought.).

But then – my cousin and his fiancee found this lovely little neighbourhood with this colourful little yarn and quilt shop and thought ‘we need to do our engagement photos here’ and, because my cousin knows my version of a candy shop when he sees it, they also thought ‘we need to bring Shireen here‘.

Log Cabin Yardage was love at first site. Colourful and warm, their brick n beam store is spacious and filled with both fibre goodness, and Nicole – the awesome owner who didn’t believe for a second that I was too clumsy to manage a simple quilt.

She got me started on something called a ‘jelly roll‘ – pre-cut strips of cotton in complimentary patterns that you can just roll out and sew together without much thought or planning. She also gave me some basic advice about joining, pinning, consistency and ironing, and invited me to come back with the finished piece to learn how to take it the rest of the way.

Another treat we picked up was fabric inspired by one of my favourite artists, Edward Gorey. Check this out!

I can proudly say that this project broke the mental barrier I had against sewing :) I pinned, I sewed, I changed bobbins and threads, and I had a blast doing it. The fabric is so bright and colourful that watching the quilt grow is is a blast. It’s like variegated yarn, except that the project moves much faster and I got to pick what colour came next.

Here is where I netted out – 65″ x 45″ with fabric to spare.

I can’t wait to take it back up to Nicole and learn how to complete it! If you’re in the Pickering neighbourhood check them out – and if you’re not, don’t let that stop you! You can also order online here.