The auction is in support of the Hudgin Log House Restoration.

Check this page for bidding updates. 

Beautiful hand-made and quilted King/Queen size Quilt (91“X 108”)

Made by Paula Peel & Myrna Wood

Value $2500

for sale by auction

Current bid $1800

bidding increments $100

Bidding closes at

Night of the Monarch 

October 14.

Register your bid by email to [email protected]

The quilt is currently on display at Books and Company in Picton:

Hudgin House Log Cabin Quilt

by Paula Peel

About a year ago, Myrna and Paula decided to collaborate on a quilt to help with fundraising for the Hudgin House Restoration Project.  From the start, they wanted a traditional style of quilt that evoked the era when the Moses Hudgin Log House was built.  The log cabin quilt pattern was perfectly suited to their project, based on its name alone!  But the historical roots of this quilt pattern also made it a good choice.  Although it’s unclear where and when log cabin quilts first began to be produced, the earliest known written references to log cabin quilts date back to 1863.  The Hudgin Log House was built two years later, around 1865.  As it turns out, there is yet another historical tie-in.  One of those 1863 references is to a quilt on display at a fundraising bazaar for Union soldiers, which means that log cabin quilts were being used for fundraising 160 years ago!  

In addition to their intrinsic beauty, log cabin quilts were also utilitarian.  The log cabin quilt pattern made the most of “leftover scrapbags full of mixed fabrics”.  This was important at a time when nothing ever went to waste.  Worn-out clothes could be cut into strips and reused in quilts. Myrna and Paula were happy to follow that tradition, using leftover fabric pieces, both their own and donated by the Prince Edward County community.  

There are many different layouts for log cabin quilts, but they all have in common a square block consisting of a centre square surrounded by rectangular strips or “logs”.   In vintage quilts, these centre squares are in various colours including black and red. Over time red came to symbolize the homes’ hearth or fireplace.  

The “Barn Raising” layout used in the Hudgin House log cabin quilt, with its square-within-a-square design, is probably the most recognizable layout of all.  The quilt that is up for auction consists of 120 blocks in total.  Each block is made up of 13 pieces (a centre block surrounded by 12 “logs”), resulting in a total of 1,560 pieces in this quilt. During the quilt-top piecing process, two sides of the blocks are sewn using light-coloured fabrics and the other two sides using dark fabrics. The magic happens in the way these blocks are oriented to form multiple diamond-shaped patterns.

The quilt measures 91“X 108”.  The quilt backing is a vintage-pattern style single piece of fabric without any seams.   While in 1865 when the log house was built, the quilts in use would have been much smaller, this quilt has been designed to be used for either a queen or king-size bed.  

This vibrant, multi-coloured quilt will suit just about any bedroom.  It will provide warmth and comfort for its new owner(s) or make a fabulous gift.  Most importantly, you will have contributed to the restoration of the Hudgin Log House.