Scrappy Quarter Log Cabin Quilt and Tutorial
Another scrappy quilt. About 12 months ago I decided to start cutting and collecting 1 1/2 inch wide strips of fabric for a String Quilt of a yet to be determined design/layout. The idea was that whenever I pulled fabric from stash I would cut an extra strip to add to my shoebox of strings. Unfortunately I wasn't very diligent (nor organized enough) to continuously add to my collection of fabric strips but this week I decided to put the strips that were there to good use, albeit not for a traditional String Quilt but instead for Quarter Log Cabin blocks.
Little did I know just how many strips of fabric I would need! I soon realized that I would have to dive into my scrap bin as well as pull fabric from stash, all of which took extra time and added considerably to the mess made in my sewing space.
A Quarter Log Cabin Block is exactly that - a quarter of the traditional Log Cabin Block and there are a several different ways of piecing this block, including cutting a whole Log Cabin Block into quarters. I however pieced each of Quarter Log Cabin Blocks individually so that not any of the blocks are the same, and also because many of the fabric strips that I had been collecting were short - less than 8 inches in length. Lesson learned for my next collection of strings: cut strips from the full width of the fabric.
QUILT STATS 63 Quarter Log Cabin Blocks. 693 patchwork pieces of which 630 are fabric strips/logs. Quilt Top measures 48 inches x 60 inches. Finished size of each block ~ 6 3/4" x 6 3/4". Finished width of the logs ~ 3/4"
QUARTER LOG CABIN BLOCK TUTORIAL
Unlike a traditional Log Cabin Block for a Quarter Log Cabin Block logs (fabric strips) are added only to two sides of the square (A), starting with log 1 and alternating sides until complete. You can add as many logs as you like, change the size of your starting square as well as the width of your strips. The cutting instructions provided only represent the dimensions the block that I have used for my quilt. I did however use the wider strips of fabric which I had been collecting (1.5" wide) and after each "round" of two strips I trimmed the excess fabric and squared up the block.
And then when you have finished your blocks you get to choose a layout, and there are a number of different options, including as pictured in the first image by arranging four different scrappy blocks to make one whole Log Cabin Block (with or without sashing in between), setting blocks on point, or as I have done, sew blocks together in rows.
Repetitive and small patchwork piecing, and sewing many blocks from fabric scraps is my favorite quilty thing to do, with foundation paper piecing coming a very close second. Scrappy sure makes me happy, and there will be more scrappy projects this year!
More posts from Rita Hodge
