log cabin quilt variations

When creating new quilts, one of my favorite things to do is to choose a traditional block design and experiment with its scale, color placement, and layout. For the spring quilt collection, I played around with the log cabin quilt block and created two distinct quilts.

For the first, this baby quilt, I decided to go big and enlarged the block so that it featured only one quilt block. The log cabin's center (a Denyse Schmidt print from her Hope Valley line), is surrounded by wide eggplant and cream "logs."

I really love how this particular layout creates such a bold and graphic design, while also highlighting the grid quilting.

For the second design, this larger throw-size quilt, I created 12 log cabin blocks in a restricted, all-solids, palette. By arranging the blocks as I did, a secondary pattern of floating shapes emerged.

I also chose to vary the fabrics I used in the logs, so there is a mix of cream and white, and various shades of purple, red, and plum, within each of the blocks, which I really love. I always love to opt for a bit of variation over uniformity!