Log Cabin Q.

Sherry, the strips can be any width that you want them to be! The narrower the strip to make the block =3D the more fabrics used.....it really is up to you. Any combination of strip widths/colours/tones/ younameit will work - especially important when you want to work with scraps. It is usually more important to have the centre square the same colour/size than any of the rest of the block. When you work with various widths - it is a good idea to use the same measurements for all the blocks on corresponding sides so that the blocks end up being the same size. It is also possible to end up with curved log cabin designs by using narrower strips on 2 sides of the centre square

- it all depends on the effect that you want to finish with. Mary Ellen Hopkins decided once that she wanted to make a red log cabin quilt - she did - she used every single red and shade of red that she could possibly lay her hands on at the time including the orange ones and pink ones and purple/brown ones. She has always said though that she likes 1.5" strips so that she can use more fabrics. Layouts for log cabins are numerous and can be decided when you have a certain number of blocks for the look that appeals to you the most. Any pattern for a quilt layout using log cabin blocks can be duplicated using any size of strips - the end result is a difference in the finished size of the quilt. The narrower the logs =3D the more blocks required to make a full-sized quilt (or more logs per block)....jennellh

if ya use two different widths, narrow on two adjacent sides and wider on the other two adjacent sides you'll get a curved effect with the blocks. put for of those together and you'll have bubbles. :) sorry, just got here, too foggy still to do any better. there are websites for this tho. someone else no doubt can find one better than i can atm. groggy and soggy in the south pacific, j.

"jennellh" wrote... Sherry, the strips can be any width that you want them to be! The narrower the strip to make the block = the more fabrics used.....it really is up to you. Any combination of strip widths/colours/tones/ younameit will work - especially important when you want to work with scraps. It is usually more important to have the centre square the same colour/size than any of the rest of the block. When you work with various widths - it is a good idea to use the same measurements for all the blocks on corresponding sides so that the blocks end up being the same size. It is also possible to end up with curved log cabin designs by using narrower strips on 2 sides of the centre square

- it all depends on the effect that you want to finish with. Mary Ellen Hopkins decided once that she wanted to make a red log cabin quilt - she did - she used every single red and shade of red that she could possibly lay her hands on at the time including the orange ones and pink ones and purple/brown ones. She has always said though that she likes 1.5" strips so that she can use more fabrics. Layouts for log cabins are numerous and can be decided when you have a certain number of blocks for the look that appeals to you the most. Any pattern for a quilt layout using log cabin blocks can be duplicated using any size of strips - the end result is a difference in the finished size of the quilt. The narrower the logs = the more blocks required to make a full-sized quilt (or more logs per block)....jennellh

This is one of my favorite blocks and it looks great with lots of different fabrics - so scraps are great. Playing with the settings for the blocks is fun too. If you have an even number of blocks (vertical and horizontal) you can do symmetrical settings like "barn rising". But if you use an odd number of blocks you can get interesting asymmetrical settings. There was an article on this in QNM a few years back and I actually made a quilt with an asymmetrical setting - sorry I don't have a picture handy to link to though.

From a distance a log cabin block looks like a HST - so any setting that looks good for HST can be used. Makes things easier at the design stage!

Allison

jennellh wrote:

Sherry, log cabins can be made with any width strip. The strips don't have to be the same width even. You can also do "wonky" log cabins with uneven width strips/wedges. The final size of the block will influence the size of the logs, too. There are several books available with log cabin ideas, off the top of my head: Flavin Glover has one that is "New Look at Log Cabin Quilts". Judy Martin has a new one that is "Judy Martin's Log Cabin Quilt Book". "Log Cabin Quilts" by Rita Weiss and Linda Causee has a quilt by Flavin Glover on the cover. (Different ways to use log cabins with/in other blocks too.) There are lots more as well as log cabin and its variations in many other, more general quilting books.

Have fun, Pati, > I've never made one! Now I want to make use of my scraps and try to

Your question was well timed. I just pulled out my bin of greens and ecru/beiges to make a king sized bed quilt. I also thought 2.5" was too wide and I was starting to plan out using 2" strips and burgundy center squares.

Have fun making yours! It will be wonderful no matter what size strips you use!

AliceW in NJ "I like me how I am" as said by my 3 year old grandson when asked why he doesn't want to turn 4.

There are 2 ways to stitch Log Cabin blocks. Actually, there are probably

72 ways - but what I mean is this. You can chain sew and put one block after another on a long strip. When all are done, you simply trim them to size. I didn't do so well with that method and much prefer cutting each log to size. It's really easy to wander off a perfect seam allowance and/or trimming session and turn out blocks that are all sorts of strange sizes. My first LC was with strips 2¼" but I used the chain method. Not terribly wonky and that's a very good size. Do remember to check your bobbin before starting a long session. Polly

Sherry,

There is no hard and fast rule about widths. I've done them from all sorts of widths and they all work.......

Happy quilting,

Lenore

You may use any size you like! You may even combine different sizes -look for some other LC books to see special effects when the strip width changes. You may put your starting square in one corner and build out on 2 sides. You may even use a triangle or diamond for the base -it's infinitely flexible.

The trick is to square up your blocks after every round. Even experienced piecers sometimes end up with different-sized squares, and checking often will save you grief later. You may sew strips on thier own, sew on a foundation, or even sew directly to a square of backing and batting for a pre-quilted block. (Then assemble with quilt-as-you-go technique.)

But to answer your question, my own LC blocks have used widths as narrow as

1" and as wide as 2.5". IMO the wider strips would fit the proportions of a 12-16" block. The narrower ones look better in small blocks. Roberta in D

"Sherry" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@c65g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...

One other comment......you CAN still use the blocks if some are going right and some are going left........made mine into a Maze.so it 'looks' like they should be

HTH Butterfly (Still waiting for our website to be finished)

I was reluctant to mention that problem. It is a very good idea to have a sample block made. Put it close up right in front of you and follow it every step of the way. Otherwise, you'll wind up with some blocks marching to a different tune. I'm sure. Polly