March 21

LOG CABIN

Log Cabin: the quintessential American block. This block is often said to represent the log cabins hewn by frontiersmen as settlers sprawled across the west of the American continent. The centre square is often red, to represent the hearth; though it is sometimes coloured yellow to represent candlelight. The logs (strips around the centre square) are alternately light and dark to represent the sides of the cabin in shade and in sunlight.

So many of you may be surprised to learn that this pattern appeared in Scotland as early as the mid-1700s (Hall). More significantly, the pattern occurs regularly in the wrappings of ancient Egyptian mummies. Look at these artefacts from the British Museum, circa 50BC:

Download March 21 instructions (as .pdf).

March 22

COURTHOUSE STEPS

We continue our investigation of Log Cabin blocks today. When the strips are sewn on opposite sides of the centre square, the block is called Courthouse Steps.

Early Log Cabin blocks were usually pieced onto a fabric foundation, in a process similar to how we foundation piece today. However, the many small strips and the fabric foundation, as well as the usual backing and batting meant that Log Cabin quilts were very heavy! They were also difficult to quilt due to all those layers, and old quilts are frequently tied, rather than quilted (Hall).

Download March 22 instructions (as .pdf).

March 23

PINEAPPLE PLANT

Today’s block is another variation on Log Cabin.

I had to include a Pineapple block, since I come from a key pineapple growing area of Australia! This is the simplest of the Pineapple blocks, illustrating the introduction of corners (the triangles) into the pattern.

We are just making one corner of the full block; you can see how complicated the full pattern becomes:

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Pineapple Quilt
Kansas City Star, 1931
Brackman (2012)

Download March 23 instructions (as .pdf).

March 24

SNAIL’S TRAIL

Although there are many more variations of Log Cabin type blocks, we will leave them here today, with Snail’s Trail. Don’t worry, we’ll have a chance to revisit them later.

Snail’s Trail builds out the pattern with triangles. It was first published under this name, and its alternate name, Monkey Wrench, by Hall in 1935.