New Orleans House Project

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Thinkin' About RSC 2018: A Quarter Log Cabin Tutorial

As the year comes to a close, I find myself looking back at the year's quilting projects and also looking ahead and planning my quilty priorities for the coming year.  I'll save the year-end wrap-up for another post, because for the past few days I have been playing with scraps for a 2018 Rainbow Scrap Challenge project.

I find that some of my favorite RSC projects have involved fairly simple piecing - something that can be completed in just an hour or so of fabric play time.  It's very satisfying to be able to complete a block while I'm waiting for Dear Hubby to come home from work, or even on my lunch break - working from home has its perks!

With that in mind, I thought I might like to make a version of the "cross" quilts that have been popular for the last few years.  After looking at lots of quilts online and on Instagram, I chose the cover quilt from Modern Log Cabin Quilting as my inspiration.

After reading through the author's instructions, I knew I would need to make modifications in order to utilize my scraps.  I also decided to use reproduction/traditional fabric scraps, so I guess my version won't really be "modern".  No worries, the pattern is actually based on our age-old favorite, the log cabin block.

I grabbed some red and green scraps (c'mon - it's Christmas!) and a variety of background fabrics, and started measuring and cutting.  Since many of my scraps are already cut into 2.5 inch strips and squares, I used that as my starting point.

Each cross block requires:
4 - 2.5 inch squares of the focus (dark) fabric
4 - 2.5 inch squares of background (light) fabric
4 - 2.5 inch x 4.5 inch rectangles of focus (dark) fabric
4 - 2.5 inch x 4.5 inch rectangles of background (light) fabric
4 - 2.5 inch x 6.5 inch rectangles of background (light) fabric

Start with 4 2.5 inch squares of the focus (dark) and background (light) fabrics.  Stitch one dark and one light square together and press the seam toward the darker fabric.

Next up, add the dark 2.5 inch by 4.5 inch rectangles to each set of squares, keeping the dark fabric square on the right (see above).  Press the seams to the dark side.

Now add the 2.5 inch by 4.5 inch light rectangle as illustrated.  Press the seam to the outside.

The final rectangle (2.5 inches by 6.5 inches) is added to the top of the block. 

This time, press the seam toward the inside of the block - this will allow the quarter log units to align smoothly (nestle) when stitched together.

The completed quarter log units should look like this.

Arrange the quarter log units into a cross shape.  Stitch two units together to make the left half of the cross, then the other two units for the right half of the cross.  Finally, stitch the right and left sides together with one long seam down the middle.  I pressed the final seam open instead of to one side or the other.  

Finished block!

The finished blocks measure 12 inches.  Since I never seem to be able to make small quilts, I figure I'll aim for at least a twin bed sized quilt: possibly 6 x7 blocks.  These are kind of like potato chips - once you get started, you just want to keep making them!  I've already picked out more red and green scraps for the next round of blocks.

More scrappy inspiration to be found at Angela's Soscrappy blog this morning.