WHW RS Sampler Quilt Class: Block 1: LOG CABIN (plus 1/4 inch seams, pressing, and cutting)

Hey!  It's time to post about the first block we made for Quilt Class!  I decided to go with the Log Cabin block first, since there are no seams to match and I knew it would give us plenty of opportunities to practice sewing a straight, 1/4 inch seam (and incidentally, we also had plenty of practice figuring out how to use our ruler/rotary cutters).  :)

 

 SO.  First things first.  When you are making quilt blocks, it is ESSENTIAL that you use a consistent, 1/4 inch seam (as opposed to the larger 1/2 inch seam commonly used in garment making).  So before we did anything else, we all practiced sewing 1/4 inch seams.  There is an awesome tutorial that covers what I'm talking about here:  GenXQuilters

Once we had our 1/4 inch seams mastered, we talked about pressing.  Here are a couple quick blog posts on pressing:  SewMamaSew and Craftsy

And then, of course, we had to talk about rotary cutting.  Check out this post here:  PileOFabric

And now it is finally time to make our block!  Here are a few examples of log cabin blocks (click on the caption to go directly to the photo source):

Traditional Log Cabin blocks are two colors and look like this:

Generations Quilt Patterns

And here are some examples of what traditional Log Cabin blocks look like in a quilt:

All About Quilts

All About Quilts

All About Quilts

All About Quilts

More modern Log Cabin blocks and quilts look like these:

Piecemeal Quilts - EXCELLENT POST ABOUT LOG CABIN QUILTS!

Red Pepper Quilts

Ellison Lane

Wombat Quilts

From the Blue Chair

Tallgrass Priarie Studio

Tallgrass Priarie Studio

And finally, we talked briefly about the difference between our focus block - the Log Cabin, and the alternate block - Courthouse Steps.  Basically, they are the same block except for the way they are constructed.  Log Cabin blocks are made one log at a time, with each log added in a circle around the center.  Courthouse Step blocks are made by adding two logs at a time - one to each side of the center.  This picture shows the difference between the two:

Martingale

I made one of each style of block.  (I plan to make a quilt with rainbow colors, by the way.  It was SO FUN seeing everyone's fabric choices the other night!)  My Log Cabin block is 12 inches and my Courthouse Steps block is 9 inches:

And finally, click here for the patterns:  WHW RS Quilt Class:  Block 1: Log Cabin