Thursday, September 23, 2010

Crazy Log Cabins

 I thought it would be fun to make a small crazy log cabin quilt, so I designed it in EQ to help me decide on the block size, which is 6-1/2" (I'm not trimming to size until I'm ready to put them together, so I can still change my mind).  Starting with leftover strips from cutting out other quilt projects, I began by cutting 1-1/2" squares for the block centers (they're not all the same fabric, but similar enough for this crazy style - they're in the lower right).



I needed more fabric to make that many blocks, so dug through my scraps and small pieces of fabric, as well as others that I had used in crazy log cabin blocks last year and came up with some variety, although I know I need to add more bright prints as I run out of those I have.  The strips are cut in various widths, and I'm using everything from 3/4" wide to 1-1/2" wide, just to have more variety!



Because I like to be frugal with my fabric (what can I say, I was raised to be frugal when cutting out clothing when I learned to sew), I'll sew as many centers as I can to a strip and then do the same with another strip.  Sometimes I'll save some of the smaller strips to use a few rows into the block's construction, especially when I don't have any larger pieces of that fabric left.

After I sew each strip to the growing block, I press the strip away from the center and trim the ends even with the block.  Some of the strips are not even, which makes the block wonky, and sometimes I'll trim a wider strip at an angle to make it wonky on purpose.  It all makes for a more fun block, with no worries, as they will be trimmed into perfect blocks when I'm ready to set them together.




This is where I was when I took the pictures with my phone,



and this is where I am now (I've just puzzled them together for a group photo).  Maybe I should just keep them all different and fit them together like this for the quilt???


1 comment:

Delighted Hands said...

At first it might look like a random setting but the quilt looks radiant with color placement-good way to use up scraps and still be beautiful!