#Log cabin quilt layouts license

#Log cabin quilt layouts license

Mary Fons took creative license and made a variation of this setting in her quilt Curved Log Cabin. This might be what makes this block so popular and timeless. Many experienced quilters can take the Log Cabin quilt layout and adjust color placement and/or contrast, the sizes of the quilt blocks, etc. Alternatively, it may be a preference for modern taste.¹ This change might be a reflection of lifestyle changes for the makers of these quilts from domestic life to amusement found outside the home. For example, the blocks are larger in later designs and a deep, traditional color scheme shifts to a more pastel palette. Log Cabin quilts from the late 1800s to ~1950 exhibit stark differences in the construction of the Barn Raising design, according to Marin Hanson of the International Quilt Study Center & Museum and Patricia Crews of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I love the flipped block at the top center that gives the illusion of a spiral.

The quilt to the right, made by Abba Jane Blackstone Johnson circa 1910, is a beautiful example of this setting.

The Barn Raising layout was popular during the Civil War era. Construction of this quilt block consists of piecing fabric strips, or “logs,” of fabric around a square center, alternating light and dark fabrics from corner to corner. Like other Log Cabin quilts, high contrast is the key to making this pattern pop. Curtis, Fontier County, Nebraska, c 1910.