Log Cabin 'Barn Raising'

My absolute favorite traditional quilt block is the Log Cabin.

My favorite way of putting together log cabin blocks is to make the center the same on all the blocks then use 3 lights and 3 darks.  

I number the lights and darks 123 then on one block I use the fabrics in a 123 order and the other a 321 order.  

Make sense?  Probably not.

Above is the 123 order and below the 321 order.  Notice that the inside purple above became the outside purple below.  Doesn't look like much yet.

Next is a picture when you put 2 of each of these blocks together.

 And when you add another row all the way around?

This pattern layout of the log cabin is known as 'Barn Raising.'

I have a finished quilt! Actually there is also binding added that matches the center color and brings the whole project together. The quilt seems a bit rounded in it's lines, that is because I made the light strips a 1/4" thinner than the dark and that creates the 'flow'.

This quilt measures only 13 1/2" square.  Looks a lot bigger doesn't it?  This quilt was a birthday gift I made for my wonderful friend Anita who loves purple and green and flowers!  I made her a tote bag to match...  But that's another day!

When I googled 'Log Cabin Quilt Pattern Tutorial' I got almost 500,000 hits.  Below are a couple of links I thought did a great job of explained 'how to'.  

Enjoy! 

Great Online Step by Step Log Cabin Pattern by Quilt.com

This one is for Strip Piecing - A great time saver from quiltingboard.com

Something New!

I fell in love with a game table years ago at Jordan's Furniture.  When my husband and I closed on our lake house last fall we went back to Jordan's looking for the table which would be perfect for our new place.  

Unfortunately the table was no longer available.  Bummer...  

Several weeks later, my husband, the ultimate shopper in our family, phoned me saying "I found your table at a local consignment shop! It's not exactly the same but come and see."  So off to the consignment shop I went!  The table was just what I wanted and had 4 chairs!  Yeahhh!!! This table boast four game boards: Backgammon, Checkers/Chess, Scrabble, & Monopoly, Plus a plain wood piece which makes it just another beautiful piece of furniture.  The set even had all the game pieces intact!  This was quite a find and is even better than the original one I fell in love with....   

Way to go Eric!!

We took the set up to the camp and I gave the wood a thorough cleaning with Murphy's Oil Soap.  Amazingly it looked almost like new with just a few marks for character.  

Only one problem - the chair pads were stained. 

and this was the nicest one!!

 

This brings me to my 'Something New!' 

I learned how to upholster this weekend  :)  I searched for a striped fabric with bright stripes to go with the theme we are decorating the camp with.  I found just the right fabric at Joann Fabrics.  

 

The chair on the right is the BEFORE and 

the chair on the left... the AFTER!!

 

The first chair took an hour or so but the other three went much faster.  The hardest part of the process??  Taking out the old staples!  They were a bear to grab hold of but luckily my hubby jumped in to help :)

 

Don't you just want to sit down and play???

Quilting Retreat!

I spent last weekend at a Quilting Retreat surrounded by a wonderful group of creative people!  What Fun!  Sat too long and eat too much - excellent!  My creativity 'runneth' over! 

On top of that my husband and I purchased a new get-away place so I have something new to decorate.  The place surrounds us with mostly beautifully finished plain wood so we have decided to bring LOTS of color in and my love started with by taking four plain unfinished stools and painting four different colors!!  Red, Yellow, Blue, & Green.  In going with the same theme I plan to decorate with lots of handmade items and decided that showing my progress and process will get me to blog at least weekly.  We have carpeting moving in next week so I'll post pictures of the stools once they are back in place.  

For now I am working on a wall hanging with rainbow colors.   Back soon!

Busy Busy

I was very busy this weekend creating new items for my Etsy Store!! As always - the Caribbean is a favorite for me!! Come see the new Swarovski Sprig Items!! More colors will be added shortly! Have a wonderful day! www.mjjoerger.etsy.com