Hive 9, February 2017 Block Tutorial

Hi,  I am Colette Wilson, your February Queen Bee.  I live in Austin, TX (Cedar Park) with my husband, three dogs and two cats.  I've been sewing for what seems to be my entire life and enjoy quilting, making clothing, home decor items, and both machine and hand embroidery.  I learned to quilt as a teen in what is the Waterloo Region of Ontario, Canada.  There is a large Old Order Mennonite community there with a deep tradition of quilting.  I learned to piece and quilt by hand in as part of a Mennonite bee.  While most of my current quilting projects would be considered modern in genre, there is a place in my heart for the traditional style of my first quilting.  For that reason I have chosen a log cabin block with a modern twist for my February Block.

Log Cabin block made with 2.5" strips of assorted red fabrics for the dark half and white on white, white and grey fabrics for the light side of the block.  The center should be of a bright multi colored fabric.

One of the clearest tutorials for making this block is Eleanor Burns' of Quilt In A Day fame, posted on Craftsy here.

In my sample block above,  I chose a variety of predominantly red fabrics that have a cool red vs. orange/warm red appearance.  The red printed fabrics read red as the dominant color.  The light fabrics I used are solid bright white, or white with cool grey print.  The fabrics read predominantly white as opposed to cream, beige, ecru, off-white etc.  My center square is a bright multicolored fabric that has a white background and a tiny pop of red.  This was a scrap from a previous mini quilt exchange.  It was a bright and happy fabric...something that made me smile.  Feel free to use something that will make you feel the same way.   The finished block size is 14.5" square.  When you have completed your block, please do not trim it.  I will do that when I have received all of them to facilitate piecing the top.