Last month, Stash Buddies!
Create an improvisational log cabin block using solid white fabric as the primary background, accented with one or two pops of saturated color. Strips can vary in width, angles can change, and the placement of color is entirely up to you. The blocks you see are 6 ½” and 12 1/2” - but any size is fine as I'll be constructing it on without a prescribed grid. I put my samples on a black background so you can see the seams. You can make one or several - have fun and search those scrap bins for some fun accent colors. Thanks!
Improvisational Log Cabin Quilt Block
Background: Solid white fabric.
Color accents: One or two pieces of saturated fabric that read as a solid from a distance. Choose colors that stand out clearly against the white. Finished Block SizeI often found a print of two colors (white being one of them) and then matched the color in the print with a solid for my pops.
Blocks should measure between 3½″ and 12½″ unfinished. You may make any size within this range. Either rectangles or square blocks are fine. Blocks do not need to be a standard size as they will be incorporated into an alternate-grid quilt layout.
Instructions
1. Begin with a small piece of fabric.
Begin with a small piece of square fabric in your chosen accent color. (Solid or white/color print) Your starting piece can grow to be centered or placed off-center.
2. Creating the Improv Cabin
Cut a strip of white fabric and sew it to one side of your starting piece. The strip can be wider or narrower than the starting piece. It can be a rectangle or triangle.
Add another white strip to an adjoining side, then continue adding strips around the growing block. You may work clockwise, counterclockwise, or change directions as you go. I squared up every once in awhile as I wanted the white to be sort of in a square. (See seam lines)
Experiment with:
Strips of different widths and lengths angled seams and strips that are not perfectly parallel, off-center shapes and unexpected turns, narrow strips alongside wider sections of white.
Trim excess fabric from individual pieces as needed to prepare for the next seam, but you do not need to trim the overall block to a standard size.
4. Introduce a pop of color.
At any point, add a small piece of saturated color. It can be your first piece or it might be a square or rectangle nestled among the white strips, a narrow strip along one edge, or a triangular shape that peeks out from a seam.
The goal is to create an unexpected focal point against the white background. Let the color placement be spontaneous rather than symmetrical or predictable.
5. Continue improvising.
Return to the white fabric and keep building outward. Change strip widths, shift directions, and vary the placement of seams. You may add another pop of color if you wish.
Remember that the white fabric should remain the dominant visual element. The colored pieces are accents, not the main event.
There is no prescribed number of strips, no required center, and no particular arrangement to follow. Let the block develop as you work.
6. Stop when your block feels complete.
Continue piecing until your block measures somewhere between 3½″ and 12½″ unfinished. The shape does not need to be square, and the edges do not need to align with those of other blocks. I can trim them down or add to them, if I need to do so.
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