Simplify. Simplify. Simplify!

The November challenge for the Island Batik Ambassadors was to use a log cabin block as the focus of our designs. If you look through the blog links at the bottom of the page, you’ll be amazed at the creativity displayed by this group.

My own quilt began with a fairly grand and highly ambitious design, one my Mother would have loved, because the Log Cabin was her favorite quilt pattern. As it became clear I wouldn’t have it finished by the end of the year, and certainly not by the end of the month, I began to rework the pattern, simplifying the Log Cabin blocks with each revision until it wound up as Moonflower Cottage.  The original featured 8″ blocks. Curved Log Cabin blocks surrounded and were surrounded by my own “Morning Glory” blocks.  In the end, I enlarged the 8″ blocks to 12″, so there are far fewer blocks required, and the center blocks are merely a nod to the Log Cabin.

The fabrics for Moonflower Cottage are from Island Batik‘s “Vintage Morris” collection. They sent me a 42-piece Strip Pack, and two coordinates. I added a peachy orange, and a light green from the same collection for the flower blocks, and one of their off-white basics for the background.

Make 10 Moonflower blocks

My 12″ (finished) “Moonflower” blocks are made with 3.5″ x 6.5″ split rectangle units. The easiest way to make these is with the Split Rects tool from Studio 180 Design. This is one of those tools you don’t realize you need until you have it. (No affiliation, just an avid devotee.)

The other pieces in the block are three off-white 3.5″ squares, one 3.5″ x 6.5″ rectangle; one 3.5″ yellow square, and one 3.5″ green and off-white half-square triangle.

 

Make 6 Mock Log Cabin blocks

 

My “Mock Log Cabin” blocks are made with one 2.5″ square, and one each 2.5″ x 4.5″, 2.5″ x 6.5″, 2.5″ x 8.5″, 2.5″ x 10.5″ and 2.5″ x 12.5″ pieces, cut from the strip pack. The background is two 2.5″ squares and two 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles. There is also a 6.5″ background square with a blue corner added via the Stitch-and-Flip method.

There is also one block that is six 2.5″ x 12.5″ strips sewn into a square.

 

 

 

Make 14 setting triangles

The setting triangles are made with one 6.5″ and two 3.5″ background squares. The blue triangles are made by cutting a 6″ square diagonally twice, and sewing the triangles to the sides of the smaller squares.

Note: Traditionally, those blue triangles would be cut from a 5.5″ square. Making my triangles just a little oversize gives me a wider seam allowance on the outside edge, making it less likely that I will nip a white point when adding my binding.

 

To lay out the quilt, begin by laying down the center square, then building from the center out:

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Sew into diagonal rows, then sew the rows together to complete your quilt top.

My Moonflower Cottage quilt measures about 52″ x 68″, and was quilted by Kathy Brown with Hobbs Heirloom batting and Aurifil thread, both provided by the companies.

So that’s how I met the “Cozy Cabins” challenge. Wait ’til you see what my fellow Island Batik Ambassadors did!

 Yellow Cat Quilt Designs, Creative Blonde

 Ark Angel Creations, Patterns By Jen

 Sally Manke, Powered By Quilting

 Desert Bloom Quilting, Sew Karen-ly Created

 MooseStash Quilting, Devoted Quilter

 Sew Incredibly Crazy, SweetGrass Designs

 Mary Mack Made Mine, If These Threads Could Talk

 Bejeweled Quilts, Clever Chameleon

 Freemotion By The River, Kauffman Designs

 Den Syende Himmel, Sarah Goer Quilts

 Gateway Quilts, The Quilt Rambler

 Busy Hands Quilts, Mania for Quilts

 The Inquiring Quilter, MMM Quilts, Living Water Quilter

 Inchworm Fabrics, BeaQuilter

 Quilting Affection Designs, Dizzy Quilter

 Pamela Quilts, Curliecue Creations

 Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting, Little Bunny Quilts

 Carole Lyles Shaw, Masterpiece Quilting

 Quilt in a Not-Shell, Lizard Creek Quilting

 Steph Jacobson, Whispers of Yore

 Kathleen McMusing, Adventurous Applique and Quilting

 heARTS Creations, Slice of Pi Quilts