LOG CABIN SEW ALONG – WEEK ONE

GATHER MATERIALS

Be sure you have the American Patchwork & Quilting February 2024 issue, as you will need that for all the pattern instructions and fabric requirements. You can pick up your copy at your local quilt shop, at major newsstands, or digitally from the American Patchwork & Quilting website. You can get your copy from them HERE, or just the article itself HERE , -OR- (hint, hint) you may want to look into an annual subscription when you consider the price of one issue – take a look at their site!

Then, decide on your fabrics. Most importantly, your main color. The log cabin block lends itself to any color palette quite beautifully.

KIT OPTIONS

We do still have a few kits available from our partner shops. Grab them while you can!

• YELLOW (The Quilter’s Lodge)
• AQUA (The Quilter’s Lodge)

CHOOSING FABRICS

Once you settle on your main color, you’ll need to choose a complimentary color for your block centers, and then choose your low volume/solid background fabric…

• Main Print
  • Be sure you have a good mix of tones/scale of prints. They are fairly skinny strips, so a large floral might not be your best option…but you also don’t want your prints to be all near solid or small in scale, either!

• Block Center
  • Pick a contrast…or not! This is totally up to you.

• Background:
  • You don’t want a background that competes too much with your main print, so be careful with “loud” low volumes.

If you’d like to see the full quilt layout in the various colorways we mocked up, be sure to visit our previous blog post HERE. This is also a great one for your overflowing scrap bins! Just use our tips above to assist you in your pull.

Below, we are sharing some “real life” progress pictures from our Fig Tree ladies. SWOON!

GET ORGANIZED

There are many ways to organize yourself for sew alongs, or for any quilt project in general. There’s really only one rule: do what works best for you!

• For some, cutting only a few blocks at a time is best to avoid confusion or losing pieces along the way. This works great for those who only have short timeframes available to dedicate to sewing. Since we are doing 20-ish blocks/week, you can easily start there and cut more as you go. For others, cutting out a whole quilt at one time is more efficient.
• Using design boards is a great way to help keep all of your pieces together and makes your fabric mobile! During GIFT WEEK this year, Susan of @thefeltedpear made some smaller design boards [referred to as BINDING BUDDIES] to use as thread catchers for hand work. The batting helps fabric and threads “stick” to the board. You can easily enlarge these instructions to create any design board size you’d like [I prefer any size between 12″-16″ square]! Check out that blog post, with tutorial, HERE.
• Another great organization hack is to use silverware organizers! You can usually find this fairly reasonably priced at dollar stores or discount home stores, and the separate utensil slots are perfect for separating these skinnier strips we will be using. Susan has shared a few more great tips on using these over in our Facebook Group – be sure to check it out!
• Paper plates are also great, and fairly inexpensive. You can write on them and even space out some of your various prints so you get a nice mix as you build your blocks.
• Feel free to label your cuts as “A”, “B”, “C”, etc. Use post-it notes, scrap paper and Wonder Clips, or alphabet stickers found at craft stores in the scrapbooking section!
• You may or may not fall into this category, but sometimes planning out your time with a to-do list (or a true planner), can help you stay on track. I love being able to cross things off a list…who’s with me?!

What other ideas do you have to help you stay organized while working on quilt projects?

FIG TREE QUILTS FRIENDS FACEBOOK GROUP

Don’t forget to join us over in our FACEBOOK GROUP! We will be doing a few giveaways, sharing our fabric pulls and block progress, and featuring a few “BFFs” [BEST FIGGY FRIENDS], like we did with our FRUIT SALAD SEW ALONG if you happened to join us for that one.

NEXT WEEK

This coming up week, starting December 18th, is a BREAK WEEK as we all gear up for the holiday festivities. This also allows you some extra time to decide on your fabrics, allow your kit to arrive, and get prepared. We’ll see you on Tuesday, December 26th, for our next sew along update where we will begin working on our first 20 blocks and share a few alternate layout options!

Let the preparation begin!

-Joanna