Scrap Log Cabin

Scraps are such a mystery. How do so many accumulate? Why do we save them? What can we do with them? Occasionally I think it would be fun to have one way to handle scraps. Always cut squares... or rectangles... or triangles. Truthfully though, I'm too fickle.

My newest crush is cutting one inch strips for log cabins. The finished logs are one half inch wide. Wanting a scrappier look, I have them in various stages so identical fabric is placed in different rows from block to block.  I also try to avoid the same fabric progression from one block to the next.

Log Cabin block, Sunshine and Shadow set

The Value Finder helped sort fabrics. Lights are very light (8-10) but the darks range well into medium (1-5). Working with some of my strongly patterned fabrics was challenging. Sometimes I had to wait until a quiet scrap appeared before adding the next row. Some busy fabric never worked well. Some worked in shorter logs where I could fussy-cut around a big value change. Some fit in surprisingly well just as they were.

For example, in the lights at the top is a beige print with a cowboy on horseback. If I'd placed it closer to the darks, i.e., on a smaller inside log, the darks would have "crept" into the lights and the block would have lost its diagonal. On this long strip near the outer edge of a block, it adds some color (that is technically too dark) but the overall area still reads as light.

The lights also contain a variety of pastels - blue, purple, green and bright yellow. I worried they might overpower the lights in some way Finally I made most of the outer light logs from prints with beige or white backgrounds. Halting the pastels logs before they touch the next block seems to make them twinkle.

I'm still pondering the quilting design but leaning towards diagonal lines. And I need a small border.

Fret not; enjoy the day.

Ann