Odd Log Cabin: A Free Quilt Pattern for JellyRolls

Vintage Log Cabin quilt in the Courthouse Steps variation

with darks and lights opposite each other.

From the prints I'd guess this quilt was pieced about 1880-1900.

Same time, similar pattern, different look.

The center square in each block is white, which makes the background shift into the foreground and vice versa. The blocks are not square.

I love this little antique top of rectangular blocks I found somewhere on the internet. Inspired by the way the blocks float I designed a similar pattern in  EQ7. First I'll show you the blocks in conventional manner as squares.

The block here is based on a grid of 7 x 7.

If you use 2-1/2" pre-cut JellyRoll strips

the finished block would be 14".

Combine a JellyRoll of my Old Cambridge Pike

with a JellyRoll of Moda Bella Solids in a white....

Cutting a 14" Block

A - Cut 2 white strips 14-1/2 " x 2-1/2".

B - Cut 2 print strips and 2 white strips 10-1/2" x 2-1/2".

C - Cut 2 print strips and 2 white strips 6-1/2" x 2-1/2".

D - Cut 2 print squares and 1 white square 2-1/2 " x 2-1/2".

How to Piece 

Start in the middle with a strip of 3 and add strips to either side. Work

your way out.

Set 16 square blocks in a 4x4 grid and the finished top will

be 36" square.

But this is not what the antique looks like.

 I realized it looks different because it's a rectangular block.

If you made your blocks 10" x 14" you'd get the same effect.

6 blocks across, 6 down---but the blocks

are rectangles so you wind up with a top

that is 60" x 84".

The only difference between piecing the rectangular

block and the square block is you leave off piece A.

Easy enough to do.

Mi Casa by Carrie Nelson (Miss Rosie's Quilts)

And here's a fabric idea I pirated from

Carrie's Moda blog. She used a variety of Moda Layer Cakes

new and old in her Sun and Shadow log cabin block. It's a great period

look with some contemporary drama.

The pattern is in a new book I Love Log Cabins.

See her post about it here:

http://blog.modafabrics.com/2016/02/cabin-fever/

She says:

"Mi Casa finishes at 77" x 77" and it uses a diagonal setting to make a "sun and shadow" or checkerboard of lights and darks. The strips finish at 3/4" wide so there are a few tips included about cutting and sewing log cabin strips, especially those that are a bit narrower."