I saw a picture of a rug online awhile ago and was inspired to make this quilt. I wish I could find a picture of the inspiration rug. When I first looked at it I fell in love with the new take on the basic log cabin. I love log cabin blocks in modern quilts but, I look at them a little like I look at roses. They’re beautiful but, sometimes overused. I just knew I had to do a quilty version of this take on a log cabin. So, here it is. I hope you like it.
As a “Measured Improv” quilt it was a lot of fun to piece though the further that I got into the piecing, the harder it was to come up with unique variations for the “logs”. The consistent element is that all of the black fabric is in 1″ wide strips. I actually cut a whole pile of 1″ strips before I even got started. The second consistent element was that this was done in a log cabin format. So, I created panels or logs to build the larger log cabin pattern. So, it starts with a center “block” or log and it builds out on all sides. The quilting lines on this were fun too. They are free motion wonky “straight” lines that are only in the white spaces. This creates a very cool effect as you can see when you look at the back of the quilt. For this quilt, I really wanted the front to stand out so I chose to have a solid piece as the quilt back. I used one of my favorite Kona Cottons, Grass Green. It creates perfect contrast to the black and white front.
.jpg "The Big Log")
.jpg "The Big Log")
.jpg "The Big Log")
by Latifah
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I’m gobsmacked and I’m not even Irish. I felt compelled to comment on your quilts..awestruck , inspired, okay my thesarus is worn out. I am not worthy, I am not worthy. Looks good on ya’ girl. Thanks so much for sharing. Ann
Wow, this is incredible.
This is incredible!
[...] I even finished The Big Log in the original colors of Black and White, I started to think about what variations could be made [...]
Great meeting you and this quilt in person on Saturday. You are a true artist!
So, so awesome! I love that you put green on the back! I also love how the quilting adds another dimension to the incredible front! Great work, Latifah!
This is amazing! I love this quilt. I have a stalker-ish crush on it.
Wow – what a great piece. Very clever construction, and visually stunning. Well done!
Wowza! That is amazing work. What a great idea – so creative and visually stunning.
Holy guacamole! First of all – how awesome are you in Quilters Home?! I was telling my husband, “I was THERE when she was making that quilt being featured in a magazine!” It makes me cool by association
(In my mind, at least.) And now, your awesome new blog – I love it. I clicked on the photos of this gorgeous quilt on Flickr and was surprised to see your little smiling face next to it. My friend Latifah is the now the Quilt Engineer? I guess she is! Now, about this quilt – did you just keep building out and out with the pieces of white and black? Is that what you meant by ‘log cabin style’? I love that little cross and the x. It really has the look of a cool city scape. Awesome work.