Sketching Log Cabins

I have joined a mini quilt swap! It's making quilts based on log cabin blocks. Everyone involved makes a mini quilt and sends it to another person in the group. The fun part is you don't know who is making for you. Part of the challenge is trying to make something that suits someone else's tastes rather than your own.

We don't know who our partners are yet, but I am feeling excited and have lots of ideas swimming around in my head so I thought I would try and get some down on paper. Also, my kids generally let me.sketch, even if they don't always let me sew.

I started by seeing if I could actually draw a circle effect log cabin design.

Short answer is yes! These feature in a lot of people's inspiration mosaics for the swap, and if I can draw it, I can make myself a pattern to sew it, so it's good to know this is an option, even if I don't go with exactly this design. I was going for an overlapping effect, but these colours don't show that up very clearly. Think it would need higher contrast between the one in the centre and the outside ones.

Next, inspired by my 2 year old. I tried drawing a tunnel.

This is based on a log cabin variation called Courthouse Steps and the blocks are not particularly detailed - just enough to get he triangle effect in the corners. I coloured it in to look like a train tunnel. I think the concept works, but it's not quite what I had in my head.

Next I tried doing another sort of arch effect - a rainbow.

This one is just not working. This is as far as I got before it was clear to me the idea wouldn't work without reconsidering the upper corner blocks. Also, it's looking a bit complicated for something that is only going to be 16 inches square. Decided to abandon that idea.

To get my mojo back, I did a simple rectangle log cabin grid and added some off centre colour.

I like this! Simple but effective. It also made me think of eyes. So I redrew two blocks of these blocks and added two more to make a silly face.

Much happier now, I decided to try a different tack on the rainbow thing and sketched this pinwheel design.

This really does work. And I could easily make the blocks a bit bigger to make a 6 or seven colour rainbow.
Also, it's occured to me while writing this I could make up the blocks for this and instead of joining them into a pinwheel. and set them on point and they would look like mini rainbows. This might be one to make the blocks and then play with the layout.

So now I just have to wait and see who my partner is to find out if they are likely to go with any of these ideas. Even if they don't, the act of sketching is fun in itself, and I can always make things for me if there is something in here I suddenly get a burning desire to make.

Thanks for reading!

Update!

I made a test block from that final sketch!

I was trying to sew around my rather exuberant two-year-old, so details like ironing and measuring went out the window. It was just my scrap box, needle, thread and scissors. I will sew properly for the actual swap piece, but for testing colours, sloppy works well for me.

In general, I like it - the rainbow concept works. But there are some problems. The purple looks too washed out compared to the others, I wish I had matched the tones better. Also, I am not sure about the four colour rainbow. I couldn't easily select 4 colours that I felt represented the full spectrum properly. I think this would look better with an extra log in an orangey/yellow.

I was also relooking at the pinwheel design, and thinking I need to alter it slightly so the red logs definitely meet in the middle.

I am having fun with this! Even if I make something else for the swap,  I think a rainbow pinwheel log cabin cushion is something I will definitely make in 2019.

Linking up with the Peacock Party again. Adding the picture, but haven't worked out how to turn the pic into a link yet. Oh well.

http://wendysquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-christmas-peacock-party.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+WendysQuiltsAndMore+(Wendy%27s+quilts+and+more)&m=1