Blue and White

a new quilty adventure

I get to lead the next quilt for my charity group, Comfort Circle of do. Good Stitches! Usually I begin with a patchwork concept, but this time my inspiration is color: blue and white.

This classic color combination is so fresh and crisp. It makes me think of sailboats on the water, bleached white columns by the sea or one of my favorite summer dresses in clear, watery blue.

Blue and white are full of contrast, which has me thinking of log cabin blocks. Traditionally log cabin blocks have a light side and a dark side, with a contrasting square for the center. A dark navy square would make for a strong center, while keeping the palette simple.

And so I started sewing a simple log cabin block, using my Circus Cabin quilt pattern.

This block has all the appeal of a traditional log cabin: consistent sized logs, fabric repetition, strong contrast and a square shape. But that’s just a beginning.

My concept for this quilt is log cabin variations. It’s a free-for-all! My bee mates can make blocks that finish in any square or rectangle size. Blocks can be scrappy or not, have dark/light contrast or not. The blocks can have uniform logs or go totally random. Just have fun!

To illustrate the possibilities, I’ve sewn a second block for this collaborative quilt. It is a log cabin variation known as Courthouse Steps. For this Courthouse Steps block I’m using logs of different sizes: light colored logs are 1.5” thick while dark colored logs are 2” thick.

The result is a sassy rectangular block. Fun, fun!

Now I will share these inspiration blocks with my quilting bee and invite them to experiment with blue and white log cabin variations. I’m excited to see what they create and looking forward to the challenge of bringing a diverse blue and white blocks together into one finished work.