Block-Buster Quilts: I Love Log Cabins

It's time to share a brand new book with you that I'm super excited about! Today I'm going to share with you a new book by Martingale featuring 16 designers (myself included) called Block-Buster Quilts: I Love Log Cabins.

If you're new to the blog, welcome! If you're familiar with my ways, welcome back and please don't mind the life pauses here and there. I'm currently expecting our first child to arrive soon and we're trying to sell our house and move and yeah... Not much quilting happening at the moment. But today I have plenty to share so let's begin!

I have had a log cabin quilt on my quilting bucket list for a long long time. I finally made my first log cabin quilt a couple years ago - you can find Frolic in my second book, Seems Like Scrappy (it's on the cover) and from that moment I was hooked! 

I mean what's not to love? Choosing fabrics and getting prepped is so much fun and the construction goes together so smooth and swift - you have a quilt top before you know it. Not only that, but the color and layout options are endless allowing you to create and imagine and create some more until your heart is content!

As I mentioned, there are 16 quilts in this book - one from each designer. Oh, and before I forget - head on over to Martingale's blog and leave a comment to win! They're giving away 16 copies of this very book next week - one for each designer! Click here to head on over, just leave a comment and you're entered!

Daybreak by Rebecca Silbaugh (that's me!)

The neat thing with compilation books, like this one, is until the book is released or the marketing materials start to arrive, as a designer we usually only know about the quilt we made and/or the quilts our close friends have made too if we chat about that sort of thing. You never know what to expect. 

The quilt above is Daybreak by me! I am in love with wonky blocks and came up with this fun layout to try. This type of layout does give a directional look to the quilt overall, but it has so much dimension that I really want to try it in other color options soon. Maybe. Depending on when Little Miss arrives and how much energy I'll have left. 

If anyone knows me - I usually am not a fan of yellow. However there are exceptions to every rule and one being my sewing room is painted yellow. Knowing this book would be released in the typically most mundane time of year for me (I live in the snow belt in NE Ohio, usually by now the landscape has been several shades of grey for months) I wanted to choose lively colors that would remind me of Spring. And sun. And warmer temperatures. And yeah. That's why I chose these colors. 

I would love to see what colors or fabric lines you would choose to make this quilt out of. You know what - leave me a comment below with what color or fabric scheme you'd make Daybreak out of and I'll choose a winner later this week to receive a copy of I Love Log Cabins! 

Scrappy Courthouse Steps by Lissa Alexander

Well, to be honest I got my books in the mail last week and haven't had a chance to open them until today (we're trying to sell our house so my office and sewing room can't be the usual clutter storm I'm so used to living in - hey, I'm creative and it works). So I opened my books and started to scroll through the pages and had to keep the drool at bay. There are so many beautiful quilts in this book bursting with personality that I want to tear into my stash and make almost all of them. But I can't because I have to keep it clean and tidy... But the second we sell this place and move it's game on! Quilting season will be open as long as Little Miss and I have come to an understanding. I'm hoping the sound of the sewing machines will lull her to sleep. 

Anywho, the first quilt I stumbled across that I want to make is this amazing Scrappy Courthouse Steps by Lissa Alexander. It's simple and fun and fresh but timeless. I see this as a quilt for Little Miss and I to cuddle under in the future and watch movies. 

Mi Casa by Carrie Nelson

And then I flipped a few more pages and saw this dream of a quilt that I NEED TO MAKE!!! Carrie is known for her eye for color and texture and this quilt is the perfect opportunity to play with both of those things. It's another simple yet fresh concept that allows for maximum scrappiness. And you all know how I love scrappy!

 Seeing Stars by Kimberly Jolly

And what's not to love about a log cabin block with a star in it set in stars? Kimberly did an awesome job with this quilt and I love it. Okay I love them all, but for different reasons. This particular design could work so well for just about anyone by changing the colors and the textures. It could be masculine or patriotic or feminine or whimsical. I'm not sure which fabrics I would choose to make this one in, but the possibilities are endless!

 Log Cabin Chevron by Penny Barnes

And finally this quilt just blew me away when I looked at it. I'm a traditionalist at heart and this is honestly a very traditional block. It's just a modern color palette and layout to take this quilt to the next level. When I see this quilt, immediately I want someone to make it and send it to me to quilt it.  This type of design gets the long-armer in me buzzing and my brain is working overdrive to figure out how I would quilt it. I mean really - how much fun is this - AND it's a log cabin that doesn't look like a log cabin. BONUS!

So what do you think about this new book? Are you in love with log cabins like the designers in this book? Are you a hooked quilter on the road to log cabin recovery or a newbie to the log cabin fever? I'd love to hear what you think!

Don't forget to leave me a comment below to enter for a chance to win a copy of this book - I will probably choose a winner this weekend - and don't forget to head over to enter for another chance to win at Martingale's blog too!

If you're too impatient and you want to get your hands on this book NOW, you're in luck. You can look at your LQS, they should have copies in stock now, or you can purchase a copy from Martingale. The great thing about buying a copy directly from Martingale is you know the actual book will be arriving and be in your hands soon, but you also get an ebook download immediately after your purchase so you can scroll and start to plan your next project right away. Without the wait. How awesome is that?!

Well, that's a bunch of log cabin love to share with you today. Good luck and I can't wait to hear what you think about this latest book.

Seems Like Scrappy Preview: Frolic

It seemed only fitting to start the preview process for Seems Like Scrappy with the gorgeous quilt on the cover!

Note: Seems Like Scrappy is due to be released in May. It is not available yet. Also, due to the strikes in the West Coast Ports, the release may be delayed a bit, but with the strikes coming to a quick solution, it may not be as delayed if at all (or so I hope)... We will all wait and see. I will keep you posted as the information gets to me, check back here every Monday for a new preview and an update. 

Picture provided by Martingale, Photography by Brent Kane

I have this bucket list of quilts I'd like to make. When I set out to design new quilts for this book, I had to include a log cabin of sorts, but I had to switch up the pieces to keep it from being too "normal". Each block features a wonky nine patch and strips of varying widths to keep things interesting.

Frolic uses fat quarters and it is fast and simple to cut and piece. It probably took longer for me to pick out fabrics than it did to actually make this quilt. And half of the fabrics came from a bundle, so it's really fast to make!

The fabrics I chose began with a bundle of Amy Butler prints and then I mixed the backgrounds with subtle fabrics that would read light, but work well with the bold prints. The majority of the background pieces are white-ish, but if you look closely there are pale yellows and pinks and blues. The range in lights that play off of the bolder prints gives this quilt the scrappy look without looking too traditional and cookie cutter.

It's so easy to choose all white background (or one background). I wanted to challenge myself and others to go with that fabric you normally wouldn't choose and see what magic may happen. It's easier to play off of a large contrast between fabrics like the lights and the bolder prints seen here. When some fabrics are soooo bold and so commanding to the eye, it's much easier to throw in a fabric that whispers to the effect of the commanding fabric. You want to touch on the same color or print in a fabric with much less impact visually. Also, this helps to tie in the collection of fabrics within the quilt as a whole so it all has a cohesive vibe.

I originally wasn't planning on making a sequel of this quilt, but reminiscing now and looking at the options, I'm thinking I may try to make another "guy" version of this quilt... Can't you see it? Switch out the lights for greys and blacks and change the bold prints to wovens and deep saturated colors for that cabin-cozy feel! Gosh darn it, I'm going to have to make another one!

Granted it feels like winter isn't going to end any time soon here. Literally as I type this the temperature outside is -9 degrees... Fahrenheit... Any activity that keeps me warm and inside at the moment is a good activity! So I make quilts!

Well, I hope you all like Frolic as much as I do! Check back here next Monday for the next preview of Seems Like Scrappy. This book has 14 quilts and I have already made duplicates of some quilts so I have a ton of fun to share with you in the next couple months leading up to the release of this new book!