Log Cabin Quilt Pattern with Easy Applique Pitcher Blocks

By Janet Wickell

Quilting Expert

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Pitchers for Tildy's Cabin Quilt Pattern

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Pitchers and Bowl Quilt Pattern - Janet Wickell

Pitchers and Bowl Quilt. Photo Credit: Janet Wickell

Updated May 09, 2016.

Many years ago, my sister Donna made a king size applique quilt for me, a pitchers and bowl design inspired by my collection of vintage spongeware. I reduced the scale of the pitchers for this small quilt and combined them with Courthouse Steps quilt blocks, a variation of traditional Log Cabin quilt blocks.

The blocks are sewn together on point. Half Courthouse Steps blocks replace setting triangles around the quilt's edge and quarter blocks complete the corners.

Finished Quilt: about 28" square

Block Size: 6-1/2" finished

More Log Cabin Patterns: Easy Template-Free Log Cabin Quilt Blocks | Template-Tree Courthouse Steps Blocks | Wonky Log Cabin Blocks, Purely Freehand |

Quilt Pattern Fabric & Materials

Pitcher Quilt Blocks

1/2 yard creamy solid or tone on tone for backgrounds; I used my own hand marbled fabric for four of the background squares
Pitchers: nine scraps, at least 4" square each
Bowls: nine scraps, at least 3" x 6" each

Courthouse Steps Quilt Blocks

Light logs, 1 yard
Medium logs, 1 yard
Dark center logs, 1/8 yard
Foundation materials of your choice (see Foundation Piecing Basics)

Finishing

Backing, 1 yard (Quilt Backing Instructions)
Batting, 34" square piece of thin batting (About Cotton Batting)
Binding, about 125 running inches of single or double-fold binding (see How to Make Binding Strips and How to Sew Easy Mitered Binding)

Cutting for Pitcher Quilt Blocks

Background squares: cut nine 8" x 8" squares

Pitchers: cut nine pieces using Template A-1 (cut a reverse of the image if you want some pitchers to face in opposite directions)

Bowls: cut nine using Template A-2

Courthouse Steps Block Cutting Chart

Centers for whole blocks: cut four 2" x 2" squares

Center triangles for half blocks: cut two 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" squares

For Logs: Light and medium strips, about 1-1/4" wide, lengths cut as you go (cut a few to start and adjust width if necessary) Paper or other printable material for foundations

Download the PDF file for applique and foundation templates

When you print, be sure to choose "none" for page scaling.

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Make Applique Pitcher and Bowls Quilt Blocks

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Applique Quilt Pattern - © Janet Wickell

Pitchers and Bowls for the Tildy's Cabin Quilt Pattern. Photo Credit: © Janet Wickell

Applique Pitchers and Bowls Pattern

Choose an applique method for your quilt blocks, such as needleturn, fusible web, machine applique or another technique (Learn How to Applique).
Using the pitcher and bowl templates, cut nine of each shape from scrappy fabrics. The template does not include a seam allowance. Add an allowance if your method calls for one.
Center a pitcher and a bowl on a background square, arranging it on-point, and applique both to the square. When on-point, the images will be positioned a corner of the square above and below the pitcher and bowl.

The scrappy strips shown in the photo are from adjacent Courthouse Steps quilt blocks, and are not part of the applique bloks.

Square up each block to measure 7" x 7".
Repeat to make a total of nine pitcher and bowl blocks.

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How to Make Courthouse Steps Quilt Blocks

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courthouse steps quilt block pattern - © Janet Wickell

Make the Courthouse Steps Quilt Blocks. Photo Credit: © Janet Wickell

Courthouse Steps Quilt Blocks

If this is your first foundation pieced quilt, read foundation piecing basics before you begin. Reading the paper pieced log cabin quilt block pattern will also help familiarize you with the technique.

Make four foundation templates from the complete Courthouse Steps block that's in the PDF file.

Illustrations follow assembly instructions, starting in the top row from left to right, then continuing left to right in remaining rows.

Position a dark center square right side up on the reverse (unprinted) side of a block template, centering it within the area for log 1. Pin to secure or use a dab of gluestick to keep it from shifting.
Grab a medium fabric for log 2. Use a long strip or cut a segment about 1/2" longer than the length of the log. Place the strip right side down on top of the center square, aligning its left edge with the left edge of the square.
Turn the foundation over and sew directly on the line that separates the center square from log 2, beginning and ending a few stitches on either side of the line.
Flip log 2 right side up and make sure all of its unsewn edges extend past the printed lines that define that log (enough for a stable seam when lines become seams). If not, you'll need to rip the seam and reposition, but if all's well, trim any bulk from seam allowance and press.
Select a medium fabric for log 3, aligning its right edge with the right side of the square. Sew, check placement, trim seam and press.

Log 4 is added in the same way, but covers the bottom edge of the previous pieces. Log 5 is added to the top of previous pieces.
Continue to add logs in order around the center square, lights next to lights and mediums next to mediums. Press the block and trim through all layers on the outermost foundation line.
Make four Courthouse Steps quilt blocks.

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Make Setting Triangles from Courthouse Steps Quilt Blocks

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Make Patchwork Setting Triangles - © Janet Wickell

Make Patchwork Setting Triangles. Photo Credit: © Janet Wickell

Make the Half Courthouse Steps Quilt Blocks

Make four foundations of the half block image and four foundations of the mirror image of that foundation. Both are in the PDF file. Numbers are backwards on the mirror image, but recognizable.
Cut squares reserved for center logs of half blocks in half twice diagonally.
Center the triangle for log 1 right side up on the reverse side of a template, making sure its short edges overlap marked seam lines and that the long edge overlaps the outer perimeter of the foundation a bit.

Add logs in numerical order as for the full block. Logs 3, 5, 7 and 9 are light strips; remaining logs are medium strips. Allow extra length at the ends of each strip to compensate for the diagonal edges.
Press the block and trim on the outermost foundation line. Make a total of eight half blocks, four from each image.

Make Quarter Courthouse Steps Quilt Blocks

Use the corner block template to make four foundations.
Cut each square reserved for quarter block "centers" in half once diagonally.
Center a triangle for log 1 right side up on the reverse side of a template, making sure its short edges overlap marked seam lines and that the long edge overlaps the outer perimeter of the foundation a bit.
Use light strips to complete the foundation as you did others. Press and trim on the outermost line. Make three more corner block segments.

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Assemble the Log Cabin and Applique Quilt

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Paper Pieced Quilt Patterns - © Janet Wickell

Assemble the Quilt

Refer to the illustration. Arrange all blocks into diagonal rows.

Sew the quilt blocks in each row together. Remove temporary foundations from the sewn seam allowances of foundation blocks. Press seam allowances toward the applique blocks.
Pin and sew rows together, matching seam intersections carefully. Sew the four corners to the quilt.
Remove all remaining temporary foundations, taking care not to stretch the outer edges. Press the quilt.

Mark the top for quilting if necessary (mine was machine quilted using straight stitches along logs and meander quilting around pitchers and bows).
Sandwich, quilt and bind.

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Beverly's Straight Set Variation of the Log Cabin Quilt

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Beverly's version of Pitchers for Tildy's Cabin. Photo Credit: Beverly I. Long

I love it when quilting community members take a pattern I've written and change it to suit their needs. Beverly Long did just that with the Pitchers for Tildy's Cabin quilt.

Take a look at the photo. All blocks are straight set, but light logs of the Courthouse Steps blocks are aligned against the light background of some neighboring pitcher blocks, making the pitchers appear to be on point. The value arrangement makes the other pitchers pop out, too -- the straight set is obvious and gives the pitchers nice visual movement.