Blocks & Patterns · February 11, 2019

A Log Cabin for Junior League

In addition to my advocacy work to end Alzheimer’s disease, I am also very proud to be a member of the Junior League.

When I joined the League* in 2012, I could not have imagined that I would ever possess the confidence or the conviction to launch a non-profit organization of my own. The leadership and training that I have received through my Junior League activities paved the way by providing skills I never knew I needed and opening my eyes to my strengths as well as the needs of my community.

My placement this year in the Junior League of Tulsa (JLT) is the Finance Committee, and one of our tasks is to generate revenue to support programming. When an old box of JLT t-shirts popped up, we all immediately thought “quilt opportunity!”

Once we landed on the quilt idea, all the pieces started falling into place. Another member on the committee owns a long arm machine (of which I’m very envious), so I offered to piece the top, and she offered to quilt and bind it.

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The Log Cabin Blocks

It’s “The Year of the Log Cabin” around here, so I decided to alternate t-shirt blocks with log cabin blocks to dress up the quilt, add colors, and enhance the structure of the finished product.

Our JLT colors are royal blue and white, so my first step was to select 7 fabrics that would work well with those t-shirts.

This bold butterfly print immediately caught my eye, so I chose it to be the center of each log cabin.

I chose 3 “lights” using royal blue prints with white backgrounds to incorporate our colors, and then I picked 3 “darks” that pull the greens out of the center square.

To be a little wild and funky, I had to go with this sweet pink and white polka dot for the binding. It picks up the tiny swath of pink in the butterfly print, and it contrasts perfectly with all the royal blue and green tones throughout.

My next step was to sew 7 of these log cabin blocks.

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The T-Shirt Blocks

Thinking I was rocking right along, I called my friend who will do the long arm quilting to retrieve the t-shirt box from her.

The t-shirts we received from headquarters were free (yay!) because they all said “Provisional Class of 2017” (not yay!) so I had to get a little creative with them.

They are also a wonderfully soft, brushed cotton which is super comfy for wearing but not as ideal for cutting into blocks. Luckily, I’ve dealt with this often when making quilts with athletic tees and had plenty of t-shirt interfacing on hand.

Once I cut up the t-shirts and ironed on the interfacing, I needed to cut them into squares, but my squares could only be 10.5” to remove the “Provisional Class of 2017” line of text. I decided to use “logs” around each shirt panel to create the additional 3 inches that I needed so that the square dimensions of the t-shirt blocks will match those of the log cabin blocks.

Using the backs of the discarded shirt remnants, I ironed on the interfacing and then cut the material into 2” strips.

I’d never tried this before, but I really like how it turned out. What an easy way to create consistent block sizes!

All I had left to do was to sew my checkerboard together and attach my borders.

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Our Finished Quilt Top

Quilt 2 End ALZ - Log Cabin for Junior League

I am so pleased with this fun donation quilt, and I can’t wait to see it quilted and bound once my friend is finished.

I will be honored to present it to our League members at the next general meeting. My years as a Junior League member have been both rewarding and inspiring and to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure we would all be here – right here in thismoment – without them. I am thrilled that I’ve come full-circle: my League life helped develop my philanthropic life which is now supporting my League life.

I will be sure to post an update when we auction off our blanket, and in the meantime, I’d love to see what’s under your needle – tag us on Instagramor Facebookshowcasing your current project and share your creative juices with us!

Love and hugs,

Ashli

* The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (AJLI) is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.