Wonky Log Cabin Tutorial #2

Yesterday was Class #2 with the 5 guinea pigs friends who are letting me teach this wonky log cabin quilting class.  So fun! 
Last week we cut wonky center blocks (approx. 2.5"ish by 2.5"ish) and fabric strips (from 1.5" to 3.5" wide).  We also discussed the basics of making a Log Cabin block, which means adding strips of fabric around a center square in the order of Top, Right, Bottom, Left.

(the "Top" I'm referring to is actually on the right in this image, so in this picture the order of adding is Right Bottom Left Top.  But don't tell my class that it can be any other way than TRBL, because I say it at least every ten minutes that a log cabin quilt should be pieced Top Right Bottom Left.)

This week's agenda: piece log cabin squares and then add some wonkiness!

Start with a center block (the large white one).  Lay a strip of fabric on one side of the block and trim it to equal length.  Sew right sides together (you don't have to backstitch!).  Iron seams to one side (away from the middle block, towards the outer fabric).  This is your "Top:"

Choose another strip of fabric, either the same width as your Top strip, or a different width.  Lay it on the Right side of the block, and trim to length.  With right sides together, sew the fabric strip to the block.  Iron seams away from the middle block.  This is your "Right:"

Continue to do the same process two more times, on the "Bottom" and "Left" sides of the block, ironing after each seam.

This is the part of the blog where I apologize for my picture quality.  Oh well, I'm inside under fluorescent lights.  What can I say?  If you want stellar photography, look somewhere else.

Alright, back to the block - now one whole round of block-making is completed!  The next step is to "square off" the block, which doesn't actually mean making it a square at all.  It means hacking off the uneven ends, and making the block a little more wonky - but with straight edges.  So, line up your ruler along one side (doesn't matter, as you'll be doing this on all four sides) and tilt it a little, so that it's not running parallel to the middle block.  If you look closely, you can see that mine is off by about 1/2 inch.  It's a WONKY log cabin square, people.  This is how you make it wonky - don't give into your urge to make things match up and be straight.  Just tilt and cut with a rotary cutter to make a straight edge!

Trim all four sides.

In class yesterday, we made four of these blocks.  Then time ran out ...

Hint/preview of next week: make the blocks bigger by (do you want to guess?) adding more fabric strips to the TOP RIGHT BOTTOM LEFT and then square off!