Vintage Patriotic Red White and Blue Patchwork Log Cabin Quilt. 

Size: 67 x 77 in. 

The Log Cabin quilt block is a North American pieced quilt pattern where narrow strips of fabric surround a central square. Usually the block is bisected diagonally, with one half using lighter colors than the other half, but a wide variety of styles has sprung up since it first appeared, particularly with alternating rectangles. Traditionally the rectangles represent logs in a log cabin, while the central square (often red) represents the hearth. Log Cabin blocks have at least three rows of “logs,” but can have more. When English paper piecing started to become popular in America in the 19th Century, certain block patterns began to be called by different names. Names were not standard, but the “Log Cabin” soon became one of the most popular names for the dominant style. The quilts were mentioned in print as early as 1863, with archival examples dating back to 1874, and many believe the name came both from the areas making the quilts as well as a push to support president Abraham Lincoln and the Union efforts in the Civil War, capitalizing on his rags-to-riches story. In the 1870s and 80s competitions were held at county fairs for the best log cabin quilts, and shades of brown were the most popular. In the 1890s through the 1910s greys, blacks, and blues were common, with fundraisers to help the American Army a common place to acquire them. In the 1930s, as the Depression ravaged the country, Log Cabin quilt designs went out of fashion, until a revival of interest in older quilting patterns in the 1970s. Today they can be found in many museums devoted to American history, and some are highly prized for their rarity and for the symbolism of the conflict they were created during.