Judy Martin's Extraordinary Log Cabin Giveaway

A beloved quilter and author, Judy Martin has collaborated with The Electric Quilt Company to create the Judy Martin Log Cabins add-on for EQ8 software featuring over 200 based on her book, Extraordinary Log Cabin Quilts! Learn more about Judy Martin and her Log Cabin quilts in an interview with Judy below and enter for a chance to win a copy of Extraordinary Log Cabin Quilts and/or the add-on for EQ8!

1. Let's start with your Extraordinary Log Cabin Quilts. Can you talk about how you came about the designs? 

I have long been interested in Log Cabins. My first book was Log Cabin Quilts in 1980. Over the years I have made more than 50 Log Cabin quilts and designed and patterned 89 original Log Cabin blocks. I like Log Cabins for their many setting possibilities, which keep me engaged throughout the quilt-making process. I also like them for the way they lend themselves to scrap quilts, my favorite kind of quilt. I like the texture of the log construction. And I like the simplicity of their shapes. In my second Log Cabin book, Judy Martin’s Log Cabin Quilt Book, (2007). I included both simple little Log Cabins as well as a few Log Cabins made from simple rectangles, but involving a lot of pieces. My favorite quilts in that book are Snake River Log Cabin, Finger Lakes Log Cabin, and Shoreline Log Cabin. Each of these involves thousands of pieces in the queen or king size, as well as the illusion of curves achieved simply from rectangles. I never dreamed that these more involved quilts would be the most popular with my readers! The reader response to these more intricate quilts gave me all the permission I needed to design the quilts for Extraordinary Log Cabin Quilts. I felt free to design the more intricate and interesting quilts featured in that book and the accompanying Electric Quilt software, Judy Martin Log Cabins. 

2. What can a quilter expect when making a Log Cabin quilt? 

Door County Log Cabin Quilt by Judy Martin

With a Log Cabin quilt, you can expect simple construction: rotary cutting and machine piecing nothing but squares and rectangles. With the hints and helps in my book, Extraordinary Log Cabin Quilts, you will learn how to utilize the more stable lengthwise grain for rectangles and how to perfect your seam allowances, which will improve all your patchwork projects, not just Log Cabins. Cutting the logs to length before stitching will help you assess your cutting and sewing accuracy after the first two patches are stitched. A Log Cabin is the perfect vehicle for scraps, which makes the piecing more enjoyable, as it allows you to make quick, but interesting design decisions with the placement of each patch. In placing each scrap, you will see pairings you didn’t know you would like (or not like), and learn a great deal about colors, prints, and combining them in ways that suit your tastes. The possibilities for arranging the asymmetrical blocks will keep you engaged even after the blocks are sewn. 

3. We are so excited about your new add-on for EQ8 features featuring over 200 quilts based on your book, Extraordinary Log Cabin Quilts! Do you have a favorite quilt that quilters can find in the add-on and book? 

Playful Spirit Quilt by Judy Martin

My favorite quilts in the Judy Martin Log Cabins software add-on and book, Extraordinary Log Cabin Quilts, are the ones having blocks that are divided into dark and light areas, but not necessarily in precise halves or along the diagonal, as you might find in the usual Log Cabin, I like the ones that form arcs (Door County Log Cabin), quarter circles in two corners (Playful Spirit), kite shapes (Lakeshore Log Cabin), pumpkin seeds (Buckeye Log Cabin), or Winding Ways units (Mariposa Log Cabin). These can be arranged in the typical Log Cabin arrangements, such as Barn Raising and Straight Furrows, though they may pleasantly surprise you with how different they look from a standard Log Cabin. Drawing them in the EQ software will help you envision how they will look. These blocks can also be arranged to form circles, 4-pointed stars, or other shapes. When the blocks are the same size, they can even be arranged in combination with each other, as illustrated in the Judy Martin Log Cabins software’s bonus pattern, Ohio Valley Log Cabin. 

Lakeshore Log Cabin Quilt by Judy Martin

4. Your career of giving quilters the patterns, tools, and guidance to do their very best work goes back to before software like Electric Quilt was available. While the quilting world has seen many exciting new tools to make quilting easier and more accessible, what about quilting do you think has not, and perhaps never will, change? 

Buckeye Log Cabin Quilt by Judy Martin

Quilting has changed a great deal, with many new tools and techniques, since I scissor-cut my first quilt from dressmaking scraps in 1969. However, the joy one feels in creating a quilt remains the same today. I gave up dressmaking after that first quilt because the sense of accomplishment was so much greater with a quilt than with an item of clothing. The joy of giving or receiving a quilt also remains the same today. Quilts, even quilts made with new tools and shortcuts, take time. The gift of a quilt is a gift of your time, your love. And the gift of an heirloom quilt, one that is not just an ordinary Log Cabin, but an Extraordinary Log Cabin, means a greater sense of accomplishment, a more unique quilt, and one that is appreciated even more. I have long prided myself on designing quilts that LOOK more difficult (and impressive) than the actual work required to produce them. The recipient or the viewer may gush about how beautiful it is and how skilled you must be, but you can graciously accept the compliment while knowing it wasn't THAT hard, it was just squares and rectangles. In my book, that's a win for everyone! 

Mariposa Log Cabin Quilt by Judy Martin

Giveaway Closed

Congratulations, Sheila Fernkopf (Facebook) and @sewingwithdiana (Instagram). Please email ctinfo@ctpub.com or respond to the DM sent from C&T Publishing's page to claim your prize.

We will give away one copy of Judy Martin’s book, Extraordinary Log Cabin Quilts. To enter, leave a comment in either the Instagram or Facebook giveaway post and tell us which of Judy’s quilts is your favorite!

Rules: One comment per person. Comment must include the name of one of Judy’s quilts. Entries accepted until Sunday, August 20th at 11:59pm PST. Contest open worldwide. Winners in the US will receive a physical copy of the book, winners outside of the US will receive a digital copy of the book due to shipping costs. One winner from Instagram and one winner from Facebook will be selected at random and announced on this blog post on Monday, August 21. Good luck!

If you love making log cabin quilts with Judy Martin, visit Behind the Mouse, The Electric Quilt blog, for a chance to win a Judy Martin Log Cabins add-on for EQ8. View entry details here

Special Discounts

The book: Save 20% on Extraordinary Log Cabin Quilts by Judy Martin with the code LogCabinQuilts20 now until August 23. Buy now

The EQ8 add-on: Save 20% on the Judy Martin Log Cabins add-on for EQ8 with the code CABINS20 now until August 23. Don't have EQ8? The discount applies to the software too! Buy now on Electric Quilt's website