The Log Cabin quilt introduced a new technique known variously as “foundation patchwork,” “foundation piecing,” or sometimes “pressed piecing.” In this method, individual rectangular pieces of fabric (the logs of the cabin) were sewn to an underlying piece of fabric, or foundation, as well as to one another. The stable construction did not require a separate filling or batting, so Log Cabin quilts are usually not quilted, though some may be tied with knotted thread to ensure all the layers hold together.

The pattern lends itself to a multitude of variations depending upon the placement of light and dark strips within the individual quilt block. At some point in the mid-to-late 1870s, a variation of the basic Log Cabin design known as the Windmill Blades or Pineapple pattern became popular. The ends of the logs are clipped at an angle to create the illusion of motion or to suggest the spiky leaves of a pineapple. This unusual example includes the addition of silk squares, set on point, that are elaborately embroidered with motifs typical of the Crazy quilt era.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Log Cabin Quilt, Pineapples and Squares Variation," exhibition label for Jubilation|Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2012.