In log cabin quilts the pattern depends upon the arrangement of strips of fabric or ribbon into light and dark colours. This quilt is arranged in the barn raising pattern, one of several log cabin variations. It was probably made in the early 20th century.

Log cabin quilts are a favourite American pattern but probably has its origins in England. The earliest known example was made in the 1820s by an English woman who migrated to the USA. It was also popular in Canada, so much that the Encyclopedia of Needlework by SA Caulfield and BC Saward (1885) refers to the pattern as ‘Canadian’ patchwork.