Log Cabin
A centre square wrapped in five rounds of logs that spiral around it, one log per side in turn; the logs on two adjacent sides are light and the other two are dark, so the block divides into light and dark halves along a diagonal.
Chevron Log Cabin
Logs added on two sides of a corner square, each round a single fabric, so the block shows nested L-shaped chevrons alternating dark and light.
Chinese Coins
Columns of short horizontal strips stacked like coins, separated by plain vertical sashing; usually made from scraps.
Courthouse Steps
A log cabin variation built in opposite pairs: each round adds matching light logs above and below, then dark logs on both sides, so light steps stack up and down from the centre and dark steps run left and right.
Flying Geese Row
Four flying geese flying nose to tail along a row: each is a large goose triangle between two small sky triangles, and each goose's point touches the base of the next.
Half Log Cabin
A log cabin built out from a corner square instead of a centre, adding logs on only two sides; the logs on one side are light and the logs on the other are dark.
Off-Center Log Cabin
A spiralling log cabin whose light logs are half the width of its dark logs, so the centre square sits off-centre toward the light corner; set together, the blocks suggest curves.
Pineapple
A log cabin variation in which rounds of logs alternate between the sides and the corners of the growing centre, each log trimmed at 45 degrees; the dark corner logs and corner triangles form a broad X of blades radiating from the centre square.
Rail Fence
A square cut from a strip set of four equal rails; turning alternate blocks a quarter turn in the quilt makes the zigzag fence.
Rail Fence Trio
Four square units of three parallel rails, turned alternately horizontal and vertical so the rails zigzag across the quilt.
Roman Stripe
A square split on the diagonal: one half is a plain triangle and the other is pieced from narrow stripes running parallel to the diagonal.
Spider Web
Eight triangular wedges, each pieced from strips parallel to its outer edge, join into an octagon so the strips read as concentric rings of a web; plain triangles fill the corners.