I just spent time in Paint drawing this out -- I'm captivated with antique quilts and textiles. It IS a log cabin variation (variant to what WE know, but maybe not to her), with a portion of the hearth block in each corner of the whole block. The blocks are turned quarter turns to produce the 'snowball' or 'lantern' effect. These "logs were often finished at 1/2" - 3/4" in those days!! Can you imagine piecing these by candle light?!
I colored the graphic I drew in reds, greens and tans only because that's what we often see now in antique quilts, many of which have faded, of course.
Jan in VA