Do You Recognize

This Traditional Block?

Part 2

If you say it's Spool, you are right, but hold on, because...

If you say it's Calico Puzzle, you are also right. How about that, 2 right answers.





For all I know there may be other right answers as well. But even if there aren't, there will be. Because you and I are going to look at creating even more blocks from the outline pattern above.

What if we color the outline pattern like this?

Has it been done before? I don't know. But I like it. So I'm going to play with it.

What if we combine the block with it's mirror images, to make this larger block?

This starts to create secondary patterns, The square in the center almost looks like a pyramid.

What if we make the center square look more like a pyramid by adding a highlight to the top side?

I like the idea of making pyramids. I would like to make even more by adding more blocks.

In order to make that work we need to add more highlights first .

So what does the basic block look like now?

It looks like this.

What if we try something very different? What if we color the outline pattern like this instead?

When we put 4 of the block together rotated, the result is this larger block.

I think this has potential.

When we put 4 of the larger block together, the potential seems to be lost. The dark pinwheels stand out. The rest is vague and unsatisfying. there is really nothing to look at.

What if we split the block into 2 color runs?

This is much better. Now there is something to look at.

When we put 4 of this larger block together, it's okay; but it's not quite right. The green and the purple are equally strong, neither one is dominant.

What if we make the purples lighter and the greens darker?

When we put 4 of the block together rotated, we get this larger block. I like how this looks.

When we put 4 of the larger block together, we get this design. I think this works nicely. The colors could use a little more tweaking but the basic design idea is there.

What if we arrange the blocks differently?

The result is this design. I think this works too.

Have I exhausted all the possibilities? Of course not. Are there other ways to use this outline pattern to create new blocks and interesting designs? Of course there are.

I'm hoping that you'll try coloring this and see what you can come up with. If you email me your designs (tuxedoparkdesign@shaw.ca), I'll share them with eveyone by posting them on this blog.