Saturday, March 26, 2011

Is Designing Quilts Easy?


























It’s a fair question. Is designing quilts easy? A lot of people think it is anything but easy. They are convinced it’s something they could never do.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

What do These 4 Blocks

Have In Common?


























These 4 blocks, although different from each other, have a similar structure. If you can identify that structure, you can use it to design blocks of your own.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Look What Tracy Did

With a Faux Drunkard's Path Block


















Tracy suggested that a Drunkard's Path block could be made using straight lines instead of curves. I played with that idea in my post yesterday. Tracy played with it too and created the quilt design above, using her Faux Drunkard's Path block and a Snowball block.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Paired Blocks #17

What If You Combine

Faux Drunkard's Path Blocks

With Snowball Blocks?


























There's more than one way to skin a cat; and there's more than one way to create quilt designs. I have no idea why you would want to skin a cat. But I know a lot of good reasons to design quilts. My favorite is - because it's fun.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Bear's Paw Meets

Dove In The Window



















I recently came upon Dove In the Window. It's a block that has a lot in common with Bear's Paw.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Offset Block #10

What Happens When You Offset

Balkan Puzzle Blocks?























I am enjoying winter and if it wants to hang around, that's fine by me. But for some reason, when I look at a Balkan Puzzle block colored like this I think of flowers and I want to plant a garden.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

What Happens

When You Start Playing?























Yesterday I didn't think much of this design. I said it was a bit repetitive.

I also said that when you start playing with quilt designs it's hard to stop.

Monday, March 7, 2011

What Happens

When You Start Playing?






















Yesterday I showed you how these 2 blocks were used to create a tessellation. I couldn't stop from playing with them. I wanted to see what else was possible.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

A Complex Tessellation

For You To Ponder


























This quilt is a tessellation; it's made by repeating a single shape over and over. It's called Anthracite/Snowflake and was sewn by my wife Linda and designed by me. I didn't start out to design a tessellating pattern; it just happened. How it happened surprised me.

Friday, March 4, 2011

A Simple Tessellation

For You To Ponder


























This is my quilt Okotoks/Sheep Creek; it's a simple tessellation. A tessellation is a jigsaw puzzle in which all the pieces are the same shape.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Paired Blocks #16

What Else Can You Do

With A Drunkard's Path Block


























It's easy to think that Drunkard's Path blocks can be used for only one purpose - to make Drunkard's Path quilts. But you can take a Drunkard's Path block and use it in combination with other blocks to make a variety of different quilts.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Paired Blocks #15

Look 

What Elsie Can Do

With A Drunkard's Path  Block




























This quilt design is by Elsie Montgomery of Elsie Quilts. She calls it Drunken Stars. She saw what I did with Drunkard's Path and Friendship Star blocks and wanted to see what she could do.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Paired Blocks #14

What Else Can You Do

With A Drunkard's Path Block?




























There are quite a few quilt designs that are made using just a Drunkard's Path block. But why use just a Drunkard's Path block? Why not combine it with other blocks?