New Year, new Sunday sketch! Happy 2021!

Onwards and upwards – a theme that fits well with this week’s sketch. I created a block of 2 diamonds, which have sharp chevrons – those pointy arrow shapes – at opposite ends. Flipping and rotating the blocks then creates movement between the diamonds and the chevrons, depending on how you colour them.

I had a hard time deciding on which was my favourite, but I like how the angles create hidden mountains in this first design.

This next design was my other favourite – it’s a bit more chaotic (although also following certain rules and order).

The designs can also be rotated so the diamonds lie horizontally rather than vertically. Suddenly the vertical zig-zag created by the border between light and dark shapes is more obvious.

The design can be simplified further by focusing just on the fine arrows. I like this version; it’s more delicate, and it allows other secondary shapes and movement to emerge.

Speaking of chaos, the blocks can also be rotated. Having said that, there’s clear order in this design: the blue arrows occasionally converge in a foursome, as do the larger white kite shapes.

The background of each block can also be coloured, introducing a bit more energy and movement.

And, of course, the design can use more than 2 colours. Here I’ve added green to highlight some of the diamonds. I first coloured all the diamonds on the diagonal…

…and then tried colouring diamonds vertically. I’m not sure which I prefer!

These designs are all based on a regular arrangement of diamonds. You could use a template to cut the diamond shapes (and piece them in diagonal columns), or just make each diamond from two triangles (and piece them in rows). The arrows/chevrons would probably be easiest to do well using foundation paper piecing (for accuracy).