I’m still reusing and reworking shapes from recent Sunday sketches. After minor detours for clovers and cashews, I’m back on track with one of my favourite design approaches: complementary alternating blocks.

One of the two blocks that I’m using is the ‘stern cashews’ block from Sunday sketch #508 (scroll to the end of that blog post to see what I’m talking about). It’s based on the heart shape from Sunday sketch #506 (below left). The second block takes that same heart shape and just rotates the orange peel unit (below right).

When these shapes are grouped into fours with the pointy corner facing inwards, two different blocks are created. In the ‘new’ block, the arrangement of orange peels creates a circle as a secondary shape.

So I made two further tweaks: I introduced a third colour, so that I could differentiate that square in the ‘old’ block. It’s created by the sides of the four orange peel units, plus the sashing between them. And I also added a coloured square in the sashing between the main blocks – I just felt like that space needed a little something. And I like how the solid squares there balance out the ’empty’ squares in the middle of the blocks.

I tried different colour placement in the centres of the blocks, but nothing really felt like an improvement. Here’s two attempts to play with the sashing, but I don’t really like either of them. They end up emphasising the pointy concave bits of the orange peels, which I don’t love (I just find the ends too pointy (and yes I know how daft that sounds!)).

   

These are the bits I mean:

They give me the ick 🙂

Anyway! So, back to the previous version, and an opportunity to play with a three-colour palette. Some of these are variations on Electric Quilt 8’s ‘Randomize’ function, which can certainly throw up some random colours! (‘Throw up’ being an apt description, sometimes….!)

   

   

   

In the end, though, I’ve opted to feature the multicolour version. I’m obviously in a multicolour mood lately, because lots of my recent sketches have been in these happy colours.

As per usual, I’ve made sure that each block has some background colour (to avoid things getting too heavy) and a ‘shared’ colour (for some consistency across blocks). I love the simplicity of this one! I think it’s a really effective use of some basic shapes.

I’ve talked in recent weeks about how a quilt could be made from one of these designs: it’s all half-circles, squares, and orange peels. Plus a bit of sashing and a border (I love a border!).

I love love LOVE the dark version I’ve shown above. Arrgggh…. do I need to make this one?!