Playing around with perspective this week, using some tumbling blocks. By cascading from top to bottom, they draw the eye across the quilt; lots of negative space on either side gives the eye somewhere to rest.
These aren’t the traditional tumbling block units created from three identical diamond shapes. These blocks have many more angles to contend with, but they could all be made using half-square triangles and half-rectangle triangles (3:1 size).
In this party season, a little storm of confetti (or maybe snow, for those in the northern hemisphere)…
Each parallelogram is in a 3 x 2 unit, which is offset from the next unit by a 2 x 1 rectangle. The parallelograms could be constructed by flanking a 3 x 2 rectangle with two 3 x 1 triangles (paper-piecing for accuracy, perhaps). Or, pair two 3:1 half-rectangle triangles back to back, which introduces new colour/fabric possibilities to the design:
The good news is, Bloc Loc makes a 3:1 half-rectangle triangle ruler – in two sizes!
(Not an affiliate link… I just love the precision that Bloc Locs enable!)
Simple stripes can create a vast number of diverse designs. (Check out my ‘Strips & Stripes’ Pinterest board for a few hundred examples.)
I’m embracing the chaos this week with a little improv-style design of strips and stripes. Depending on the colour scheme, the design could be reminiscent of a waterfall (blues on blue), the night sky (bright whites or yellows on midnight blue), Klimt (rich jewel tones)… or something else entirely.
Update (May 2017): Interstellar, a quilt pattern based on this design, has been published in Down Under Quilts, issue 179.
