Tag Archives: patchwork

Friendship Star Quilt Block

Posted on November 16, 2012 | 2 comments

The Friendship Star variation included in Nancy Martin’s Perpetual Calendar is a bit different from the traditional and more well known version.

Friendship Star is drafted from an 8 x 8 grid.

Clicking on any of the photos will show a larger view.

Let’s begin by seeing what the Friendship Star quilt block looks like set side by side in a simple straight set with borders.

And how it looks with the blocks separated by sashing and cornerstones:

How about adding a very slight change in the coloring of the block, as well as using the Basic 4X and half square triangles blocks.

Alternate blocks give a secondary design element. Also, value can make a big difference. Light, medium and dark values emphasize certain aspects of a design.

Have a look at the Friendship Star blocks placed on point:

The above design alternates both colorations of the Friendship Star block. Where they intersect is where the red and white hourglass patches meet. Without using the alternate coloration, there would only be white squares.

You can see this easier with the sashing and cornerstones separating the blocks:

See the star formed by adding the large half-square triangle blocks?

The last example alternates the Friendship Star block with the Snowball block for a completely different look:

2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Basic 4X, Friendship Star quilt block, LCsCottage, patchwork, quilt design, quilting, snowball block

Four Knaves Quilt Block

Posted on November 9, 2012 | 2 comments

While working through a series of quilt blocks chosen from Nancy Martin’s Perpetual Calendar, I am exploring basic quilt design. Although graph paper and pencil works well to draft these blocks, Electric Quilt makes drafting and designing so easy to do.

This week, I’ve chosen to explore the Four Knaves quilt block.

Four Knaves is drafted from a 4 x 4 grid.

If you have BlockBase, it is number 1197.

I like to start by seeing what the Four Knaves quilt block looks like set side by side in a simple straight set with borders.

Then I’ll try sashing and cornerstones:

I like to introduce alternate blocks, in this case the Basic 4X block:

Alternate blocks will sometimes give a secondary design element. I rotated some of the Basic 4X blocks, and I can see a star surrounding the center block in the above quilt design. If I look at it another way, I can see the Four Knaves resting on a light background, or a square in a square effect.

This is where value comes into play. It will make a big difference where the light, medium and dark values are placed as they can emphasize the aspects of the design that I choose to show off. I’d play with value and color more before I’d sew up this design.

Next, I’d like to see the Four Knaves blocks placed on point:

And, again, with sashing and cornerstones:

This time, I’ve chosen to set the Four Knaves quilt blocks with an alternate block…the Snowball block.

Lots of space there to introduce some great quilting designs!

2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Basic 4X, Electric Quilt, EQ7, LCsCottage, Nancy Martin's Perpetual Calendar, patchwork, quilt block, quilt design, quilting, snowball block

Four Corners Quilt Block

Posted on November 2, 2012 | 2 comments

This week, I’m introducing the Four Corners quilt block, also found in Nancy Martin’s Perpetual Calendar.

Four Corners is drafted from a 6 x 6 grid.

Here is what the Four Corners block looks like set side by side in a simple straight set with borders.

With sashing and cornerstones added:

Let’s try some plain blocks:

Plain blocks open up spaces that allow for embroidery or to show off quilting. Plain blocks allow spaces for the eye to rest and sometimes create wonderful design surprises.

Below, the simple plain block is actually the Snowball Block. It has triangles of color in the four corners, and is often used as an alternate block in design.