Tag Archives: quilt design

Medieval Walls Quilt Block

Posted on February 1, 2013 | 7 comments

At first glance, Medieval Walls, a quilt block I found in Nancy Martin’s 365 Quilt Blocks a Year Perpetual Calendar, looks rather plain and unexciting.

The block can be drawn with a 9 x 9 grid.

Set side by side (a straight set in quilt lingo), the block still looks plain and unexciting. Unless you are looking for a quiet, subtle design…then this could be the one for you.

But if you want more excitement, add a dark value.

With this one simple change, the design now has more definition, and lines for the eye to follow around the quilt. It also has the illusion of having sashing strips between the blocks.

Change where the dark value is placed in the block.

Or keep the value changes in both places in the block:

More experiments with moving value around in the block:

Alot can be accomplished with design simply by value placement. The Medieval Wall block is a very good example of that!

I’ve had so much fun with this block playing with value and straight set, that I haven’t explored using it with on point sets yet.

Which design do you like the best?

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

7 Comments

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Tagged LCsCottage, Medieval Walls, Nancy Martin's Perpetual Calendar, patchwork, quilt block, quilt design, quilting

Love In A Tangle Quilt Block

Posted on January 25, 2013 | 6 comments

This week, we are exploring basic quilt design with the Love in a Tangle quilt block.

This block can be drawn with a 9 x 9 Grid.

If you have BlockBase, it is number 2066.

Let’s see what the block looks like when set side by side in a straight set with borders:

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

Let’s add another design element by adding sashing:

Love in a Tangle has alot going for it. The framed center block is an area to showcase a focus fabric, favorite photos, or quilting designs. The sawtooth piecing (triangles) that surrounds the framed blocks provide ‘excitement/movement’.

The block can be colored in any number of ways. I chose to color it in such a way that the blocks will connect. The sashing emphasizes the connection and adds a dimension of depth to the quilt design.

I like the quilt without an alternate block. However, just for fun, I added a nine-patch to the framed blocks.

The next design shows the Love in a Tangle quilt block on point. Often, blocks will become much more interesting when set this way. At the least, you can get a different perspective.

With the sashing and a few alternate blocks, I think the design becomes more interesting:

Lots more alternate blocks added:

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Tagged BlockBase, Electric Quilt, LCsCottage, Love in a Tangle, patchwork, quilt block, quilt design, quilting

Lighthouse Quilt Block

Posted on January 18, 2013 | 4 comments

Let’s explore some basic design with the Lighthouse quilt block.

If you have BlockBase, it is number 2851.

The Lighthouse quilt block can be drawn with 5 x 5 or 10 x 10 grid.

Here is what the block looks like when set side by side in a straight set with borders:

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

Delete a few lines from the original Lighthouse quilt block to come up with some alternate variations to play with.

And change the value placement as well.

A design with all three blocks included:

A design with a crossing alternate block (called Devil’s Puzzle):

Maybe you would prefer the Wild Goose Chase block instead:

Sometimes we want strong lines; lines to draw the eye side to side, or diagonally, across the quilt. How strong the lines are depends upon the type of crossing blocks we choose.

The next design shows the Lighthouse quilt block on point. It is easy to see the blocks because of the sashing (another way to include strong lines in the design).

Space can be created by adding a plain block to the design. Spaces are places for the eye to rest, and to show off great quilting.

The previous quilt design, and the following design, use the same blocks. Except for the center block (and a couple of other blocks), they are merely reversed. Fun to see the difference!