Storm-at-sea quilt wrapup, and free block diagrams !

Here are the gorgeous storm-at-sea quilts we've shown recently. We are so fascinated by the design possibilities of this block !  We drew up some blocks so we could analyze the design, and we decided to make two variations downloadable (they're free). Happy Friday !
  
Eye of the Storm, Heart of the Storm, Summerfest Garden, Oceana, Delft Storm, and Albers at Sea

Row 1:  Eye of the Storm by Peggy Martin, at Peggy Martin Quilts; Heart of the Storm, by John Flynn, at Flynn Quilt.  Row 2: Summerfest Garden, by Joen Wolfrom; Oceana, by Linda Jean Peterson at Cape Cod Art Studio. Row 3:  Delft Storm, by Ionne McCauley, at Ionne Quilts; Albers at Sea, by Debra Levin at the Empire Quilters Guild.

About the storm-at-sea block:  The storm-at-sea block is based on a 3x3 grid.  This works out well for a 12" block, or any other size that is divisible by three.

 

Here is the traditional block, below, which has an elongated diamond (shown as two isosceles triangles) on the left hand side and the top :

Here is what the quilt would look like if 20 blocks were placed in a 4x5 grid (below). Note that an additional vertical row of diamonds is placed along the right side of the quilt to finish it off.  

In a second variation, the diamond "sashing" is placed on all four sides of the center square, as shown below:

When this "double sashing" block is replicated, it creates a double set of waves in the design, as shown below :

You can download the block diagrams here. They are fun to color, and are great for teaching kids about quilting (and geometry).  See if they can find different shapes within the grid, such as flowers, hearts, ribbons, and waves.  You can even find *stars* within the single-sashing version:

Can you believe it's a storm-at-sea ?

We had to peer at this fantastic quilt for a few minutes to realize that it is, indeed, a storm-at-sea quilt. The designer and author, Joen Wolfrom, has cleverly created a summer garden with giant sunflowers against a blue sky.  Her amazing design, which goes beyond the traditional sea theme, makes us think about this pattern in a whole new way !

Summerfest Garden, design by Joen Wolfrom, at Joen Wolfrom and JWD Publishing

In the close-up photo, below, it is a little easier to see the storm-at-sea block elements...

Summerfest Garden graces the cover of the book, A Garden Party of Quilts, by Joen Wolfrom.  All seven of the flower quilts in the book are pieced, and there are some real beauties - tulips, clematis, poppies, and more - created with various block patterns.

When we told Joen about our interest in storm-at-sea quilts, she was generous enough to share another design: a landscape quilt which is another wonderful example of Storm at Sea possibilities. The design, called Majestic Mountains, has not been made yet and is waiting in the wings. Wouldn't this make a gorgeous quilt? 

With the gridlines removed, you can see how the quilt will look (below). Joen Wolfrom makes her home in the Pacific Northwest, and these peaks remind us so much of the majestic Olympic Peninsula.

Notice the way in which the mountains get lighter as they fade into the distance?  Joen talks about this in her Landscapes and Illusions book. We've learned a lot from Joen Wolfrom's books, and we love her ultimate color tool (it's been called indispensable, which sums it up).

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Image credits and links: Images are shown with the kind permission of Joen Wolfrom.  Joen began quiltmaking in 1974, and she has taught and lectured in the quilting field, both nationally and internationally, since 1984.  She heads up JWD Publishing, a worldwide pattern company that features Joen's own designs along with many other superstars in the quilting world. Additional credits : Summerfest Garden was pieced by Jeanne Lounsbury and quilted by Karen Dovala. You can find Karen Dovala at The Quilted Moose.

Straight piecing patterns that appear curved : Storm at Sea Pt. 2

A well-known quilter, inventor, and teacher, John Flynn created the beautiful "Heart of the Sea" quilt below for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. It's a grass roots charity whose purpose is to raise awareness and fund research about Alzheimer's and dementia. This charity auctions and sells donated quilts, often made specifically for this project by famous quilt artists.

Heart of the Storm, 16 x 16, by John Flynn, for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative

This quilt has a purple ribbon for awareness, and a heart for compassion, which are hidden within the piecing (see below). The quilt was made with cotton batiks; laser cut, machine pieced and machine quilted. "Heart of the Storm" earned $1000 for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, and it is now an emblem on tote bags and t-shirts that benefit the Alzheimer's Initiative.

Heart of the Storm, detail, showing the heart motif and the storm-at-sea block

During his career as a civil engineer, John Flynn became very interested in the quilting projects done by his wife, Brooke Flynn. He used his engineering background to invent the Flynn Quilt Frame, which holds quilts tightly without basting, so that quilting can be done on a home sewing machine. One of John's talents is his aptitude for precision and accuracy, especially in construction of small quilts using tiny pieces. In the close-up above, you can see how well all the pieces fit together, even though the quilt is only 16 inches square.  In addition, note the perfectly parallel lines of quilting, which brings out the curved, three-dimensional quality of this quilt.

Storm at Sea, 40 x 52, batik pre-cut quilt kit, at Flynn Quilt

The daughter of John and Brooke,  Kate Flynn Nichols designs and sells pre-cut kits of fabrics in light, medium, and dark hues, so that the movement and shapes of the Storm at Sea pattern are easily visible.  Kate offers the pattern in a variety of sizes, including a 30 x 30 inch quilt with 12 inch blocks, a 22 x 30 quilt with 9 inch blocks, and even a miniature Storm at Sea wall hanging, measuring 14.5 by 18 inches.  In addition, Flynn Quilt sells acrylic templates suitable for rotary cutting, along with instructions, so that you can create a Storm At Sea with your own fabric. This is one of those patterns that makes a great scrappy quilt and a useful stash-buster.

Brooke Flynn's interesting blog, Quilting at Windmills, shows photos of John at work, along with the family's travels to quilt shows where John teaches and demonstrates his sturdy, practical, lighweight quilt frame.  Quilting is really a family affair with the Flynns, and they continue to create outstanding quilts and products.

Image permission : Images are shown with the generous permission of the artist.

Storm At Sea Quilts

Last fall we talked about straight piecing patterns that appear to be curved, such as kaleidoscope and snail's trail. Storm at Sea is another great example of a pattern that uses small changes in straight angles to create an optical illusion of rounded corners.  These quilts have a dynamic sense of motion, without any curved piecing ! We've collected some stunning examples to show day-by-day.

Oceana,  36 x 36, by Linda Jean Peterson at Cape Cod Art Studio

 

Based in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, Linda Peterson says that the influence of the seashore is never far away. Linda hand-pieced and hand-quilted the magnificent Oceana, above.  She has used a series of monochromatic blue tones, whose values enhance the illusion of arcs and circles. Upon looking closer, we were entranced by the sea-themed fabrics depicting whales and shells in the horizontal diamonds. We also love the ocean waves fabric in the square centers of the blocks.

Representing the four points of the compass, the gold triangles which extend into the borders are actually three-dimensional prairie points. They are tacked with sparkling golden charms:  North is a flag, East is a lighthouse, South is a fish, and West is a sailboat. A few other charms are sprinkled throughout the quilt, and the hand-quilting reflects a nautical theme, such as a lighthouse and an anchor. Linda notes that the small gold border is also a three-dimensional tube (sometimes known as a "flange" in the western U.S.)

True to our namesake, we were fascinated to learn what inspired Linda to make this beautiful quilt. Linda wrote to us that she created Oceana for her oldest son, who was a commercial fisherman for many years and who endured many storms at sea. She says, "If you look closely - or click on the quilt image to expand it - on the left side running up through the middle wave, you can see quilted lettering  'Wayward Son', which was the name of my son's 49-foot fishing boat."

To learn more about Linda, a wonderfully talented fiber artist and painter, please visit her website, Cape Cod Art Studio. You'll see lovely images of her work including paintings and textiles for sale, read her discovery journal, and learn about her life in the world of quilting and art.

Delft Storm

When we hear the word "Delft" , it brings to mind the magnificent blue and white pottery traditionally produced near the town of the same name in the Netherlands. The  intense blues of Delftware were achieved by painting the pottery with a solution of salts of cobalt oxide; and we see that same mesmerizing cobalt blue color here, in its purest form.

Delft Storm, 39 x 39, by Ionne McCauley, at Ionne Quilts

"Delft Storm" incorporates medallions and diamonds of varied sizes and angles to produce an undulating, swirling effect that reminds us of white-capped waves on a wind-whipped blue lake. Ionne has created  the deep cobalt medallion as  the focal point. She enhances the luminous, dimensional quality of this work by using a medium value fabric at the point where the medallion intersects the pale blue ribbons.  It is this sense of movement and transparency which creates a captivating work that is both elegant and energetic.

"Delft Storm", along with "Blue Plaid Shirt", another lovely monochromatic quilt, can be seen in Ionne McCauley's online gallery of traditional quilts.

Ionne McCauley along with Sharon Pederson,  is also the author of Color for the Terrified Quilter. This is a fabulous book of eleven different, intriguing  Nine-Patch projects. Ionne provides so much useful information about color combinations and value differences which make a successful, eye-catching quilt.  Color For The Terrified Quilter is highly recommended by students and teachers alike.

Ionne has a fascinating and rich background in clothing design, quilt design, teaching, and dyeing and painting her own fabrics. She draws her inspiration from the magnificent scenery and nature surrounding her home on the west coast of Canada.

Image credits:  The quilt image is the copyright of Ionne McCauley and is shown with the generous permission of the artist.