Add Movement with Diagonal Lines
My lifetime adventures with Baby Windmills have led to quite a few quilt designs. Some of them have been sewn and some are still only on paper.
Christmas Dance by Diane Harris. Photo: Kristen Laing Photography.
The first designs were just sewing blocks together using a particular color recipe. Nice little scrap quilts like Christmas Dance, above, but pretty simplistic.
Scarlet Spin by Diane Harris, full size quilt
Scarlet Spin took it a little further but it relies upon a wide variety of fabrics to be successful. If you used just a few fabrics, this quilt would not be very interesting.
Tilting Windmills by Diane Harris. Photo by Mellisa Karlin Mahoney. Used with permission.
For Tilting Windmills, above, I made the blocks huge and scrapped up the backgrounds. It’s a great dorm-room quilt but it doesn’t have any movement.
I suppose there are different ways to add movement to something, but the one that sticks in my mind is this: you can add movement with diagonal lines.
The stick figure above is standing still. When you look at him, you can tell. But watch what happens when I add some diagonal lines, below.
All of a sudden, he’s moving. He’s even dancing!
Now he’s getting really crazy and he’s running!
At some point I realized that I have rarely put my Baby Windmills on point—in other words, I haven’t added any diagonal lines.
This week I’ve been messing around with Baby Windmills in shades of purple and yellow-green. I’m having so much fun.
And putting Baby Windmills on point opens up a whole new world of possibilities for quilt designs, all based on this one little block.
Here’s just a very simple layout, but do you see already how it has more movement than the quilts with windmills set straight? The difference is striking.
Keep in mind that adding diagonal lines of some kind can add movement to your quilt. Movement gives life, vibrancy and excitement. Think of my little dancing men above. Give your quilt movement with diagonal lines of piecing or color or quilting. So many possibilities!
“Windy Wonders” is a trunk show of quilts which are all based on the simple Baby Windmill block. They’re unique and exciting! I’d love to bring Windy Wonders to your quilt guild. Give me a call and Let’s Talk Quilts!
Tags: baby windmills, design, line, quilting 101, trunk shows, windy wonders
Donna di Natale
| #
Great illustration of the effect that turning blocks on point can have. I’ve rarely run into a block that wasn’t improved by turning all or some on point. Blocks take on a whole new personality and go from dull to “look at me” when balanced on their tippy toes.
Reply
Jan Turner
| #
In Tilting Windmills if the little guys had been put on point it would have added interest and movement.
Reply