This is one of my favorite blocks right now. It’s fairly easy to piece, but looks far more difficult. This is an older block–one of my sources credits it to the Ladies’ Art Company, which first began to sell standardized block patterns around the turn of the 20th century. Which means the block is probably much older, but has consistently been called Storm at Sea for over 100 years.
Oftentimes this design is cropped to overlap the blocks, with a contrasting fabric pieced in to form hearts in the middle of the quilt.
However, my favorite method of utilizing this block is to place it on point and keep the colors fairly close in color. This creates a very strong sense of motion. A swelling, rolling motion. Stare at it too long, and you can actually start to feel woozy. So I called this design “Mal de Mer,” which means “seasick” in French. Rather appropriate for a Storm at Sea.
Note: “Mal de Mer” will soon be available as a kit (pattern, instructions, and fabric) through my on-line store.
This entry was posted on Monday, June 4th, 2007 at 10:50 pm and is filed under Blocks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.