Block of the Week – Block 7

Here we are at week 7 already! After this week there are only 2 more blocks to make and then I’ll provide the finishing instructions. When its done, you’ll have a fun, scrappy wall hanging! You can still join in the fun. All the block instructions are still available by going to the previous blog posts here: Block 1, Block 2, Block 3, Block 4, Block 5 and Block 6. This week’s block uses a lot of techniques from earlier blocks so you should be able to whip this one up fast. I’ll also do a more in depth talk about secondary design, picking up from last week. So… ready?

Block #7 – Beacon

This block reminded me of a searchlight, especially with the bright gold in the middle, so I named it “beacon”. You can find the instructions here: Block of the Week – Block 7.

Secondary Design

Last week, we talked about secondary design that existed within a block when you changed the colors. This week, I’ll do that with this block and then I will show you how those designs can also emerge when joining two or more blocks.

Like the block last week, you can change the look of this block by simply moving the colors around. Here’s a variation that brings forth a design that looks like a churn dash: 

To achieve this look, all I did was flip the middle units so the gold was on the inside towards the center. A completely different look! This next variation I take out most of the gold. I change the 4 corner units to blue and the background fabric:

This variation makes the center star more prominent. 

So now we come to the other way to create a secondary design – by joining blocks together. The way to create a secondary design is to start with a block with interesting elements that, when joined with additional blocks into a quilt top, combine to make the secondary design. Look what happens when I join multiple versions of the original block:

All of the sudden, there’s a pinwheel block created where the four blocks meet. And the gold fabric creates an interesting lattice look. Look at what happens when we make a whole quilt from these:

The stars and pinwheels really stand out! A quilt that makes great use of secondary designs makes it hard for someone to figure out what the block actually is. Remember… the above is a one block quilt but it doesn’t look like it!

One of my quilt patterns that has a secondary design is Follow the Stars.

Notice how the black pieces in the quilt blocks create a fun criss-crossing design based on how the blocks are laid out. 

Leave a comment below on secondary design or this week’s block to be entered in a drawing for my pattern above! The drawing will be on Monday, June 8th.

Until next week…. Happy Quilting!
Deanne