January Block of the Month

We're celebrating the start of another Block of the Month! For 2011, I've been inspired by Claude Monet's Nympheas painting at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. We'll be using a Hoffman Bali Pop as the basis for the twelve blocks. So each month, I'll post a picture of the pieced block that you can use as a reference as you piece your block.

January Block

As I was playing with the block in Electric Quilt, I came up with a fun design based on that block that I wanted to share with you. I took January's block and used a dark contrasting fabric for all the middle stairstep pieces. You can see how that changes the overall look of the block, making it stronger and more dynamic.

So then I made a reverse (mirror image) of the same block, in which the stairstep moves in the opposite direction. When you have asymmetrical blocks like this one, you can often come up with interesting designs by playing with the block and its reverse.

I then took both blocks and alternated them in an on-point setting. Then I rotated the blocks and came up with this dynamic design. It's fun! And shows how even the simplest block can serve as the beginning of an interesting design!