QUILTS & FABRIC: PAST & PRESENT


Monday, November 16, 2015

Tessellations 5: An Unusual Quadrilateral

Vintage Quilt, About 1890-1920


Perhaps this odd shape is the perfect charm quilt/paper pieced pattern
if you're looking for some challenging piecing and an unusual design.

About 1830-1950
It's a quadrilateral---a four sided shape---so it tessellates,
covers a surface with one pattern piece.


About 1880-1900
I was surprised how many examples I have seen
from about 1870 to 1983

This may look like a a triangle but it is a four-sided shape.

I've found several examples where they are pieced into rows.

"1983 Mother Adcock"

In EQ7 you can do a sketch of a One-Patch Quilt->Patch Style-> Kite

And change the proportions.

by sliding the Width and Height sliders.

Here is an unfinished project from about 1940.
Perhaps she intended to set these into hexagons
rather than kites.

About 1950-1980

Many of these four-sided shapes are drafted as part of a hexagon.
So they can be reassembled as a hexagon.


BlockBase #243


Or part of a triangle

No BlockBase number for this arrangement.





See this webpage from The Fat Quarter Shop
for a contemporary take on the arrangement....several contemporary takes.

Fractal by Michele-Renee at Quiltmatters

This silk show quilt from the 1880-1900 period
is not a tessellation since it requires two shapes.

Sort of like BlockBase  #233
Star Fish from the the Ver Mehren pattern firm
in Des Moines in the 1930s


One of them the cone shape or kite shape in question.
The other shape (two odd triangles) can be seen as an arrowhead.


An arrowhead will tessellate.


Jasper Johns Screen Print, Cicada

Elizabeth W. has been looking at Jasper John's print for a while and decided
to try interpreting it as a four-sided patch like the arrowhead.

She sent me the first steps.
"Indeed, any quadrilateral will tessellate."

Can't wait to see the results.


6 comments:

  1. I love these. They definitely took some time to make.

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  2. I love seeing all of these examples. Great posting on a rarely discussed subject and pattern!

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  3. Very interesting. I have some fabric that I have been looking from design ideas for. I think I should investigate this a little more.

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  4. First time I see some designs.Thanks for the post!

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  5. Eternel recommencement !
    You show how from old patterns we can have new looks and these four-sided pieces are very interesting. Thank you!

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  6. I love patter that is made out of this triangle, strange formed pieces. Looks very cool and I even couldn't imagine this pattern is quite old.

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