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Quilt Blocks Of Europe

Summary

Touring Europe, a quilter can't help but notice the quilt blocks in buildings. Here are some that I have collected with suggestions on how they might be made.

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Quilt Blocks Of Europe

Touring Europe, a quilter can't help but notice the quilt blocks in buildings. Here are some that I have collected with suggestions on how they might be made.

Quilt Blocks Of Europe

 

Vatican

This block is from the Vatican Museum in Rome featuring star blocks with plain squares. This is called the Cosmati style after the family who made these floors of cut stones such as serpentine and marble during the 12th and 13th centuries. These, however, were probably made in the Renaissance.

This quilt would be fairly easy to make using an eight-pointed star such as Aunt Eliza's Star or the Ohio Star Block. There are videos available online for both blocks.

Vatican

 

Sistine

The part of this floor that caught my eye is the orange peels with small squares in between. The curve of the orange peels is unusual for most of the geometric patterns. Because most orange peel quilts are done with applique, it doesn't seem impossible to replicate this pattern. I do like that the individual peels are of different shades which we would not expect to see in a quilt.

Sistine

 

Cathedral

This photograph is of the outside of the main Cathedral in Pisa, Italy. It appears to look as if it had a center medallion set into a set of surrounding borders or square in a square. The triangles making up the center medallion appear to be curved. It also has equilateral triangles in the border area. This geometric shape was a popular representation of the Trinity in Christianity.

This makes me think of using a panel as the center of a quilt and finishing it with complement borders.

Cathedral

 

Pisa

Here again, we have a square within a square with equilateral triangles. The feature here is the center rose. This is another often found symbol in Christianity representing the Virgin Mary. The triangles almost appear to be pointing in at the center rose. Notice in the center that triangles are set within triangles.

This pattern could be reproduced as a quilt by using half-square triangles and fussy cutting a rose for the center block.

Pisa

 

Restroom Floor

This photo was taken of a lady's room floor in Barcelona, Spain. Here we aren't looking for, and don't see, symbols of Christianity. To me, this pattern almost looks like a typical “stack and whack” since all four squares contain the same odd shapes.

A quilter could see how to cut and how to sew the shapes together, but I suspect that someone might mention the dreaded "Y seam".

Restroom Floor

 

Alter

This photo was taken on a previous journey in Germany and is my favorite. I have thought that I might want to make this one into a quilt someday. I believe the center stone to be marble, but wouldn't it be gorgeous done in batiks?

The quilter would first have to make a guide by blowing up the photo and using freezer paper to create the shapes. Because each of the stones appear to be outlined in black first and then white, the quilter would have to layer the fabrics by adhering them together with her method of choice. Because of the odd shapes of the stones, it would be incredibly difficult to sew these as borders rather than layering them. Then they would need to be arranged according to the guide and attached to the black background.

I urge you to look around as you travel. You can't help but be inspired!

Alter

 

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Glossary

Applique
Attaching individual pieces of fabric to a background to form a design.

Same As: Appliqué


See Also: Freezer Paper Applique, Needleturn Applique, Machine Applique, Reverse Applique, Shadow Applique
Block
The basic unit of a quilt top, usually square but can be rectangular or other shapes. Blocks can be pieced, appliqued or plain.
Border
A strip of fabric or pieced strip of fabric joined to the edges of the inner quilt and used to frame it.
Equilateral Triangles
Triangles where all three angles are 60 degree angles. Six equilateral triangles sewn together make a hexagon.
Star
A large central star, made up of diamond shaped fabric or a square with right triangles, to form the star points from the center out.
Author
Debi Warner
Author and humorist, Debi Warner, retired after many years as a clinical librarian and information specialist. She has her Master’s in Library and Information Science and achieved a Distinguished level in the Medical Library Association’s Association of Health Information Professionals. She has worked on teaching physicians to use computers and electronic resources. She also worked on several grants teaching the public how to use the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus public database and is co-author of several articles on health literacy. She took up quilting after retirement in 2012 and chaired the Rio Grande Valley Quilt Show in 2019. She currently teaches several quilting classes over Zoom and writes for QuiltingHub.
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