Windmill- Pinwheel tutorial : Post 1

Windmills of Your Mind…

…Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning, 

On an ever spinning wheel

As the images unwind
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind…

( Original Song sung by Noel Harrison)

I am currently doing a BOM (Block of the Month) that shall add up to a charity quilt at the end of the year.

The first block (March 2011) was the Windmill Block – which I thought was another name for the Pinwheel Block! It is only now that I discovered that they are not the same! The Windmill Block is at Fig A here, and the Pinwheel Block at Fig B.

A.Windmill Block                                                                        B. Pinwheel

Pinwheel variations

These Blocks  show variations of the pinwheel Block. You can see how choice of colours/ dividing the component triangles in various ways can give a totally different look to each of the Pinwheel blocks.

Designing the Block

I decided I wanted to make a 15″ (ready) blocks for the BOM as there would be 12 blocks only – in a 3X4 setting it would be a 45″ X 60″ quilt. With sashing and borders , could be stretched to 60 X 75 – a reasonable size.

I decided on a simple Pinwheel Block with four pinwheels separated by a sashing – something like this!

Don’t you like the two secondary pinwheels in pink and yellow emerging in the centre?

But for reasons explained later, I had to add a sashing. My final block ( for which instructions are given) looks like this

Fabric requirements

I would need 2 dark colours and a contrast light colour. I decided to use red and blue as the dark, with a contrast white fabric.

For the 4 Pinwheels

4 squares of red (the secondary blade)5.5″ X 5.5″

4 squares of white (the secondary blade) 5.5″ X 5.5″

8 squares of blue (main blade) 5″ square

For the sashing

4 strips (I used red) 1.5″ X 8”

For the Centre Pinwheel

2 squares 1.5″ white

2 squares 1.5 ” blue

See how how make the basic units-http://patchworkofmylife.com/2012/05/10/windmill-pinwheel-tutorial-post-2/

See how you put the block together –http://patchworkofmylife.com/2012/05/10/windmill-pinwheel-tutorial-post-3/