Straight Lines that Appear Curved: Storm-at-Sea Quilts!

Storm at Sea quilts use small changes in straight angles to create the optical illusion of curves. We love this pattern!  Here are some wonderfully colorful examples.  Plus, we've included a link to our FREE Pattern Day for Storm-at-Sea Quilts in case you want to create your own masterpiece! 

p.s. Please see our E-Bay shop for great bargains on patterns and vintage collectibles. For continuous free quilt patterns and blog updates, please visit us on Twitter.

Storm at Sea by Carol Carpenter (Arizona), quilted by Kris Neifeld

We love the contrasting color scheme of this wall quilt! Carol Carpenter say, "I've always wanted to make a Storm at Sea pattern, so this John Flynn kit was the size and color theme that interested me.This pattern required precise piecing but the result was worth all the work." 

Sailor's Delight by John Flynn (Montana)

John Flynn designs quilts and kits, and leads quilting workshops.  Here is one of his beautiful, precise Storm at Sea designs, featuring 20 blocks (4 across and 5 down). The expert coloring and shading emphasizes the wavy lines created by the design. Read about his work at Flynn Quilts.

Storm at Sea by Lauren Semple (Texas), quilted by Pam Klein

Here is a paper pieced Storm at Sea quilt with intensely colorful batiks.  Lauren Semple says, "This is a pattern I have always wanted to challenge myself with, and a challenge it proved to be! I changed the light and dark order from the more traditional method.  I designed the border pattern to complement the quilt."

Color Wave by Beth Shutty (Florida)

Beth Shutty says, "I arranged my hand dyed fabric so the color radiates out from the central point.  The placement of white patches creates diagonal waves of color which influenced the quilt's name.  The use of spiral machine quilting added an unexpected third level of movement to the quilt."

Screamer by Jean Firestine (Arizona)

Jean Firestine says, "I decided to make this block (Storm at Sea) having very little paper piecing experience.  Needless to say, it took about 3 tries to get it right." (Hence the title: "Screamer".) Fun fabrics in desert-y hues can be seen throughout this quilt.

"The bad blocks are on the back, and are a reminder that there's usually a good reason for following directions. However, no promise to follow directions, I'm an artist and it's ok to think outside the box." We love this clever use of "bad" blocks (waste not, want not!)

For FREE quilt patterns and coloring diagrams (so you can plan your own), check out our Free Pattern Day for Storm-at-Sea quilts (CLICK HERE!)  

Image credits: Original quilt photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2023 Tucson Quilters guild show (Screamer by Jean Firestine); the 2020 Arizona Quilters Guild show (Storm at Sea by Carol Carpenter); the 2015 World Quilt Show Florida VI  (Color Wave by Beth Shutty); and the 2013 Houston International Quilt Festival (Storm at Sea by John Flynn & Storm at Sea by Lauren Semple).

Free pattern day! Storm-at-Sea Quilts and block diagrams

Storm at Sea uses small changes in straight angles to create an optical illusion of rounded shapes.  Here are some free storm-at-sea quilt patterns!  Note: This post has been UPDATED.  For the latest free patterns, please visit our Free Pattern Day for Storm-at-Sea quilts (CLICK HERE!)

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on jewelry, patterns, and collectibles!
For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.  

Image credits and links: This post was updated on May 12, 2025.  The photo montage shown on this page is a derivative work that is the property of Quilt Inspiration. If any links are broken, we'd love to know so we can fix it. Please email us at QuiltInspiration {at} gmail {dot} com.

Day 3: Arizona Quilters' Guild Show 2012

Here are some more intriguing quilts from the weekend of March 9-10.  As you can see, a wide range of styles and techniques were on display. Write us a comment below, as we'd love to know which one is your favorite.

The Ladies at Sunset by Nancy Norrander - Judge’s Choice Award

Nancy Norrander said: “I pieced and quilted 'The Ladies at Sunset' for our new home in Arizona. It represents a very peaceful time of day and a time to reflect.” The faces of the Ladies were made of ultra suede, and the dresses, made of crushed velvet, stood out from the surface of the quilt.

Close-up photo, The Ladies at Sunset by Nancy Norrander

All three ladies are adorned with real turquoise necklaces as shown in the close-up photo above. We recognize this quilt as the "Navajo Treasures" pattern from Sara Cibelli, which can be seen at Flamingo Island Designs (Florida).

Vintage Roses by Barbara Polston, quilted by Terri Doyle. Blue ribbon: First Place Mixed techniques- Large.

Vintage tatted linen inspired this original design by Barbara Polston, showcasing painted appliqued roses. We were impressed by the tatting, which was appliqued around the center panel, shown below.  Tatting was common in our grandmothers' day and it is not often seen.

Close-up, Vintage Roses by Barbara Polston

All of the roses were painted off the quilt surface and turned into appliqué elements.  Barbara Polston says that the quilt concept lived in her head for almost two years. From start to finish, the quilt took 18 months to complete and was meant to be a competition piece.

Arizona Charm by Reni Dieball, quilted by Diane Pitchford

Tumbling Blocks were hand-pieced and hand appliqued to borders; there are hundreds of hand-pieced Y-seams in this quilt. Reni Dieball decided to arrange the blocks by colors. The  wide variety of fabrics were obtained by exchanges with her quilting and sewing friends.  The detail below shows some of the fun fabrics which Reni used: a scarecrow with sunflower, candy cane, sun with smiling face, spools of thread, and a family of geese can be seen.

Close-up, Arizona Charm by Reni Dieball

Hexagonal Spirals by Sue Whaples, quilting by Barbara Harrell

This colorful quilt is an elaborate variation of a snail's trail, based on an original design by John Flynn.  Sue Whaples used John’s Hexagonal Spirals templates to make all the arms of the snails tails match up; she made the quilt rectangular and added borders.

Close-up, Hexagonal Spirals by Sue Whaples, quilting by  Barbara Harrell

The quilting, which was done by Barbara Harrell, was really exceptional; as you can see in the photo above, each triangle in the spiral was quilted separately - an enormous amount of work. 

My Civil War Bride by Janice Hartman - Exemplary Hand Quilting Award

This is the first Civil War Bride quilt we've seen in person and it received an Exemplary Hand Quilting award (turquoise ribbon) along with a 2nd place (red ribbon) in the Applique-Large category. Janice Hartman used reproduction fabric collected over several years. The applique stitching, which was done with silk thread, was nearly invisible.  Hand quilting was done around each applique and diagonally in the borders. It was a stunning quilt that must have taken thousands of hours to applique. Our apologies for this less-than-perfect photo of a perfect quilt; the quilt was hung in a back hallway where the lighting was really challenging; the left side was in darkness and the right side was under a spotlight.

The Civil War Bride quilt pattern, designed by Corliss Searcey of Threadbear (Australia), is done in the style of The Bird of Paradise quilt in the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. It is distinguished by heavily appliquéd blocks of flowers & leaves, birds & butterflies, animals and fruit.

Storm-at-sea quilt wrapup

Here are some gorgeous storm-at-sea quilts we've shown at Quilt Inspiration. We are so fascinated by the design possibilities of this block !  For free downloadable block diagrams and free storm-at-sea patterns, please see our updated post:  Storm at Sea Quilts and Free Block Diagrams.
  
Eye of the Storm, Heart of the Storm, Summerfest Garden, Oceana, Delft Storm, and Albers at Sea

Row 1:  Eye of the Storm by Peggy Martin, at Peggy Martin Quilts; Heart of the Storm, by John Flynn, at Flynn Quilt.  Row 2: Summerfest Garden, by Joen Wolfrom; Oceana, by Linda Jean Peterson at Cape Cod Art Studio. Row 3:  Delft Storm, by Ionne McCauley, at Ionne Quilts; Albers at Sea, by Debra Levin at the Empire Quilters Guild.

Image credits: Images are shown with the generous permission of the designers.

Straight piecing patterns that appear curved : Storm at Sea Pt. 2

A well-known quilter, inventor, and teacher, John Flynn created the beautiful "Heart of the Sea" quilt below for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. It's a grass roots charity whose purpose is to raise awareness and fund research about Alzheimer's and dementia. This charity auctions and sells donated quilts, often made specifically for this project by famous quilt artists.

Heart of the Storm, 16 x 16, by John Flynn, for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative

This quilt has a purple ribbon for awareness, and a heart for compassion, which are hidden within the piecing (see below). The quilt was made with cotton batiks; laser cut, machine pieced and machine quilted. "Heart of the Storm" earned $1000 for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, and it is now an emblem on tote bags and t-shirts that benefit the Alzheimer's Initiative.

Heart of the Storm, detail, showing the heart motif and the storm-at-sea block

During his career as a civil engineer, John Flynn became very interested in the quilting projects done by his wife, Brooke Flynn. He used his engineering background to invent the Flynn Quilt Frame, which holds quilts tightly without basting, so that quilting can be done on a home sewing machine. One of John's talents is his aptitude for precision and accuracy, especially in construction of small quilts using tiny pieces. In the close-up above, you can see how well all the pieces fit together, even though the quilt is only 16 inches square.  In addition, note the perfectly parallel lines of quilting, which brings out the curved, three-dimensional quality of this quilt.

Storm at Sea, 40 x 52, batik pre-cut quilt kit, at Flynn Quilt

The daughter of John and Brooke,  Kate Flynn Nichols designs and sells pre-cut kits of fabrics in light, medium, and dark hues, so that the movement and shapes of the Storm at Sea pattern are easily visible.  Kate offers the pattern in a variety of sizes, including a 30 x 30 inch quilt with 12 inch blocks, a 22 x 30 quilt with 9 inch blocks, and even a miniature Storm at Sea wall hanging, measuring 14.5 by 18 inches.  In addition, Flynn Quilt sells acrylic templates suitable for rotary cutting, along with instructions, so that you can create a Storm At Sea with your own fabric. This is one of those patterns that makes a great scrappy quilt and a useful stash-buster.

Brooke Flynn's interesting blog, Quilting at Windmills, shows photos of John at work, along with the family's travels to quilt shows where John teaches and demonstrates his sturdy, practical, lighweight quilt frame.  Quilting is really a family affair with the Flynns, and they continue to create outstanding quilts and products.

Image permission : Images are shown with the generous permission of the artist.