Alaskan Vacation

Today we're featuring the Northern Wilderness quilt, a "spectacular journey that leads you through the natural wonders of the northern country." Designed by Alaskans, Marie Noah, Mary Thompson, and Heather Griffin, it features 16 individual applique scenes that can be assembled into a quilted masterpiece.  Or, pick a single block for a smaller project. Enjoy these photos from a 2025 show!

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

Alaskan Vacation made and quilted by Athena Taylor  

Athena Taylor says that she saw this quilt pattern while on vacation in Alaska, and purchased all the fabric while on that trip; she called her finished quilt Alaskan Vacation.  Athena says, "One of my favorite techniques is applique over pieced blocks. So this was a really fun quilt to do!"  

The jagged border is made with Delectable Mountains blocks. Individual blocks include the lob cabin, flying geese, storm-at-sea, and more. We love the Bear Paw block, below, which combines an appliqued bear over a pieced block.

And here is a Storm-at-Sea block (one of our favorites!) with an appliqued whale:

Northern Wilderness, made by Rhonda Borders, quilted by Peg Collins.   

 Another beautiful version of the Northern Wildnerness quilt was made Rhonda Borders.  The darker colors remind us of the Northwest landscapes of Alaska. Rhonda Borders says, "Even on vacation to Alaska, we had to find the quilt stores! Rhonda notes that she did not get to see the Northern lights. (Northern lights happen rarely, and only a matter of luck if you see them while visiting the North!)

We love the log cabin block, below, which features a special kind of log cabin. LOL! 

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Tucson Quilters Guild show. 

Storm at Sea

Storm at Sea uses small changes in straight angles to create an optical illusion of rounded shapes. It's a classic pattern, and one of our favorites! Here is an award-winning quilt made with paper piecing and gorgeous custom quilting.

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For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.  

Surviving the Storm of 2020, made and quilted by Linda Matteotti

Winner of a President's Choice award, this quilt is a fascinating take on the traditional Storm-at-Sea design because of its reverse colorization scheme.  Can you pick out the individual blocks?

 

Surviving the Storm of 2020 by Linda Matteotti was inspired by one of the Quick Quilt patterns in the Electric Quilt software.  The quilt is 100% paper pieced (beautiful!)  The computerized quilting was custom designed and executed by the maker.  Two layers of batting were used to give the quilting dimension.  Linda says that the project was "a great way to survive the Storm of 2020!" 

For more Quilt Inspiration along with free patterns and coloring diagrams, please visit our Free Pattern Day for Storm-at-Sea Quilts (CLICK HERE!)

 

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Quilt Arizona show.

 

Free patterns for Storm at Sea quilts!

Storm-at-Sea is one of our favorite block patterns because it gives the appearance of curves or "waves" while using only straight seams (so clever!).  We've assembled a collection of FREE patterns to make in calm or stormy hues. Simply scroll down the page until you see a quilt you like, then click on the words "CLICK for PDF download" in the title above the quilt.

Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on jewelry, patterns, and vintage collectibles!
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Rainbow Waves quilt, free pattern by Stacey Day for Tula Pink (CLICK for PDF download)

 

Calm Seas by Robin Waggoner for Quilters World (CLICK for PDF download)

 Stormy Seas quilt, free pattern by Emily Bailey for Fons & Porter (CLICK for PDF download)

Baby Play Mat (Giant Storm-at-Sea block; 32" square), free pattern by Quilting Treasures (CLICK for PDF download)

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

 Image credits: Individual images are copyrighted by their owners. Please respect their generosity in sharing their free patterns, and the restrictions they have placed on the use of these designs; complete information can be found at the designers' websites provided in the links. 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.

Free pattern day! Storm-at-Sea quilt 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!  To go to a pattern: Scroll down the page until you see the quilt you like, then click on the words "CLICK for PDF download" in the title above the quilt. Also see the FREE downloadable storm-at-sea coloring pages at the bottom of this post.

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

Storm at Sea quilt,~58 x 58", designed by Karen Selken for AccuQuilt, made by Kay Gentry, free pattern at AQS (CLICK for PDF download)   

Boussole quilt blocks, free pattern by Maureen Cracknell for Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)  

Deep Blue Sea quilt 1 (with center panel), 61 x 73", free pattern by Heidi Pridemore for Studio E Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Deep Blue Sea quilt 2, 90 x 90", free pattern by Heidi Pridemore for Studio E Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Stormy Seas, 46 x 46", free pattern by Yolanda Fundora at Urban Amish (CLICK for PDF download)

Rainbow Waves quilt, 80 x 96", free pattern by Stacey Day for Free Spirit Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Sail Away quilt, ~48" square, free pattern by Debby Kratovil for Windham Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Tide Lines quilt, ~50 x 50", free pattern by Nan Baker for Timeless Treasures Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Coral Reef, 83 x 83", free pattern by Linda Swenson Ruble for Windham Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Making Waves quilt, 90 x 90", free paper piecing pattern by Wendy Sheppard for Hoffman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Toes in the Water quilt, 66 x 66", free pattern by McKenna Ryan for Robert Kaufman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download) 

Deep Sea Delight quilt, free pattern by Heidi Pridemore for P&B Textiles (CLICK for PDF download)

Island Breeze quilt, 58 x 58", free pattern by Blank Quilting (CLICK for PDF download)

Storm at Sea quilt, 65 x 80", free pattern by Janice Ryan at Better Off Thread for Robert Kaufman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Wild Style Storm at Sea quilt, 50 x 50", free pattern by Teri Lucas for Marcus Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Ocean State quilt, 74 x 74",  free pattern by Heidi Pridemore at Studio E Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Fruit Salad quilt, 60 x 78", free pattern by Christine Stainbrook for Windham Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Gemstone quilt, 70 x 76", free pattern by Heidi Pridemore for Henry Glass Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Smooth Sailing quilt, free pattern by Anjeanette Klinder for Pellon (CLICK for PDF download)

Lost in the Storm quilt, 60 x 60", cathedral window storm-at-sea, free pattern by Shelley Swanland for Robert Kaufman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Storm at Sea block, free pattern by Eleanor Burns at Quilt in a Day (CLICK for PDF download)

Shine Bright baby quilt/play mat, ~32 x 32", free pattern by Stacey Yacula for Quilting Treasures (CLICK for PDF download)

About the storm-at-sea block:  The storm-at-sea block is based on a 3x3 grid.  This works out well for a 12" block, or any other size that is divisible by three.

 

Here is the traditional block, below, which has an elongated diamond (shown as two isosceles triangles) on the left hand side and the top :

Here is what the quilt would look like if 20 blocks were placed in a 4x5 grid (below). Note that an additional vertical row of diamonds is placed along the right side of the quilt to finish it off.  

These diagrams are fun to color, and are great for teaching kids about quilting (and geometry).  See if they can find different shapes within the grid, such as flowers, hearts, ribbons, and waves.  You can even find *stars* within the single-sashing version:

In a second variation, the diamond "sashing" is placed on all four sides of the center square, as shown below:

When this "double sashing" block is replicated, it creates a double set of waves in the design, as shown below :

You can download the block diagrams here.

Image credits and links: This post was updated on May 12, 2025.  Block diagrams are by Quilt Inspiration. Individual images are copyrighted by their owners. Please respect their generosity in sharing their free patterns, and the restrictions they have placed on the use of these designs; complete information can be found at the designers' websites provided in the links. 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.

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).