The nuance of flowering snowballs

If you've spent much time reading blogs or on Instagram lately, you'll recognize these blocks as the start of a Flowering Snowball quilt. It's a design that's increased in popularity in the last few years and is definitely on-trend at the moment.  I made some last year for @jennappleton as part of a quilting bee. I stumbled on her templates while digging through some drawers and realized it was an ideal pattern to use with the Maker fabric that I received from Polka Dot Tea. 

I'm storming through this quilt finishing thirty blocks this week. Before pressing, trimming and assembling them; I want to pause and geek out for a bit. I'm always fascinated how subtle changes can drastically vary the look of a quilt top. We often think of print, tone and value at the core of a quilt; but rarely think of nuance in the block shape. If you've read Badskirt for a while, you'll remember I talked about this a few years ago with butterfly spool blocks. Minor changes in shape lead to big changes in the overall feel of the quilt. 

If you're up for it, I invite you to nerd with me for a second.

We'll start by looking at the basic components of the flowering snowball design. The pattern is made from a series of overlapping circles. When two circles overlap, we get an eyeball or football-like shape. It's a fairly common shape in quilting appearing in number of patchwork designs as well as being used for leaves in appliqué.

When four circles overlap, a small curved diamond can occur in the middle. Depending on how much overlap there is in the circles, the diamond can be proportionally large or disappear all together. In extreme cases of overlap, the center becomes a complex web of shapes.

If we look  at the first case where there's a small curved diamond and then we quarter the circles, the Flowering Snowball block appears. For construction and cutting purposes, most Flowering Snowball template designers replace the curved diamond with a straight-edged on-point square. For tiny diamonds, this change is barely perceptible.

By varying the amount of overlap in the circles, you can change the look of flowering snowball block. It's this nuance that fascinates me at the moment. In cases of minimal overlap, you have much larger center diamonds and corner pieces. The pointed arches appear thin. As the overlap increases, the pointed arches become much more prominent in the design and the centers recede.

The different becomes more obvious when the blocks are viewed in repetition. With a small percentage of overlap, the curved arches are diminished and the center diamonds take center stage. This balance shifts as the overlap increases until the center diamonds disappear all together.

When look at photographs Flowering Snowball quilts online or in person, often the difference is subtle. Many template designers opt for similarly proportioned wee center diamonds. Look closely though and I bet you can find some variation among the quilts. Add circle size, color, print and fabric placement to the mix, and you could find yourself making flowering snowballs variations for a lifetime.

For my first Maker project, I'm using templates from @jennaappleton. I feel like her layout has just the right shape for small throw quilt. The 3/4" finished diamonds perfectly punctuate the circles.

...and with that, I've stalled long enough. The iron is calling. I've got blocks to press, a quilt top to finish and photos to take. I can't leave you with a black&white teaser, can I?