I am in the process of designing a Storm at Sea quilt for my son and have pulled up all the searches for Storm at Sea on the board. I have found a lot of beautiful SAS quilts and upon looking closely I have noticed that there are two different sets of corner blocks in these quilts. I then started pulling up patterns for them on the internet and found two different sets of instructions for the corner blocks. It would certainly be faster to make them one way but I am wondering if the block with more pieces actually adds anything to the design. Any thoughts? Ann in TN

I like "B" but that is just me

after looking at some patterns on the web I like the flow better using "a"

Sure it would be faster with less pieces, but it would also be plainer.

You can see the difference in the quilts in your post from the other day. The majority of them (actual quilts and sketches) all had the more complex pieced Storm at Sea block configuration.

It all gives you a lot more opportunity to play with different coloring options.

Color in the design sheet and then you can see for yourself which one you prefer. The second one ("B") is the traditional block that's used. I've never used the one you have for letter "A" so I'm not sure how it would look in the overall design. 8-)

I used B in my SAS. I like it better. Just adds that little extra something.(like a shot of vanilla)

<snort>

I fully agree!

I made a variation called Stars at Sea which has a four patch in the center block. It's one of my very favorites.

The success of this pattern really has a lot to do with value and color placement. In order to make the waves roll continuously you need to pay careful attention to the value of each piece.