About Atomic Quilting

A collection of laminated construction paper quilting atoms

When the Greeks came up with the notion of ‘atomos’ — indivisible — they couldn’t have foreseen the discovery of the periodic table and its towering impact on all the fields of science.  The word atom has come to mean the smallest building block of nature, even though with each passing year science finds yet another way to subdivide the atom into even smaller and more obscure particles.

So I thought the word ‘atom’ was particularly apt for the study of quilt piecing, because it, too, becomes much more understandable by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable pieces. If you understand the basic units — ‘atoms’ — of quilt piecing, you can reduce any complex pattern into a collection of easy-to-piece units.   And once you can piece the basic units with confidence, you can scale them to any size you like.

In this blog I’ll cover the units I consider to be basic to quilting, as well as my favorite methods of constructing them.  I’ll also give you some basic blocks and patterns to get you started on your quilting adventure.

If you’re new to quilting, the simplest quilting atoms and blocks will be a great place to start.  If you’re experienced you might like to follow along, and maybe you’ll find something new to you along the way.

Since I’m coming from an engineering background, the underlying math and relationships of quilting are fun for me.  If you’re geeky you might like it too, but if not I’ll make it simpler for you though so you can get more enjoyment out of the quilting time you have in the midst of your busy lives.