Placemat inspiration

Somehow I'm always stumped for ideas when I need to make placemats. I have gathered ideas on Pinterest and I have made some sketches in EQ, but somehow I'm never happy with the things I come up with. I think the problem is that I tend to overthink things. You can't make them like miniature quilts or they become too fussy, and with too few pieces they become dull. But sometimes inspiration strikes!
And that's what happened last night when I came across Debbies post about her new emerald placemats. The idea of making the same block in three different sizes and combining them  like she has done, is just brilliant. If you get the math right and make your blocks in equations of the finished size you can't go wrong.

Now Debbie used wonky cross blocks for her placemats, and they are wonderful. But it got me thinking that you could really do the same thing with any kind of block, wonky or straight. If you use just one kind of block, you get enough unity while the different sizes and ways you can puzzle them together makes it interesting. I couldn't let the idea alone, and went to my trusted EQ software and played around a bit. This is what I came up with:

 In the first excample I used my old friend the Monkey Wrench block and fabric from Sweetwater's Hometown collection. Now I would probably use some solids in there to calm things down a bit, but yes - I like the idea - this is definitely something to play more with. And if I make the blocks wonky - yes! Now we're talking!

In the second excample I used the same layout but with Flying Geese blocks instead. By rotating the blocks you can make them even more interesting. In this excample I used the lovely Comma line by Zen Chic for Moda - I can't wait to play with these lovely fabrics, maybe placemats are next on the agenda! Thank you Debbie!