Next, I come up with ideas for the squares. In this case, I pondered things that are ‘typical’ for Scotland and came up with floral elements:
- ‘Thistle‘ – Scotland’s national flower,
- ‘Heather‘ – Scotland’s very own typical vegetation, and
- ‘Clover‘ – though sometimes rather connected with Ireland, yet still a dominant plant in Scotland.
Moving from flora to fauna, ‘The Stag‘ is one of the most common and iconic animals associated with Scotland, where it can be found almost everywhere. It is certainly significant for some elements in the story and therefore a must-have pattern element.
The ‘Unicorn’, Scotland’s national animal did get some consideration, but was dismissed for the Moment, as was ‘Nessie’, even though there are design drafts for both of them.
Considering the topic of the book, ‘Stone Circles‘ was an obvious choice, as well as the place where it all starts – the Scottish ‘Highlands‘ with their beautiful landscape.
Because they are similar to a normal cross yet so typically different and instantly recognisable, ‘Scottish Cross‘ was a symbol that was definitely worthy to be included. And when we talk about symbolism, we must not dismiss the Scots’ ‘Celtic Roots‘ ornaments of which can still be found everywhere from household objects to furniture to clothes and craft designs.
‘Claire’ is supposed to be the square in the middle and is going to be as big as four normal squares including the border. That gives me 14 square sizes.
Square Design Ideas:
- Claire (4 parts)
- Thistle
- Heather
- Clover
- Stag
- Unicorn
- Nessie
- Stone Circles
- Highlands
- Scottish Cross
- Celtic Roots