Storm at Sea Pattern Ideas

Since the first time I saw a Storm at Sea quilt (at a quilt show, with intertwined hearts emerging from the pattern through clever use of color), I wanted to make one.  I love how it's all straight lines, but because of angle changes gives the illusion of curving lines.  It does look like waves, but made from squares and rectangles.  The kaleidoscope block has a similar appeal. 

Generations Quilt Patterns looks at two approaches to this design: Block A and Block B.  A bunch of Block A's next to each other will create borders from the rectangles, while a bunch of Block B's will have doubled borders, because the block is already surrounded.  Click on the screencap below to go to their site and see the options illustrated.  I love how they show that setting the blocks on point (i.e. diagonally) changes the whole look! 

I wondered how Block A would look rotated, so I did an MS Paint drawing and played around with copy-pasting the one block and rotating it.  Here's one option from Block A:

So you can see what a versatile pattern this is.  But how can I do my own version?  More playing in Paint, using Block A not rotated...

I like this idea, with the addition of sailboats for fun. But how cool would it be to combine regular piecing with Foundation Paper piecing?  If I drew the quilt blocks, the drew the FPP picture on top, and figured out the lines to make it all a paper piecing...

The MS Paint picture is clunky, but the concept is sound.  If you like applique (which I've found that I don't), you could piece the block as usual and applique the ship on top, then cut away the backing to reduce bulk and lines showing through.  However, FPP allows for far more detailed pictures than applique.  Imagine it with this ship or these!  The tricky part would be merging the FPP pattern with the lines of the block to make one new pattern; but I bet I could do it!  The question is, will I?  Not any time soon... I have other projects going, and just started a college class as well. 

So many ideas, and so little time.  Often, I let an idea percolate through my head, and tire of it before I make it.  Maybe in cases like that, my brain is contented by just the idea.  Other times, I get the impetus to start making, and ideas become tangible.  The creative process is so fun!