today, i have been figuring out how to layout the repeating pattern. my preliminary calculations told me that the pattern would fit with only a bit of finessing required... i had about 1/2" more in the frame's length and width than the pattern repeats needed.
how to get started... hmm... you can see from the photo how i have decided to go about it. this is the most mathematically challenging design i have tried, and judging from the effort for the first corner, it is also the most intricate and tight... by tight i mean that within the squares, i don't have much wiggle room. also, i am using triangles cut from 1/2" tiles for the outside edges of the small squares, and for the corners. that means cutting the 1/2" tiles into 8 triangles... this is a difficult cut, and often yields 8 tiny triangles of varying degrees of tiny... not too bad though... just a bit more waste.
my grouping of 4 squares, filled with diamonds, and separated by the bronze mirror and van gogh short strips, measures 3 1/2" square. i am allowing about 1/2" between each grouping for the bronze short strips. these short strips form a division, within the 6" frame area, defining a kind of checkerboard pattern.
to properly measure the pattern, i work from the corners toward the middle, and also from the middle toward the corners, measuring and seeing where i can finesse the extra length into the design without distorting the pattern. i have made several small markings on the base, playing with ideas for arranging my groupings, (my square of 4 squares) and the columns of bronze short strips. the row of short strips that goes from corner to corner is not a problem... remember, i have the 6" width worked out perfectly.
i will need to use a bit more width for each column of short strips to make the pattern work. you can see how i have marked my guidelines on the base, along the bottom width of the mirror. i will need to do the same for the length of the mirror... working from the middle toward the corners and vice versa, to get the exact measurements for the length.
