Tulip Mania, completed top

This is on my blog, of course, so I thought I would just do a recap here of how it relates to  Ann's original challenge.  I wanted to keep as many elements of her original quilt as I could, whilst doing my own thing.  I certainly went all around the houses to get there, but  I have tulips and they are string-pieced and I have string blocks.  I also have, more or less a medallion layout; it may not look especially like a medallion at first glance, but it was constructed in rounds, working out for the centre.  

Of course I could have abandoned any of these elements along the way and would have done, if necessary, but I like that I didn't have to.  In fact, I didn't start with a medallion layout but using the tulips in a block as a central starting point was a key moment in figuring out how this was going to work.  

This has been a big old headache a lot of the time, but it has been a good exercise for me to have to think more about value and the way it relates to colour, and about the ways that I can get rhythm and movement into a piece.  Definitely not time wasted, then, but I am heartily relieved to get it to a point I am happy with!