Improv Holiday Extravaganza

This  time of this  year, I have found a "lost" improve Christmas quilt I made.

I thought I would share it with all of you xoxoxox

 

Help Needed for my String Tulips

 Hello! Thank you all for your kind comments on my first improv quilt. I am now quilting it and have completed the medallion, however I have no clue as how to do the string blocks. Would so appreciate your advice on how to proceed so I can finish it.  Here's the center done:

I've been thinking of maybe Baptist fans or diamonds. ???

Top joined 11/6/21

 Just need to add the circles and the slim outer border.  I'm calling it Christmas Tulips, and since it is going to be a wall hanging, the tulips were raw edge appliqued.

I hope to have it done by the end of the year.

Asymmetry Needed

 Kaja’s {A}symmetry prompt drove home my overwhelming use of symmetry in quilting. Even after posting the prompt, all my quilts have been symmetrical. Butterflies has 90-degree rotational symmetry.

Butterfly baby quilt

And Scrappy Trips has either that or reflective symmetry when looked at block by block.

Scrappy Trip baby quilt

The Baby Word quilts

LOVE baby quilt

and the Baseball quilt demonstrate translational symmetry.

SF Giants baseball quilt

although there’s also reflective symmetry between left- and right-handed players.

Ruth McDowell wrote Symmetry years ago. In the 90s? It’s an excellent explanation of the seventeen tiles in a plane. She uses 🖐 hand prints 🖐 to highlight each. 

In geometry we say there are four types of symmetry: reflection, rotation, translation, and glide reflection. In geology, we identify 32 combination of symmetry operations in crystal morphology {which is just another big word for the natural shape of crystals.} Of course, there are extras because it’s three-dimensional.

I have to look a long way back to find an asymmetrical quilt. All the way back to the first quilt I posted on my blog.

A Daisy a Day

And my favorite quilt - The Live Oak - from sketches of my children in their favorite tree.

The Live Oak

I need to work on asymmetry. Some day soon.

Ann

Symmetry Challenge - Times Two

Pandemonium is my quilt top for the current challenge.

It was a long and winding road to completion -

you can read more about that journey

in previous posts here on the AHIQ blog

(use the Pandemonium label at the end of the post)

 and in the top's reveal post on my blog.

Ultimately the fabric on the left 

is what I've chosen to back Pandemonium.

(City View by Michael Miller)

Quilting will not happen until after the first of the year.

I had planned to use the leftover orphan bits

to piece a scrappy back for Pandemonium.

You can read THAT long and winding story HERE.

Instead of a back, those orphan pieces became

a second quilt top named Ukiyo.

(n: living in the moment,

detached from the bothers of life)

I pulled the yardage on the left from my backing stash

but again, FMQ will not happen until next year.

* * *

This symmetry v. asymmetry challenge

has been a very interesting process.

Ukiyo's asymmetry is far more obvious

while Pandemonium's is more subtle.

I wonder what the new prompt will be in January?

Quiltdivajulie

Tulips Made

 

 Life has been difficult here what with caregiving and trying not to stress about it.  But I try to do my 15 minutes a day quilting effort, and some days it does happen.  Here are my completed 4 tulips for the String Tulip QAL by Ann that finished long ago.  Little by little.

Two 'Challenge Met' Quilt Tops for AHIQ

I've been such a slacker about getting the latest projects up here on the AHIQ blog. Trying to fix that! First up is the latest improv. finish, Improv. HST Medallion. It wasn't started as a response any specific prompt here, but all along, the Playing With Scale challenge has been whispering in the back of my head.

Improv. HST Medallion 

Most every border added seemed to lend itself well to a 'larger' scale of the initial piecing. I even drew the look in a rough doodle right after the centerpiece made itself known. What if? Then the tulip applique jumped on and I had to let the whole thing marinate for awhile just 'in case' I was overlooking the obvious. Hmm..  Maybe not. I've been intrigued by this style of quilt for a very long time. So many antique lovelies to get inspiration from, though the best generally have much, much smaller piecing throughout.

Positive Thinking

Also, I wanted to get my version of the Positive Thinking challenge posted here where it all began. Most of the AHIQ followers have already seen this over on the very wordy post. This is another one of those quilts that I just don't think would have ever happened if not for the very challenges presented here at AHIQ. That's not a stretch at all to say this! These prompts have to have a start you know! And a theme! It was a lovely journey getting to this particular finish and I am happy, thrilled, and even a bit moved with how personal and unique this turned out to be. Who would have thunk it?