Totally Finished Up With This One!

I feel like I've been a bit disconnected from the online quilting conversations for awhile now. Just trying to keep things rocking along at home and not finding nearly enough time to dedicate to the online quilting community at the same time.

AHIQFlowers is a completion!

AHIQFlowers quilt has finally, at long last, come to its final conclusion. Lots and lots of stitching on this one. At the start, I thought it would be completely quilted at approximately 1/4" apart, but then I pulled back and let the quilt dictate where it needed the most stitching. Doesn't that generally work out to be the better solution?

Something a little different for me. No tulips! lol

I've written more about the process and details involved in the making of this project over at my blog. As usual, I'm practically beaming at finding myself with another interesting U&U quilt interpretation. The fact that it was combined with yet another AHIQ prompt just feels like icing on the cake. I love how so many of the AHIQ challenges end up being merged with another idea I have waiting on deck! These prompts start out oh-so-simple with achingly wide parameters where it almost seems like the sky is the limit. How to narrow things down and get anything practical started? But then we set our mind to thinking about possibilities and eventually we find our little 'what if?' and off we go!

I still have one unfinished prompt left to finish up {Positive Thinking}, and then I'll attempt the latest challenge. Or maybe I'll start tomorrow. We'll see. Lots of energy has been expended towards wrapping previous undone quilt projects in the last couple weeks. Sometimes it takes a bit of clearing out the cobwebs and sweeping down the walls before we can wholeheartedly dive into the next challenge...

I Usually Make Symmetrical Quilts

Most of my quilts fit into the symmetrical category. 

This month I dug into my orphan blocks and parts and made a few asymmetrical tops just for fun. 

There may be more but for now it is back to my regularly scheduled symmetrical quilts. 

More on my blog post:

Out Of The Orphanage And Into A Quilt

 

Mostly Green 4in1 Quilt Top Piecing Finish! Meeting 4 Challenges!

Mostly Green 4in1 Quilt top close view.

I finished piecing Mostly Green 4in1 quilt top, 48" x 48".

 

Hello quilt friends and fellow ad hoc improv quilt enthusiasts!

This quilt is the result of 4 challenges, I finished piecing the blocks and I had to share!

I go into more explanation in my post, crazyvictoriana.blogspot.com.

It started with a green block challenge, I pieced 9 Sixteen Patch mostly green blocks and then didn't know what to do with them, so they just sat and then got put away. 

Anybody ever done that? 

Time went by and AHIQ put a challenge out for making a quilt inspired by one of the quilts in Rodney Kiracoff's book, Unconventional and Unexpected. 

Linda @https://kokaquilts.blogspot.com/2021/04/nine-patch-action.html made a great quilt inspired by one of the quilts in Rodney's book.

Then AHIQ put out the scale challenge, blocks showing different sizes. 

I started thinking about that...

Then came the AHIQ challenge, asymmetrical/symmetrical. 

Aha!

And so began the adventure of my Mostly Green 4in1 Quilt top adventure and this is where I'm at today.

Itching to unbalance

What I am learning from this challenge is that symmetry is definitely a much less comfortable idea for me than asymmetry.  I think my decision to use courthouse steps as a starting point has been helpful, up to a point,  but really all I need to do now is just keep cutting strips and going round and round.  And where, I ask myself, is the fun in that?  

You would think, wouldn't you, that I would be grateful for a nice, simple, pretty solution but clearly not.  I love these fabrics,the mix of florals and stripes and plaid,  and the general feel of what I have so far but I am itching to start unbalancing things.  I'm not even sure that would be a good idea at this point, but still I want to meddle.  

I will try to think of a way to tinker that doesn't upset things too much.

50 shades of pink

*Edit: photo updated, scroll down to see

Thank you for all the feedback on my last couple of posts,

seems like lots of you are enjoying my 50 shades of pink

💕

 

- next batch of crumb blocks

- my focus fabric 

I've been busy making more crumb blocks this week for my present pink project, the 'predictable' quilt, {pattern from @sunspell, who encourages you to put your own spin on her design}. It's all made up with HSTs, with the interest lying in the random way the triangles are laid out, giving it a modern vibe.

And I thought I'd combine this project somehow with the recent AHIQ challenge. Kaja from sewslowly discussed our various preferences to working asymmetrically or symmetrically with our quilts. Her new challenge is to pick whichever of these is furthest from your comfort zone and see what you can do.

After some research, a few panic moments & a couple of chats online {thanks to both Susan & Julie}, I'm thinking my 'predictable' quilt could be leaning towards being an asymmetrical quilt - it's got that modern asymmetrical composition with the more traditional HST blocks. I'm also planning on adding an asymmetrical border on two sides, shifting the midpoint over to further achieve asymmetry.

Here's a few progress photos of how things are looking down on the 'design floor' . . .

- now this is looking more interesting and exciting!

{wink wink} Still don’t know if I’m on the right track for the challenge, 

but I'm trying not to overthink this too much.

And it's certainly predictably unpredictable!

* EDIT

Ever had a picture of a quilt in your mind, 

then as you proceed, you find it's just not happening how you imagined?

Well, after lots of faffing around and with only 4 more blocks to make,

this is finally coming together nicely and making me smile again! 

Love to hear your thoughts on which sort of quilt you prefer to make -

symmetrical? or asymmetrical? 

Linda from kokaquilts

a new challenge

 a new challenge : Asymmetrical v Symmetrical

Kaja from sewslowly recently discussed our various preferences to working asymmetrically or symmetrically with our quilts. Her new challenge for AHIQ is to pick whichever of these is furthest from your comfort zone and see what you can do.

I did a little research and to put things simply - "Something is symmetrical when it is the same on both sides. A shape has symmetry if a central dividing line (a mirror line) can be drawn on it, to show that both sides of the shape are exactly the same".

Hmm, well I think I tend to make more symmetrical looking quilts, 

here's a few that stand out to me...

More research was required to further define asymmetry for me because, while I have made a few quilts that were definitely more improv in style, where that cohesive balance took a bit of work, I can't say I've ever made an asymmetrical {modern} quilt as such. 

But what I did find were a few examples of asymmetrical balance within my own quilts. Here are a few quilts that I think have an asymmetrical composition of traditional patchwork blocks, like the New York Beauty, Flying Geese, Log Cabins, Rail Fence, etc.

And like Janie from crazyvictoriana I knew if I shared these you'd get all excited, share your quilts, and maybe join in the challenge too . . .

 

This first quilt was made from a selection of orphan blocks. I guess it's improv, as I didn't use a pattern nor did I have any idea how the finished quilt was going to look. 

Again, this feels like improv to me, no pattern, just an overwhelming desire to work with the colour "grey". The asymmetrical balance in this quilt could be viewed as chaotic or visually interesting & exciting, depending on your point of view!

 symmetrical arrangement of asymmetrical blocks ↑

AND 

↓ asymmetrical arrangement of symmetrical blocks, yes?

And finally, leftover low volume blocks put together improv style using the 'magic numbers' formula. I love an inconsistently balanced quilt.

I think I mostly have the asymmetrical/symmetrical labeled right, let me know what you think.
Asymmetry is one topic I do find interesting, and definitely The. Most. Challenging. So I'm off now to deal to my present pink project, my 'predictable' quilt - it's been giving me headaches but I feel very much like it could fit somehow into the asymmetrical section of Kaja's challenge!

wish me luck 🤞

Linda from kokaquilts

Pandemonium - Asymmetrical Work in Progress

This is where things stand for now . . . 

You can see how it happened using the links below

for the process posts on my blog:

July 14, 2021

July 12, 2021

July 9, 2021

Introductory post - July 5, 2021

As is so often true for me,

I'm as excited about designing the scrappy back

as I am about designing the quilt top (grin).

Quiltdivajulie