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Friday, December 10, 2021

Design Challenge: Ypsilon Illusion Quilt

New PATTERN:  Ypsilon Illusion Quilt, 64" x 82" by. Deonn Stott

Ypsilon Illusion Quilt, 64" x 82"

My local quilt guild issued a Design Challenge this past year, and I was excited to play along!  

THE CHALLENGE:  Make a quilt using the following criteria:  
1)  Pick a shape from a box: 


My SHAPE = TRIANGLE

2)  And from a different box, pull out 3 crayons: 
    

My COLORS = Orange, Purple, and Bluegreen!

Challenge:  Accepted!

I have been dreaming about making an "Escher"-type illusion quilt like this one that looks like interlocking Y's.  In the Greek alphabet, Y = Ypsilon, so I went with that for the name of the quilt.  (More "Y" factoids HERE.)

The more I studied the design, I realized that three trapezoids, or half-hexagons, would fit together to form a TRIANGLE!  And there's my shape for the challenge.


AND!!  To make it even easier, I just happen to have a Half-Hex die that I use with my AccuQuilt cutting system!


I began collecting some Tula Pink prints (Homemade and True Colors), then found a good solid for each colorway.  I don't quilt much with purple, and probably would not have put these colors together on purpose, but they worked perfectly for this challenge!  I quickly cut out three different values of my assigned colors, laid out the units, and pieced my triangle blocks.  


YES!!  Those are "Y" seams!  Y-seams for Y-blocks!  But a 60-degree angle makes it pretty easy to do the Y-seam thing.  Also, this was another way to challenge myself.   I've always tried to avoid Y-seams, but after quilting for 20+ years it was time to try.  And, these blocks went together really slick!  The seams fan out beautifully.


I completed all the blocks I would need, and took them with me to Hawaii on a recent visit to see my daughter's family.  I stayed for a couple of weeks to babysit my 2-year-old granddaughter while her mommy was working on her Master's degree.  Naptime was my sewing time!  

I laid out the blocks, then began sewing them into columns.


Because the blocks are so big, I only needed to piece six vertical columns.  In no time at all, I had a quilt top! Can you identify the triangles?


This quilt is definitely a mind-bender!  You know it's just one-dimensional, but your brain sees the Y's jump out!  It's a simple matter of angles and value placement that creates the 3-D illusion.  


When I got back from Hawaii, I quilted each "Ypsilon" with the same motifs - freemotion feathers in the light areas and paisley swirls in the medium prints, with a computerized 60-degree grid in the dark areas. ♥♥  Wanna see?  If only all quilting could be this quick!



Another challenge for myself:  Odd-angle binding!  The secret?  Make a clip on the inside corners and apply the binding straight.  Miter the outer corners as usual.  See my tutorial HERE.  Only took an hour by machine, and it was finished in time to get to Quilt Guild!  


Apparently, the guild gals enjoyed it as much as I did and voted it as their favorite in our design challenge!  Woohoo!  Honey, we're going out to dinner!


Challenge:  Accomplished!  

UPDATE:. The pattern is now available, including my "Odd-Angle" Binding Lesson HERE.

How about you?  Is there a quilting technique or design you've had on your radar but haven't tried yet? Or maybe you have attempted but want to improve your skills?  Maybe it's time to challenge yourself! 

Happy Quilting!

7 comments:

  1. Way to meet the Challenge and use a tool you already had! Great naptime project!

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  2. I've never attempted this design, as it seems more complicated than I'm comfortable with making. Your quilting and colors made for a beautiful finish. Congrats on winning the challenge!!

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  3. It turned out beautifully. Love the way you quilted it too.

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  4. This is incredible! You did an amazing job of quilting it and the colors are beautiful!

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  5. Gorgeous quilt!!! Congrats on a really great quilt: I love the quilting too!! Hugs, H

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  6. It's really fabulous. Nicely done.

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So happy you stopped by for a visit! Thank you!