Progress with the bits of purple

So I've spent most of the summer away from my sewing machine, first
living in a university residence with teenagers for a summer program
and then on vacation. I've been using my crafting time cutting and
hand-piecing bits of purple (including some wonderful fabrics I got in
the mail from some of you!) into a Penrose-tiling pattern. The trick
of this pattern is that it has five-fold symmetry outwards from the
centre star, but it doesn't repeat at all.

I'm enjoying the hand piecing a lot more than I expected to. Once I
got into the rhythm of how long it takes, it's fun and relaxing. And
it's handy to be able to squeeze and fudge a bit when coming up to a
point where five, six, or seven pieces meet. I can do it at a
campground picnic table, on a bus, or when riding in the car.

The first photos at this link
http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesfromlouise/
show my progress so far. I took most of them while I was camping, and
it hadn't been pressed yet. It looks better pressed.

One interesting thing - I made a mistake in the pattern, and
documented it before ripping part out and fixing it. For the pattern
to work mathematically, there can't be two "parallel" identical pieces
touching each other. Can you see the mistake in the close-up shot?

Also, those of you who sent me purple squishy packages, can you
recognize the fabrics you sent me?

I'm not sure how much farther I'll continue, or what I'll do with it
afterwards. I'll probably finish with a set of pattern pieces all in
one dark purple fabric, then trim them. But after all that five-fold
symmetry, I kind of hate to make it square on the outside. Maybe I
could make a five-sided wall hanging, with some kind of stiffeners on
three sides? Or maybe make it circular, with bias binding and no
borders and one of those springy rods that people use for curtain rods
in a semicircular window? Any suggestions?

Louise, in Kingston Ontario

Louise wrote:
So I've spent most of the summer away from my sewing machine, first
living in a university residence with teenagers for a summer program
and then on vacation. I've been using my crafting time cutting and
hand-piecing bits of purple (including some wonderful fabrics I got in
the mail from some of you!) into a Penrose-tiling pattern. The trick
of this pattern is that it has five-fold symmetry outwards from the
centre star, but it doesn't repeat at all.

I'm enjoying the hand piecing a lot more than I expected to. Once I
got into the rhythm of how long it takes, it's fun and relaxing. And
it's handy to be able to squeeze and fudge a bit when coming up to a
point where five, six, or seven pieces meet. I can do it at a
campground picnic table, on a bus, or when riding in the car.

The first photos at this link
http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesfromlouise/
show my progress so far. I took most of them while I was camping, and
it hadn't been pressed yet. It looks better pressed.

One interesting thing - I made a mistake in the pattern, and
documented it before ripping part out and fixing it. For the pattern
to work mathematically, there can't be two "parallel" identical pieces
touching each other. Can you see the mistake in the close-up shot?

Also, those of you who sent me purple squishy packages, can you
recognize the fabrics you sent me?

I'm not sure how much farther I'll continue, or what I'll do with it
afterwards. I'll probably finish with a set of pattern pieces all in
one dark purple fabric, then trim them. But after all that five-fold
symmetry, I kind of hate to make it square on the outside. Maybe I
could make a five-sided wall hanging, with some kind of stiffeners on
three sides? Or maybe make it circular, with bias binding and no
borders and one of those springy rods that people use for curtain rods
in a semicircular window? Any suggestions?

how funny, I was thinking about penrose tilings today and considering
making a quilt, I found a finished one at this site
http://dogfeathers.com/quilt/penrose.html and it includes how they hung it!

Anne

On Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:13:51 -0700, Anne Rogers
wrote:

Louise wrote:
But after all that five-fold
symmetry, I kind of hate to make it square on the outside. Maybe I
could make a five-sided wall hanging, with some kind of stiffeners on
three sides? Or maybe make it circular, with bias binding and no
borders and one of those springy rods that people use for curtain rods
in a semicircular window? Any suggestions?

how funny, I was thinking about penrose tilings today and considering
making a quilt, I found a finished one at this site
http://dogfeathers.com/quilt/penrose.html and it includes how they hung it!

Oh! I'd looked at that one months ago, before I started, but I'd
forgotten that they explained how they mounted it. Thank you!

Louise

Lovely. Isn't piecing by hand fun? BG
Actually if you use a fairly "stiff" batting, like Warm and
Natural/White, a multi sided wall hanging will hang fine with a sleeve
across the top. If you go to the Hoffman Challenge and look at my quilt
( second place, pieced) you can see what I mean. No additional
whatever, just a sleeve across one of the straight sides. (I don't have
a picture of the quilt of my own. Forgot to take one before I mailed it
in, so the only picture I "have" is on the Challenge site. sigh. It will
be coming home in a couple of months, then I will get a pic up on my
webshots.BG)

So, go ahead and make a five sided quilt of it. If you don't mind
hanging it from one side. If you want to hang it point up... try a back
piece along the top, down to just below the next corners, of TimTex. Put
your sleeve along the bottom edge of that, so that the quilt is
supported across between 2 corners. (Hope that makes sense......)

Pati, in Phx a fan of "other than square/rectangular quilts"
http://community.webshots.com/user/PatiCooks




Louise wrote:
So I've spent most of the summer away from my sewing machine, first
living in a university residence with teenagers for a summer program
and then on vacation. I've been using my crafting time cutting and
hand-piecing bits of purple (including some wonderful fabrics I got in
the mail from some of you!) into a Penrose-tiling pattern. The trick
of this pattern is that it has five-fold symmetry outwards from the
centre star, but it doesn't repeat at all.

I'm enjoying the hand piecing a lot more than I expected to. Once I
got into the rhythm of how long it takes, it's fun and relaxing. And
it's handy to be able to squeeze and fudge a bit when coming up to a
point where five, six, or seven pieces meet. I can do it at a
campground picnic table, on a bus, or when riding in the car.

The first photos at this link
http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesfromlouise/
show my progress so far. I took most of them while I was camping, and
it hadn't been pressed yet. It looks better pressed.

One interesting thing - I made a mistake in the pattern, and
documented it before ripping part out and fixing it. For the pattern
to work mathematically, there can't be two "parallel" identical pieces
touching each other. Can you see the mistake in the close-up shot?

Also, those of you who sent me purple squishy packages, can you
recognize the fabrics you sent me?

I'm not sure how much farther I'll continue, or what I'll do with it
afterwards. I'll probably finish with a set of pattern pieces all in
one dark purple fabric, then trim them. But after all that five-fold
symmetry, I kind of hate to make it square on the outside. Maybe I
could make a five-sided wall hanging, with some kind of stiffeners on
three sides? Or maybe make it circular, with bias binding and no
borders and one of those springy rods that people use for curtain rods
in a semicircular window? Any suggestions?

Louise, in Kingston Ontario

That will be stunning no matter how you finish it, Louise.

--
Mary
http://community.webshots.com/user/mardor1948
"Louise" wrote in message
...
: So I've spent most of the summer away from my sewing machine, first
: living in a university residence with teenagers for a summer program
: and then on vacation. I've been using my crafting time cutting and
: hand-piecing bits of purple (including some wonderful fabrics I got in
: the mail from some of you!) into a Penrose-tiling pattern. The trick
: of this pattern is that it has five-fold symmetry outwards from the
: centre star, but it doesn't repeat at all.
:
: I'm enjoying the hand piecing a lot more than I expected to. Once I
: got into the rhythm of how long it takes, it's fun and relaxing. And
: it's handy to be able to squeeze and fudge a bit when coming up to a
: point where five, six, or seven pieces meet. I can do it at a
: campground picnic table, on a bus, or when riding in the car.
:
: The first photos at this link
: http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesfromlouise/
: show my progress so far. I took most of them while I was camping, and
: it hadn't been pressed yet. It looks better pressed.
:
: One interesting thing - I made a mistake in the pattern, and
: documented it before ripping part out and fixing it. For the pattern
: to work mathematically, there can't be two "parallel" identical pieces
: touching each other. Can you see the mistake in the close-up shot?
:
: Also, those of you who sent me purple squishy packages, can you
: recognize the fabrics you sent me?
:
: I'm not sure how much farther I'll continue, or what I'll do with it
: afterwards. I'll probably finish with a set of pattern pieces all in
: one dark purple fabric, then trim them. But after all that five-fold
: symmetry, I kind of hate to make it square on the outside. Maybe I
: could make a five-sided wall hanging, with some kind of stiffeners on
: three sides? Or maybe make it circular, with bias binding and no
: borders and one of those springy rods that people use for curtain rods
: in a semicircular window? Any suggestions?
:
: Louise, in Kingston Ontario

Just great Louise. And in PURPLES!!! How wonderful. My favorite color.
Or is it Green. I guess that it depends on the day.

Anyways, where did you find the directions for this? I have always got to
have something to work on while traveling, watching TV, Inservice meetings
at school, you get the drift. I would love to get the pattern. I have done
some searching on the web, but no specific directions.

Thanks for any pointing in the right direction.

Steve
Alaska


"Louise" wrote in message
...
So I've spent most of the summer away from my sewing machine, first
living in a university residence with teenagers for a summer program
and then on vacation. I've been using my crafting time cutting and
hand-piecing bits of purple (including some wonderful fabrics I got in
the mail from some of you!) into a Penrose-tiling pattern. The trick
of this pattern is that it has five-fold symmetry outwards from the
centre star, but it doesn't repeat at all.

I'm enjoying the hand piecing a lot more than I expected to. Once I
got into the rhythm of how long it takes, it's fun and relaxing. And
it's handy to be able to squeeze and fudge a bit when coming up to a
point where five, six, or seven pieces meet. I can do it at a
campground picnic table, on a bus, or when riding in the car.

The first photos at this link
http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesfromlouise/
show my progress so far. I took most of them while I was camping, and
it hadn't been pressed yet. It looks better pressed.

One interesting thing - I made a mistake in the pattern, and
documented it before ripping part out and fixing it. For the pattern
to work mathematically, there can't be two "parallel" identical pieces
touching each other. Can you see the mistake in the close-up shot?

Also, those of you who sent me purple squishy packages, can you
recognize the fabrics you sent me?

I'm not sure how much farther I'll continue, or what I'll do with it
afterwards. I'll probably finish with a set of pattern pieces all in
one dark purple fabric, then trim them. But after all that five-fold
symmetry, I kind of hate to make it square on the outside. Maybe I
could make a five-sided wall hanging, with some kind of stiffeners on
three sides? Or maybe make it circular, with bias binding and no
borders and one of those springy rods that people use for curtain rods
in a semicircular window? Any suggestions?

Louise, in Kingston Ontario

I saw a large wallhanging with a deep pocket on the upper back. A piece of
1/4 inch foamcore was cut to fit in the pocket, following the shape of the
quilt- like the way a clothes hanger is shaped to fit the shoulders of a
garment. With the foamcore to stiffen it, the quilt could be hung like a
picture, but it could be removed for laundering or packing

Jane in NE Ohio-cool and rainy


: I'm not sure how much farther I'll continue, or what I'll do with it
: afterwards. I'll probably finish with a set of pattern pieces all in
: one dark purple fabric, then trim them. But after all that five-fold
: symmetry, I kind of hate to make it square on the outside. Maybe I
: could make a five-sided wall hanging, with some kind of stiffeners on
: three sides? Or maybe make it circular, with bias binding and no
: borders and one of those springy rods that people use for curtain rods
: in a semicircular window? Any suggestions?
:
: Louise, in Kingston Ontario

On Mon, 20 Aug 2007 18:30:53 -0800, "steve"
wrote:

Just great Louise. And in PURPLES!!! How wonderful. My favorite color.
Or is it Green. I guess that it depends on the day.

Anyways, where did you find the directions for this? I have always got to
have something to work on while traveling, watching TV, Inservice meetings
at school, you get the drift. I would love to get the pattern. I have done
some searching on the web, but no specific directions.

Thanks for any pointing in the right direction.

Steve
Alaska

I started with a friend challenging me with a pointer to the wikipedia
page on Penrose tiling

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penrose_tiling

Other quilts using Penrose tiling or variations that I found included
this one:
http://dogfeathers.com/quilt/penrose.html

and this one:
http://www.pprice.com/quilts/pages/6isaac1.htm

and this one:
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...64663216QUDCpd

and Patti's:
http://www.quik.clara.co.uk/quilts4/p1090030a.jpg

All of them use the two-different-diamonds kind of tiling. There are
templates for the diamonds here.
http://www.quiltpox.davisfamilycreat...ose%20Tile.pdf

One that uses the "kites and darts" form is here
http://www.math.mcgill.ca/rags/PenroseQuilt.html

Then I came across some papers in a math journal which explained more
about the properties of the tilings.
http://www.ams.org/featurecolumn/archive/penrose.html is the first
and more relevant. Although there are a lot of possible ways to
arrange the tiles, there are very few ways that can be continued
indefinitely. The Java applets connected with these papers let you
lay out the tiles according to various rules. I decided that I wanted
my pattern to be rotationally symmetric and also to be indefinitely
extensible, so I used the Java thing that tests for extensibility to
try out various patterns (linked below). Unfortunately, the program
can only make a certain size of pattern before timing out.

http://www.ams.org/featurecolumn/arc...struction.html

According to this if you want it to be indefinitely extensible, you
have to start with a 5-pointed star in the middle.

Louise in Kingston Ontario

Louise, Wow. That's just about all I can think of to say. I'm so
impressed with your hand work and with the whole idea of sewing
perfectly fitting pieces with such precision. It makes my head spin to
think of it. So, I won't. LOL. I will just look at your gorgeous work
and sigh.

Sunny

The purple is just fabulous and I envy the patience you have with
handsewing, I can't sit still long enough ;o)

Wendy in NSW


"Louise" wrote in message
...
So I've spent most of the summer away from my sewing machine, first
living in a university residence with teenagers for a summer program
and then on vacation. I've been using my crafting time cutting and
hand-piecing bits of purple (including some wonderful fabrics I got in
the mail from some of you!) into a Penrose-tiling pattern. The trick
of this pattern is that it has five-fold symmetry outwards from the
centre star, but it doesn't repeat at all.

I'm enjoying the hand piecing a lot more than I expected to. Once I
got into the rhythm of how long it takes, it's fun and relaxing. And
it's handy to be able to squeeze and fudge a bit when coming up to a
point where five, six, or seven pieces meet. I can do it at a
campground picnic table, on a bus, or when riding in the car.

The first photos at this link
http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesfromlouise/
show my progress so far. I took most of them while I was camping, and
it hadn't been pressed yet. It looks better pressed.

One interesting thing - I made a mistake in the pattern, and
documented it before ripping part out and fixing it. For the pattern
to work mathematically, there can't be two "parallel" identical pieces
touching each other. Can you see the mistake in the close-up shot?

Also, those of you who sent me purple squishy packages, can you
recognize the fabrics you sent me?

I'm not sure how much farther I'll continue, or what I'll do with it
afterwards. I'll probably finish with a set of pattern pieces all in
one dark purple fabric, then trim them. But after all that five-fold
symmetry, I kind of hate to make it square on the outside. Maybe I
could make a five-sided wall hanging, with some kind of stiffeners on
three sides? Or maybe make it circular, with bias binding and no
borders and one of those springy rods that people use for curtain rods
in a semicircular window? Any suggestions?

Louise, in Kingston Ontario