Woohoo! At long last, here is my official WINNING entry for the AMQG panel challenge. But first, here is the humble, unpressed beginning panel.
It was very tempting to just add some borders and do some fancy quilting, but I wanted to elevate it a bit.
After a LOT of math and sewing on the bias, here is what I ended up with:
When it came to quilting the individual blocks, I wanted to think outside the block a bit and extend the leaf or petal shapes outside the block with the quilting lines. You can see it in the stems on the poppy and the leaf in the center orange flower.
To further emphasize it, I colored in the extensions with the appropriately colored Shiva paintstick. It’s subtle on the brown, but that’s what I wanted.
For each of the flower blocks, I quilted within the shape of the flower, adding bits of texture like the pebbling in the center of the sunflower. I wanted the flowers to pop so those have a bit less quilting than the background - a simple meander in the yellow background of the block.
Ultimately I wanted to try McTavishing since I wanted to use it on a pending project, and then I realized there was QUITE a bit of threat and repetition in it and I got a bit sick of it! I ended up using McTavishing at the bottom of the piece, then I morphed into feathers towards the middle of the piece with some more pebbling to fill in the gaps.
I am very happy with it, and I won first place by popular vote in the panel challenge. In my choice of prizes, I picked a twin-size batting so I can make even more quilts!
Wow! I was totally not expecting this! So much betterthan the original panel. Color, design, embellishment, quilting, no wonder you won!
Gorgeous!!!!
It came out beautifully, and congratulations on your win!
Seriously awesome and creative, Pam! I really like the panel, but the runner eclipses it by far!
Not intending to be a copy cat but Wow! So very cool! You really did something special with that panel.
Gorgeous! I really love the extension of the design into the background. I didn’t realize that the Shiva sticks were that opaque to show up on brown. I guess I should take them out of the package and actually try using them!
The quilting is beautiful and adds so much to the design. Not surprised that you won at all!
It is stunning in person. You should see the quilting from the back. Such a creative use of a panel particularly as it wasn’t presented as blocks in the panel. Beautiful project.
What a transformation! It turned out so beautifully. The way you extended the leaves into the background looks amazing- as does the quilting throughout. Congratulations on the win!
Pam, I love what you did with this - what creativity! The paint stik work adds so much more than thread alone. Really impressive. I am trying my second creative challenge with my guild - orphan block lap quilt. I thought I was doing pretty well thinking “outside the box,” but yours makes me realize what a newbie I still am. Thanks for the inspiration!
Didn’t get to look at the finished poduct till now. Life has been hectic. This is absolutely stunning. What a fabulous job you have done and the quilting is exquisite. Great job. You have come a long way from your square quilts haven’t you! Beautiful work.