Friday, March 14, 2014

Pantone Challenge

I like a good challenge, especially when I decide to do something that I have little or no experience doing. Such was the case with the Pantone Challenge quilt I recently put together.

There was no radiant orchid in my stash. A bundle purchase from Intrepid Thread fixed that.
I don't have much experience with improv piecing.

Now I have both!

The quilt is wonky... from the four sections of mushy-mixed radiant orchid and chartreuse prints, to the long grey and white strips, edged with solid chartreuse. Oh my. Random cutting without benefit of a ruler!

Though I enjoyed the process, I've concluded that it takes as long to improv piece as it does to make a traditional quilt block.

The back was fun because early-on I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Since winning a giveaway of the book Word Play, I look for opportunities to piece words. My 2014 word of the year is "perspective," so putting my word-of-the-year on the back of the color-of-the-year was almost too perfect. And then, when I realized my letters wouldn't quite fit across the 40" wide back, it made complete sense to "change the perspective," so to speak, and march the remaining letters up the side. Now aren't I clever?

Quilting is wonky and minimal.

Straight lines radiate from the nine-patch center to the outside, so they're barely visible in the mix of prints.

All the grey and white strips are quilted with random curved swags.

The single-fold binding is scrappy, just like the piecing.

Randomness and wonkiness make this 40" X 40" finished quilt about the least typical quilt I've ever made.

Yep. It was outside my comfort zone, but now I have a new perspective! 

I'm linking my entry to Anne's post here where you can see all the radiant quilts being entered. Linda

*Pictures taken at Lake Sumter in The Villages, Florida.

28 comments:

  1. It's fabulous Linda! The orchid and chartreuse just sing together. You did an amazing job of it.

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  2. Linda, I love it and it is right in MY confort zone! ;-)

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  3. Totally love your quilt ~~ most especially the back!
    BTW, your Riley Blake was my favorite! I don't think I commented on your post.

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  4. its gorgeous. I love the colour combination, and the back adds an extra level of fun :-)

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  5. Great job, will you do something like this again??

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  6. Love it! And I love the pictures with the blue sky as well (we are chocking in haze again from the forest fires in Sumatra).

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  7. What an accomplishment. My favorite part is the back!

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  8. That was some challenge! A highly successful, I do believe! I love the bold colour choice and the random piecing, which is calmed by the grey and white sashing! Great job!

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  9. I think you absolutely "nailed" it with this one. I like the colors a lot but the back is my favorite part of the quilt. I'd say you passed that challenge with flying colors.

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  10. WOW, that would be so out of my comfort zone. Fantastic use of colour ,though. Must say, the backdrop to the pics is also fantastic. That blue sky is gorgeous.

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  11. love it love it love it - love everything about this quilt - front, back, and binding - just fantastic :)

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  12. I love the back and the crazy pieced sections. Good luck!

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  13. I would certainly never have paired these colors but I really like it now that I see it. I'm a bit too OCD for improv :) but I'm pretty amazed at the results. The gray and white stripes are the perfect touch. blessings, marlene

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  14. A-symmetrical, a-typical, a-stounding! Front and back, it's a fun quilt. Well done. I agree that there winds up being a whole lot of piecing in the improve quilts.

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  15. Well Done! Love the purple/green combo. Orchid/chartreuse is a on the wild side, but it is awesome.

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  16. Oh how lovely. I really like the 'wonky' nature of this quilt, the color selection, and the backing. You are an inspiration. Also, I hope I've solved the posting/reply dilemma. Blessings to you. --Lynda

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  17. This is really stunning - and I love how you use the challenge as an opportunity to try a whole bunch of new things! Great work!

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  18. Those colors look so good together! I am not much of a purple lover but this is fabulous.
    It is kind of fun to go outside our comfort zone, it brings perspective! I love how you worked to make the word fit on the back, genius!

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  19. Linda I love it and it has some of my favourite colours in it .i know you said it wasn't your favourite to do but I like the wonkiness of the block and how you quilted it . It is always good to go upside of the block. The back is really wonderful.
    Congrats on getting Bloom juried into the quilt show, well deserved. I have been off line for a week problem with iPad so I am slow to catch up with my quilt friends.
    Blessings Sandra

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  20. Your radiant orchid turned out lovely and lively Linda. I actually pulled some very similar purple/chartreuse fabrics recently but put hem away since I didn't have time to get anything done. Nice pics outside too. I know what you mean about improv. Although I love improv quilts, doing it is not me. I find it takes me longer and I'm less happy with the results. Probably a matter of more time and practice but I have too many other things to do.

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  21. I'm so behind on my blog reading that I'm just now seeing this beautiful quilt! I just love it, Linda! Fushia is not one of my favorite colors. Okay, Radiant Orchid. Anyway, the limey greens really highlight the orchid so wonderfully. Your wonkiness is perfect and the back of the quilt is a fun as the front...reversible like your pillows. Congratulations on another winner!

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  22. Improv sure seems like it should be faster, but my experience has been that it NEVER actually is. :)
    I love that you chose to pair the orchid with chartreuse, it's such a lively combination! And the word on the back is perfect, I think that might be my favorite part. :D Beautiful work!

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  23. This is so very beautiful, and you are right to be proud of it. As soon as I saw it, I was glad that I didn't finish so that I wouldn't be in "competition" with this beauty.

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  24. Love it when we try new things in the midst of making something beautiful! Love your perspect-ive!

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  25. Such pretty colours together! I agree with you, wonky piecing takes as long as precise piecing. i did it for the first time in January and I found I would go through all the pieces looking for the best fit and comparing this and that one etc. It kind of hurt my brain to work like that. I find it much easier to be precise!

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  26. Your quilt is wonderful. So sorry you didn't win. I went to the link and all the quilts were pretty amazing.

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  27. Linda, I really like your Pantone quilt! Nice job! I also love your selvage skirt. I have a fun blog tour planned I'm hoping you'll participate in. Watch for my email (it may go to junkmail).

    Candice@clothworks.com

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