Magnolia Completed

Well, it's finally finished. But let's start with a picture of the flower in progress on the design wall. As every woman knows, who has ever worn white pants, everything shows as a shadow beneath white. The challenge was to minimize the visibility of seams and prevent the green from showing through where the petals overlap the leaves.

So, each petal was treated like a separate entity. Each top piece was underlined so seams wouldn't show through and then lined so green wouldn't shadow. The completed petals were then hand appliqued in place. The added thickness also added depth and, along with the varying shades, makes each petal stands alone and the flower doesn't just look like a blob of white. Click "Read the rest . . ." below to see the finished project.


The completed top was quilted with a line of stitching to indicate where the petals curled which is typical of Magnolia grandiflora. I mounted this quilt on stretcher strips like the Holston. Though I don't plan to make a habit of this finish, I think some pieces, like this one benefit from this treatment when the color wraps around the edges and the image doesn't feel confined.

I entered this piece in the first annual Employee Art Show at work. They did a wonderful job displaying the art. They turned one of our auditoriums into a gallery, rented display walls which were set up creating aisles and each piece was individually lit from above. Nothing like a deadline to get me working. Cross one more off the UFO list.