Monday, May 29, 2017

Revitalized :: Pantone 2017 Quilt Challenge

It's always interesting to see what the Pantone Color of the Year is, and 2017 was no exception. 'Greenery' is a refreshing shade with a little 'zing'!  



When the 2017 Pantone Quilt Challenged was announced, I knew I would give green a chance. I'm not drawn to green greens, like forest or John Deere green.  But add a little yellow and I'm all yours!
The 2017 Pantone Quilt Challenge is hosted by  No Hats In The House and Bryan House Quilts. You can see all the entries here:  2017 Pantone Quilt Challenge and I'll tell you right now your gonna love what you see!

'REVITALIZED'
42" x 64"
I barely made the deadline which happens to be today!!  I seem to wait until the last minute for these kinds of challenges!

My plan in the beginning was to go with improv and go small...as in a wall hanging.  Time was tight and I needed to piece, quilt and bind in less than a week.  It seemed like a good idea, a doable idea.  


I began with small improv...that led to diamonds.  I don't even know why or what I was thinking! But it happened.  I started with 2" improv diamonds which quickly were turned, twisted, moved and removed until an idea formed. 


Those little diamonds led to bigger diamonds.  I bordered the improve center diamonds with two 1" borders and ended up with a nice stack to work with.  Yet it just wasn't enough for me!  I wanted to push the design, push my sanity and push the time crunch!  Maybe 'wanted' isn't the right word.  I was compelled to expand on my creative energy!  


Expand I did!  I pulled more greens, more neutrals and ended up making diamonds with one border and a plain center.  


I was freaking out when it came time to quilt.  First, I always freak out about quilting. Second, my Craftsy thread order was taking far too long!  I ordered it well before I started this quilt sure that it would be here in plenty of time.  If two days before the deadline is plenty of time...then I freaked for nothing! 

 

I was lucky enough to have all these greens on hand and happy that I got to use some of my favorites in this quilt. 

The greens in the quilt are Kona Peapod, Kona Grass Green, Kona Chartreuse, Kona Honeydew and Kona Wasabi and the binding is Kona Bonsai.


And the thread that is always worth waiting for...Aurifil!  I do love this Spring Green (#1231). When I use green for quilting, this is the color I always go with.  I also used Ermine (#2312) and probably my favorite 'white' is actually Chalk (#2026).


I quilted in the ditch of all the diamonds first and then painstakingly machine quilted in all the plain center diamonds.  They received the most detail and attention.  Simple ditch quilting with the green in the improv diamonds and diagonal diamond quilting around the outside.  

  

These greens I can work with!  Full of vim and vigor, vitality and energy, zest and zeal! 

LINKING:

37 comments :

  1. Fantastic Jayne! I'm not either big fan of green gree, but some shades of it are my favourites, like lime green. I love your design and how you used the greens. Your diamonds are shining! Just gorgeus quilt! Good luck! x Teje

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    1. I’m totally with you on the greens! I cannot believe how this quilt grew from a wall hanging to an actual quilt! I really get carried away sometimes!

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  2. I love green! This is a stunning quilt with all those diamonds.

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  3. Beautiful! I love the detail with the paper pieced diamonds and the different color green outlines.

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    1. It kept changing from my original idea! The plain diamonds are my favorite too! It didn’t even cross my mind at the time to paper piece them…I maybe should have!! There’s always next time!

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  4. Love, love, love! Those improv diamonds are just amazing! Awesome job!

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  5. Gorgeous Jayne! Good luck in the challenge!

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  6. Jayne this is a beautiful quilt. I'm not really a green person, but this is definitely a beauty. I love the diamonds.

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  7. This was wonderful to watch you start on Instagram, and the finished quilt is gorgeous! Thanks for listing out all the names of the colors you use, I'm always so curious. I like how the dark green frames it all for the binding, too. I would have been freaking out about that thread order, too, and congratulations for making the deadline!

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    1. It was an interesting process for me! For two reasons. One the color (not my favorite) and the time constraint (self inflicted)! I will say, I do like green a little more than when I started!

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  8. Gosh I love this, and every decision you made with it apparently was the right one! Creative and delightful design and I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was a winner. The mix of backgrounds really adds to it for me, as do the 'plain' diamonds...totally worth all the craziness of the last week. haha. Easy for me to say, right? ;-)

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    1. In some ways I think being in a time crunch helped with the decision making. I didn’t have time to ponder my next step. I’m thinking maybe I should do this more often!! Not the diamonds though! The background diamonds in different shades gave it a little more interest without taking away from the center.

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  9. This is so very captivating, from your color choices to the gradation from more dense color to less.

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  10. Isn't lovely to know what our motivators are? Time and the photo finish? A certain holiday or something of that nature? I love what you created and the quilting from the back is beautiful. Anyone who can make improv look so natural is a star in my book!!

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  11. That is fabulous! I love the design and the greens are perfect. Well done.😄

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  12. What a fabulous quilt. I echo what Jan says above - it's not a colour that I'd choose but your design plays the greens so beautifully I'm won over. It should be a winner.....

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  13. I agree these were the right greens;) You did a fab job as usual, you work well under pressure!

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  14. I love your choices for quilting. Straight lines are time consuming, but it works well for this quilt.

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  15. this is a definite winner. You did a great job -- maybe you work better under pressure... I know I usually do. Do you use your domestic machine or have a frame or sit down mid/long arm?

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  16. Love your little improv triangles Jayne! Fantastic work on a deadline!

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  17. I looooove this! Really fantastic!

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  18. Exquisite. I am sure you won the challenge.

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  19. Fantastic work Jayne ! I love your design and colour choice.

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  20. o my God, this is soooo beautiful! Thank heaven that you finished it and that you pull your creativity till the last moment!! Great

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  21. So pretty and fresh, perfect for spring! I love how the diamonds all play so nicely together. Congratulations on making your deadline, too! I *love* green--all greens. One that you might really like is Kona Cabbage. Sounds like it would be awful, but it's a fun green with just enough yellow in it. Maybe for your next project? :)

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  22. This is lovely, i love the range of greens... and i love the quilting, simple yet varied.... do you plan it all as you go, i mean how much was in your mind when you first started this project...?

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  23. This is absolutely gorgeous, Jayne! Such an amazing use of the color. It really shows it off without smacking you in the face. You know I LOVE green, and I really wanted to do this challenge. It just didn't work with my crazy schedule these days.

    :) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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  24. You are crazy good to make an improve quilt and finish it so quickly! I crash when a deadline approaches and I'm so far from finished so I really admire people who can begin and finish with so little time. I love the little improve blocks and the variety of fabrics you used in them. Well done!

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  25. Oh wow! This design is beautiful, starting with those ever so cute improv diamonds, then the borders, the layout and finally the stunning quilting! Your work never ceases to amaze me :)

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  26. This is really sew great, Jayne! It must be amazing in person, all those little improv centers!!!

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  27. How talented are You!! This is an amazing piece.

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  28. Great design, and well up to your usual too high for most people to reach standard. I had to laugh though, I read the first lines of your post as 'tell me what you can see' I saw faces in the diamonds, then the post didn't make sense, I was confused, until I read it again. But I still see faces in the diamonds, love them.

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