Panels!  A Love/Hate Affaire

I love panels.  Lisa hates them.  Why???

Well to start with, a panel quilt takes all the fun out of quilting for my sister. She is the Perfect Piecing Princess. There is very little piecing in a panel quilt.  She also loves appliqué!  And there is no appliqué in Panels. So for Lisa, a panel just sucked all the joy out of quilting.

But for me??? I love how fast they are! I can have a quilt top ready for quilting in little over an hour. And I love the quilting part. The thread painting, the meandering, the sculpting of a flat surface with thread and adding beautiful dimension and texture. Yes, I can get carried away. To me Panels are fast and can be beautiful and fun.

Against Lisa’s will, Material Girlfriends has design two patterns using panels. Of course, Lisa has added her love of piecing and has coaxed a simple cut of fabric into something gorgeous. Our new pattern is called Bella Notte. It uses a panel in its center blocks.

This old pattern is Livermore Run. It was design several years ago. It used a smaller panel. I’ve just remade it using a fall wreath panel by Robert Kaufman. Super fast and fun for me, pretty piecing for Lisa.  A happy ending for a plain panel.

And I have a freebie for you! This is a pattern I wrote!  Yep.  Me, myself and I.  Lisa didn’t even have to help me (much). MaterialGirlfriends.PanelBorders.Pattern It is simple borders on a larger panel. There is obvious differences in Lisa’s and my quilt design skills. Ha!! This simple Panel border is great for baby quilts and wall hangings too.

Sew fun,

Lora

Lisa’s Note: It is true. I confess to be a Perfect Piecing Princess, but these ARE lovely, aren’t they? If you want a kit of any of these, we will have all at our booth at the Alden Lane Nursery show “Quilting in the Garden” the third weekend of September. And…. let me show you Lora’s quilting. She said she just followed the lines on the angel and then did a little meander in her background. LOVE IT. You can do this too on your domestic goddess, I mean, machine. Need a little coaching? Come hang out with us at Lisa’s Finishing School. I’ll ooh and ahh while Lora coaches you through. (Use a smoke mono-poly “invisible” thread on top and a cotton or cotton/blend in your bobbin that matches your backing.)

Absewlutely,

Lisa