2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge: Radiant Orchid


2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge: Radiant Orchid

I'm very excited to finally have an entry for the 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge and want to thank
 Adrienne and Anne  for all their work in organizing this fun event. along with the talented judges and many generous sponsors.  It's so exciting to see what everyone else has been creating with Radiant Orchid.  Best of luck to all the entrants!

My entry falls under the category of "Just the Top" ( I'm so thankful that this category exists!).  To be honest, I sketched and played around with several design ideas before I found one that "clicked". 

 Presenting, "Paint the Town"....


Paint the Town  - featuring the Calgary Tower located in downtown Calgary, Alberta.
My design features a small portion of the skyline of the city of Calgary, Alberta, where I currently live.  I was inspired to use all of the Kona purples available, to sew "paint chips" and then cut the shape of the skyline from them.  It was a wonderful way to play with graduating values.


See that slice of darker purple on the fullest part of the Calgary tower?  It took a little math and careful planning to accomplish, but the effect was worth it!


The lighting in this photo of the "paint chips" is most true to the actually colours.  It seems that depending on the lighting, the purples can either look more pink or more blue.


Pictured above-  the "paint chips" after piecing and below is the photo of the applique I made from them.




Bringing it all together, is the background mix of low volume fabrics.  I wanted the outline of the buildings to contrast with the sky (which is why the darkest values are at the top) and I also thought it would be more interesting to have the background comprised of prints to play off the solids used for the paint chips.


This pale sky also seems to embody the nearly year round prospect of snow which is a part of living so high in elevation and so close to the Rocky Mountains.
 

Coincidentally, our sky happens to be just this colour as we are in the midst of a Spring snowstorm. ;o)


 
I even braved our colder temperatures to take a few outdoor shots (trying to time my shots between the gusts of wind). ;o)

Paint the Town resting on fresh snow!


Viewed in natural lighting, you can get a better comparison of the range of those Kona solids.


"Paint the Town" - top measures 35" wide by 32.5" high

 This challenge pushed me to use a colour that was virtually non-existent in my stash (that has obviously changed! ;o) and  it has shown me that sometimes simple lines are all that's needed in a design. 

Thanks so much for stopping by to take a look at my entry for the Challenge and letting me share a bit of my process with you.  Enjoy the rest of the entries!

I'm linking my entry here.

Comments

  1. Hi!!! This is beautiful and so well done!!!!

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  2. OMG! This is seriously gorgeous and I hope to see you listed in the finals!!!!!!!!

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  3. This is fantastic. Wishing you much success in the competition. Love the low volume background and the shades of purple (oops radiant orchid).

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  4. This quilt is amazing! Best of luck to you, how can the judges not love it?

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  5. Katherine, that's such a cool idea! Very nicely done.

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  6. LOVE, love, love it! Katherine, it's awesome!

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  7. Wow incredible!! I love this - most creative :)

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  8. This truly is amazing! Best of luck to you!

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  9. What a fantastic idea! I love the purple buildings and the technique you used! Good luck in the Chalenge!

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  10. It speaks to your skill that I was able to recognize the Calgary Tower immediately! And the paint chip idea was an inspired choice. Love it!

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  11. Wow! I recognized the Calgary Tower right away. Love the technique and the colours you used. Best of Luck! May you bring home 1st prize.

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  12. It´s a pricewinner!
    Love the scrappy background!
    Kram/Maja

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  13. This is absolutely stunning! What a gorgeous design. I actually gasped when I saw it on Play-Crafts' linky. Brilliant! Well done!

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  14. It's beautiful and so thoughtfully made. And it totally looks like the Calgary skyline!

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  15. Wow! You brought the Calgary skyline to life! It's truly gorgeous. Congratulations and good luck.

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  16. This looks awesome! Seriously great job on this.

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  17. Fab design, Katherine! And well pieced. The narrow strips between the paint chips really makes it! Very well done!

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  18. This is such a unique idea. Love the concept.

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  19. Oh, this is really creative. I wish I could think up of cool ideas like this.

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  20. This is absolutely fantastic! I really love the concept and layout, congrats on such a lovely quilt!

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  21. This is such a neat idea, and you have put it together beautifully.

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  22. Wow! I love this! Paint chips are such a magical exploration of color, and you captured that so well in this quilt. What creativity! (And, I chuckled at the wind gusts because while I didn't have snow to contend with today while photographing, I had to sit patiently while I waited for the wind to drop the quilt into place long enough to snap a picture.

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  23. This is so stunning! I love that I was able to recognize the skyline so easily being from Calgary myself :) fantastic quilt!

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  24. Such a great idea and beautifully executed! I just love it!

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  25. Oh Katherine this is not a quilttop but a real piece of ART.
    So gorgeous and so beautiful in your chosen colors.BRAVO and another BRAVO!!!!!

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  26. Katherine, wow. This is amazing! I love the paint chip effect, the use of the Pantone colour, the LV background, the skyline, it is incredible! Good luck in the competition, you really do deserve to win

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  27. I couldn't even paper piece that accuracy - this is incredible - a labour of love! Of course now I have to Google image search the Calgary skyline to check out your inspiration :) I wonder if Pantone orchid would work for a Rob Ford crack pipe or jogging outfit? ;)

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  28. Hi Katherine! You amaze me with your fantastic ideas (or not because I know hoe talented you are)! This looks fantastic! I can't imagine how you made the applique parts on the Top of the buildings. Just imagining how this will look after quilting!!! x Teje

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  29. This is my favorite I have seen. I am so thankful you are not in my category!

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  30. Lovely and so very different!

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  31. This is amazing! Unbelievably creative. Absolutely love it - great work, Katherine!

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  32. How cool is that? what a wonderful quilty idea.

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  33. This is just amazing. What a great idea! Lauging because I spilled my coffee when I saw this-I got so excited!

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  34. Wow! I just love the "paint chips" you made, so clever! That's an amazing top, can't wait to see it quilted!! Good luck!

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  35. What an amazing quilt!!!
    I've voted :)

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  36. Genius concept and beautiful execution. I'm jealous. ;)

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  37. This quilt is just awesome! My favorite of the whole competition!

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  38. I am swooning over this design! Thank you for the amazing inspiration.

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  39. Sometimes you see something and you just can't help falling for it. This is the case, I love it! I think the sky just completes and contrasts your kona skyline. Looking forward to seeing it finished too!

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  40. This one caught my eye immediately in the linky party. The paint chip effect was such a clever choice! And I love the snowy neutrals you used for the background to set off the purples. Beautiful work!

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  41. Awesome job! Congratulations on the win!

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  42. Such a great idea!! Congratulations!!

    -Soma

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  43. This is really stunning! The skyline effect would be enough, but with the paint chips idea and the low volume background?! Magic!

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