Carolina Lily Challenge- Lily's of the Valley

Another Project Quilting challenge is complete! Whew! This one was a bit more challenging. The challenge was to create something that related to the Carolina Lily...which is apparently a real flower and a quilt block!
When I was researching both of them, the first thing I thought of when I saw the real Lily was a lantern...a little fairy lantern...

The Carolina Lily

The day the challenge was released we were just celebrating Christmas with some of our kids & grand kids, so it was a pretty wild & crazy time. 

I didn't put a lot of thought into the challenge other than to look up the Carolina Lily & the quilt block. One thing I did find was that the block itself is used a lot on barn quilts so I thought maybe I would do something with a barn...but after a weekend of grand kids, Christmas celebrations, sledding, goat hugging & reading about the old Norse fairies & trolls, the song "White Coral Bells" got stuck in my head & I decided I needed to go with the Fairy Lantern! 

Yogi Hugs are the best hugs! 

Goat Love ❤️

Sledding

The wild bunch! 

Going on a bear hunt with Yogi bringing up the rear!

I didn't have a pattern for a Carolina Lily block, but it looked relatively easy to create, LOL ..it wasn't, I wasted a lot of fabric and time! Then I had to go back to work at both the quilt shop & at school so every day I felt like I was getting further and further behind. After making four blocks I didn't like, I decided I better have a pattern that I could follow without scraping it.  Then I decided my wall hanging better shrink & become a pillow! 

My fabric choices for the Lily 

One of the scrapped blocks 

Joining the Project Quilting Challenge has been good for me to get out of my comfort zone. Since I had a quilt on my big machine, I had to remember how to quilt using my Janome...pretty rusty...but I actually enjoyed being able to get smaller detail, even if the detail looked like I had been drinking when I quilted it LOL 

I can't figure out what the dark shadow is on the block but I suspect it is a piece of scrap fabric that stuck to the batting. 

For whatever bizarre reason, I can't get my pictures moved where I want them without completely removing all the text that is below them...so not in the order that they should be, they are as follows-
The completed pillow top  "Carolina Lily Challenge Project Quilting Challenge #2" 

 -Lily's of the Valley- The finished pillow top is 18 x 18.

Below is a close up of the painted panel I made for the middle of the block. A few years ago I taught a no sew Hawaiian Quilt Block class using Tsukeinko All Purpose Inks. I fell in love with them and have used them in a lot of different quilting projects ever since. They are easy to work with and you can get amazing detail. They are also something that I can take with me to work on where I don't have access to a sewing machine, they are great for getting sucked into murder mysteries on Netflix but still make it look like I am doing something productive! The panel is 9 x 9

The fabric I chose for the back was a piece of batik I found in my stash, I thought it had a lily look to it :) I added the four blocks that I had rejected for the front of the pillow, I thought since they were made I should use them, I also used the lady bug fabric that I had originally planned to use for the border on the front.

Since the Lily's of the Valley were part of the inspiration for my pillow top, I wanted to add some of them to the borders, but being too lazy to appliqué anything this week I used little white buttons instead. Then I thought it would be fun to add some other button flowers and made the bleeding hearts. I think the little lady bug on a leash is my favourite part of the whole design :)

Lily's of the Valley

LadyBug :)

I added some sequins to the pink fairy's dress and to her hair.

Close up of the bleeding hearts

This is the pillow top before it has been quilted 

Our wintry weather has been a challenge just getting to work. This week was the first week I have been able to get next door without having to shovel and scoop my way over there. I need to be able to get over there for at least a week straight so I can get caught up. Quilts don't quilt themselves unfortunately. This was also the first almost full week of school we have had since before Christmas vacation. It was tough getting organized at the end of the day and sitting down to work on the challenge project. When I get home at 6:00 I just want a cup of coffee and to curl up on the couch in front of the fire :) I think taking part in these challenges will maybe help me get organized and maybe use my time more wisely. We will see!  I have already found fabric in my stash I didn't know I had, so it's been a win so far! LOL