Hadley Challenge Spotlight- Michelle Lieberson

Everywhere I turn lately, I see the Orange Peel pattern. It's in clothing, wallpaper, rugs, even on a paper coffee cup that I used at a hotel recently. I am in love with it, and the way it makes your eye see different patterns, sort of an optical illusion.

I’d been thinking of making Denyse’s version from her latest book, Modern Quilts, Traditional Inspiration, but I didn't want to do needle turn appliqué.  I wanted to try a technique that I haven’t tried before and I’d been doing a lot of curved piecing lately. I opted for raw edge appliqué after I found a ruler called Leaves Galore which made it super easy to cut out the petals.

Deciding on which fabrics to use wasn’t easy, I love all of them. Back in June, I attended one of Denyse’s workshops, so I decided to improvise and just started cutting some of them, putting them together as I went. The result is an Orange Peel pattern that starts off in the center then starts to go crazy, mixing up the fabrics, and even the pattern.

I'm calling my quilt "Petal Play" since I spent so much time playing and arranging the petals. 

I have only fused the petals so far, and will sew the appliqué on as I quilt it. The back is finished, I just have to quilt it. I'm planning to continue the quilting pattern into the border. 

I want to thank Denyse for giving us not only this challenge, but also for sharing the Hadley collection with us. It was very generous of her. It has been so much fun seeing what everyone else in the group is coming up with. Each one has been so different from the other. Our guild has only been together for less than a year, but everyone is so enthusiastic, and happy to share their ideas. It's very inspirational. I can't wait to see everyone's projects all in one place this coming September. Keep your eyes out for details!