Second Quilt: Flowers in Times Square

The other day I had a phone conversation with E during which she said she was still waiting to see the second quilt that was in the show.  That surprised me as I thought I had bombarded people with my quilts at every possible moment.  But then I realized that because the pattern of that second quilt was not my own and because it was to appear in a book not yet published, I hadn't "revealed" it.

What I can't remember is whether I did show it here closer to the show date, and I don't want to take the time tonight to check.  So if you've seen it before, I'm sorry because here it is again:

My friends wrote a book with quilt patterns that take the Amish simplicity of pattern and use of solid colored fabric only and developed patterns that stretched those ideas.  This is one of those patterns that they called "Times Square".  As a tester of the pattern I reduced the king-size quilt to a wall-hanging and added a large-patterned focal fabric (which resulted in the name "Flowers in Times Square") to show how the size could be changed to suit the quilt maker and large florals could be used in this style quilt.  

It may look as though the center of the quilt is one large piece of fabric but that isn't the case.  The center square has four large triangles on each side (north, south, east, and west) where I had to fussy cut the fabric to make the floral centerpiece match exactly on all sides.  It was a challenge, but it worked.

My quilter was Sue Schoch again (actually this is the first one she did for me), and this time the only thing I did was design the inner dark green border's quilting (taking some elements and the "feel" of the floral fabric as my source).  I was thrilled with the outcome of her work!

While I thought I had done a good job on this one, the judges awarded a second prize, and after reading their comments, I have to agree.  Having my pieces judged was a good decision; I know what I have to work on and have a much better idea of what makes a good quilt.