Simple realism

After looking at photos of the flowers for this quilt, I realised the five petals tend to have a small gap between them, with the calyx/sepals visible and extending beyond the sides of the petals.

I decided the simplest way to achieve this would be by appliqueing the five petals as a single piece, then thread-painting using a pale green thread. This goes from the centre of the flower, out almost to the dip between petals, then two narrow, pointy ovals overlapping the edge of the petal applique, straight back to the centre, then repeating for the remaining four 'gaps'. Then right over that I thread-painted the dense stamens with my needle threaded with two yellow threads - this filled the space faster and more thoroughly, as well as giving it added depth by combining two shades of yellow (one a more lemony Aurifil 50 wt cotton and the other a richer, glossy Glide trilobal poly).

This solution was quick and fun and highly effective, giving the otherwise shy blossoms both a pop of colour and some realism. And if you look closely, you may see a hint of the true flavour of this quilt.

Now the applique and associated thread painting is complete, it's time to fill the background. I'm thinking a mass of small, freeform feathers (in the style at which Wendy Sheppard is so accomplished) in pale pink to accentuate the colours of the background fabric.