Coloring outside the lines.

I quilted this for a friend last weekend.  She designed and embroidered this quilt for a charity at the school where her children attend.  I really love the bright colored pencils and the rainbow border makes it cheery and bright.  When I saw this quilt I knew exactly what I wanted to do!  Quite a contrast to Aunt Tony's quilt which I fretted over for weeks.

For this quilt I quilted a basic swirl (my new go to pattern) around the border.  The inner black sashing is a meander.  I didn't want the background pattern to take away from the bright and playful look of the quilt so I left it simple.  To the Pencils I added straight lines in a vertical and horizontal fashion to give them the feel of the real thing.  They turned out "less" real looking to me after this addition.  Funny how sometimes what you see in 'real' life doesn't translate in art.  I will have to look for an alternative quilting method with the next pencil quilt I get.

My favorite part of the quilt was the rainbow border! I wanted to do something to highlight the border.  I chose letters and numbers and free hand quilted them inside each colored block.  I think the letters add an additional spark that screams elementary school.  But maybe that's just me.