Art Nouveau Gets a Background

This morning I worked on a framework for the background panels. My plan would be that the Block of the Month design would start with these outside sections, with the inner frame and the figure coming last. Each panel will feature a flower, eg, rose, lilly, vine, nasturtium. I still have to address the flowers in the foreground panel, but I think they might overlap and tie in with the outside panels.

This design process is quite intensive, but I am finding that when it comes time to actually make the quilt it goes quite quickly as a lot of the decisions about fabric tone and value have been made already.

I'm working on an entry for the DUQ Calendar competition as well at the moment, but I can't publish any photos of it til after the competition so it will have to be a surprise. I have been using this same method and I pieced the quilt in a weekend, but of course it is a much simpler project, and smaller, too. Quite different - much more contemporary.