Pam Bono Designs

I posted these photos on my Facebook fan page when they came in today and I am using them again tonight to give you my thoughts on what makes a great looking quilt. This was made by Melissa Staib. The design is called Lily Pond and the emphasis is really on the dragonflies in the design that I originally did. When I designed it, the original quilt was executed with a Robert Kaufman Collection that I was working with at the time to coordinate with my Initially Yours line, therefore, I didn't have a lot of room to play with different fabrics. I stuck with the combination that I had chosen to begin with to create a "look" for the entire collection.

Melissa posted on my Facebook page that she wanted the quilt to be bright, cheerful and yet feminine. Well, she really accomplished it.

If you look only at the one block, you can see the leaves of the flowers, however when the blocks are joined together, the leaves form hearts. Melissa played up the flowers, which is the bright and cheerful and the dragonflies give the quilt its soft feminine look. And yet, when placed on a bed, the overall effect will be stunning, as the dragonflies form a circular effect.

The fabric choices here just do not get any better. I like to see a quilt that is well balanced. By that I mean colors that are carried from one element to another. On this quilt, Melissa has carried the pink in the flower into the dragonfly wings, yet in a bit lighter shade. The blues, although she used different fabrics blend beautifully, and the overall effect is stunning.

Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder, and what appeals to me, may not appeal to everyone, but I do not like to have to hunt for a design in a quilt. That is my personal taste, and many would not agree with it.

Everyone has their own sense of what colors "speak" to them, and one person who might like this in purple would be on the right track if that is what makes that person feel good. You have to feel good about what you are making, and in my opinion, not just make something to say "I made it and I got it done in a weekend!" That is the artist inside of me, and that is the way I think, which doesn't necessarily make it the "law of good quilting and design". This piece of work, to me, is as close as you can get to creating something that you can show off and be proud of. It certainly could be a ribbon winner in a show if I were one of the judges! Congratulations Melissa Staib. I think you have done a smashing job!!