Alpaca

Hello everyone, this is my first day on this forum. My name is Ashley and I'm 20 years old. I've done a small amount of quilting a few years ago but none since.

Today I'm working on a rather ambitious project as a gift for my boyfriend. I'm trying to make a panel quilt that is weighted. If you are not familiar with weighted blankets, they are filled with plastic pellets to provide therapeutic weight for sensory related disorders such as autism and anxiety.

I know this is pretty challenging endeavor for someone as new to quilting as I am, but I feel like I have a good start. The issue I'm trying to figure out is how to add the pellets into a panel quilt without stitching across the image in an obvious way. I'll include a picture to this post. I know that typically they are sewn in equal squares. My original idea was to see them into batting, then sew the pieces over that. I'm not thinking that will work well. Does anyone have any experience in what I'm trying to do?

I hope I can ask for help on this forum while I complete this summer project and if anyone can help me learn more about quilting I would appreciate your feedback and suggestions!

Thanks!