What to do with a panel?
 

While on vacation this summer I bought the Timeless Treasure "Harvest" panel (the one with the wheelbarrow full of pumpkins) at a quilt shop - love it ... but have no idea what to do with it ! I went to the fabric site , and I googled it, and cannot find any examples of how others have finished it off. Has anyone done this one or seen it where someone has done something with it? Should I trim off the little squares at the top and bottom and just add borders, or do something that includes the decorative squares?
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TIA
Rene

I'm sewing like crazy for a holiday church bazaar. We had a lot of donated fabric/thread and it included several panel things which somehow jumped in my car to bring home and "do something with"! On one, I ended up cutting side borders from the edges and moving them to top and bottom then added three borders 1.5" 2.5"3.5" all around. It has four large printed blocks with printed frames similar to your panel and I'm planning to just quilt like I'm stitching in the ditch. Beautiful fall panel, I'd cross hatch the center. Good luck and have a great day!!!

At the moment it looks like your panel is long and narrow. It really depends what you want to do with it. Is it going to be a throw? If so, you might just want to add a border all around. But if you want to make it wider, I would suggest cutting the smaller squares from top and bottom, sewing them together into a single strip and adding them to one side. You might have to flesh out the main part of the panel with sashing to get the size right.

You can also Google 'quilt panel ideas' and then press 'images' at the top of the page. That should give you lots of ideas.

Good ideas on previous posts. I find that the printed panels are not real accurate for cutting up much. Those blocks on top and bottom won't cut up squarely if you want to save the brown border already on them. I'd simply add some black borders to the sides to make it a bit wider and call it a lap quilt. It is so pretty!

Love the panel. I would just cut out center after leaf border and bind in black. You can always use the small squares for another wall hanging, table runner, or place mats.

If you want to go big with it, you could use it as the middle of giant log cabin block.

I think I'd cut off the top and bottom and add borders around the main panel and then use 4 of the small squares for corners on the borders. I'd take the rest of the small squares and use them as the centers of couch pillows w/the borders matching the borders I put on the panel....very pretty panel by the way!

Thanks, everyone - great ideas! Hope to start on it today......(best laid plans, right?) :)

Rennie, you might check out the free patterns on e-quilter.com. She frequently uses panels in the patterns and there are tons to choose from. Good luck!

http://www.equilter.com/pattern/cate...-free-patterns

I would cut out the center, cut out the blocks top & bottom. Use them along the other coordinating pieced blocks. Then I would frame the center, surround with the smaller blocks and pieced blocks, frame with additional borders to make a quilt the size I want. I use lots of panels as a starting ground for queen sized quilts. I love panels. That one if wonderful!

heres a panel quilt I did years ago.

I LOVE that panel!
If I had it I would cut off the smaller square panel sections and
use the larger section as a quilted door hanging or wall hanging.

I am now on the hunt to find that panel, my sister's favorite season
is Autumn, so I would love to make a wall hanging for her using that
panel.

There is a quilt pattern for sale called Side Lights, I think. It is designed for a panel much like yours. It has the large piece surrounded by the smaller pieces in an off-set pattern. Each piece has a solid border, black is shown. You can Google the pattern name and I think it will come up. Or try Pinterest.

Timeless Treasures alsways has free panel pattern downloads on their website too.

www.ttfabrics.com

I love the Attic Window with panels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-vzI0Jp3ak

I did a panel with squares on the top and bottom and I put two boarders and used 4 of the squares as corner stones in one of the boarders and It turn out OK. Nice panel and you will figure out something.

I would border it and make it a table runner!

It's a beautiful penal and will make a lovely wall hanging or door decoration.

I too would make a wall hanging. I'd cut off the small blocks, outline quilt everything - the leaves, flowers, pumpkins and wheelbarrow using a poly batting, and bind with black. It would look so realistic.

Don't forget to show us when finished.

To me it looks like you are supposed to cut off the top and bottom small pieces and use them around the center, if you so desire. So, I'd cut out the middle, add sashings around the smaller squares and add to the sides as desired. Or as someone suggested, just use the middle and save the small squares for something else.

I just completed that panel. I cut off the top and bottom squares and added two borders to the panel. I wanted it to be a certain size for where I wanted to hang it, not too big. The panel was quite busy in itself so didn't want to add anymore than a couple of borders. I really like it.

Thanks for posting, Sandygirl. What a great site.

ckcowl,

I love this quilt, You've made it absolutely beautiful! Some of the panels I've purchased are not all that squared, how do you straiten them out before you work on them?

Marie

Panels can be cut and arranged in attic window pattern or cut in slices and sashings run between with panel pieces placed a little up and down from each other or various blocks and borders placed around them.

Sandygirl---thank you so much for this website. Lots of fabulous ideas there.

How big is it? What size do you want a finished project to be? My first thought is to trim the top and bottom. Then I would do an inner border (I'm thing something resembling the wood pattern). Then another black border. Then I would separate the small blocks and add black blocks to have one in each corner and one at the center of each side. If the top is going to be rather large, I would find some sort of fall leaf/pumpkin print and make blocks the same size as the small ones and place them in between to balance. Then either bind with the floral or add a couple more smallish borders and then bind. You have so many options with this wonderful panel. Please post when you finish so we can see what you decided to do. I'm sure it will be great!

Gosh, ya'all, so many great ideas. I will "mess" with it this week-end and see where it ends up. Thanks, again, for all the ideas!!

Here is how I would approach it:
I would cut the blocks off and cut them down to individual blocks.
Sew a simple border around the panel.
Then find a block pattern (or multiples) that play nicely with those blocks and in the same size.
Sew enough blocks so you can alternate all blocks as the next border.
Sew another simple border.
If it's big enough at that point, finish.
If it's not big enough, add another row of blocks and another border until it is big enough.

Yes this! Have fun! I think no matter what you will do you can't go wrong. This is a great panel.

[QUOTE=Rennie;7679705]While on vacation this summer I bought the Timeless Treasure "Harvest" panel (the one with the wheelbarrow full of pumpkins) at a quilt shop - love it ... but have no idea what to do with it ! I went to the fabric site , and I googled it, and cannot find any examples of how others have finished it off. Has anyone done this one or seen it where someone has done something with it? Should I trim off the little squares at the top and bottom and just add borders, or do something that includes the decorative squares?
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I
TIA

My idea- make blocks of EPP leaves in fall colors, use the attached small Squares for corners on two rows of leaf blocks to build size, then whatever border fabric would play nice with the panel. Maybe a batik?

I like this idea. I have several table quilts and runners for the seasons or Holidays. I think this would look great on your table. I'd cross hatch the quilting and then enjoy it during November.

I would cut out the center and use the leave as the border and use fall colors for the backing and binding. This is a beautiful panel.

I really had fun with a panel making it for our grandson when he earned his Eagle Badge. The panel was a big eagle flying over a frozen river with mountains in the background. I added borders of the colors in the panel in alternate rows. Just kept adding borders until I got to a size for a large lap quilt.
My long armer finished it for me with the binding ad a colorful backing. He has seen it, and it is done now and wrapped ready to give to our daughter--his mom when she comes this weekend!
Wish I could post a picture, but our email is messed up now. Hopefully in the not too distant future
That is an idea for you.
Have fun!
Mariah

I suggest cutting the small squares, then adding a border to all 4 sides, then use the 4 squares one row on top and one on bottom. or do a narrow border on all 4 sides, then cut squares into individual blocks add sashing /borders to them and use them as outside border.

I googled panel quilts and ended up on Pinterest. If you can't find an idea there...Personally I hate that site. There's so much there. I waste my quilting time looking at ideas. I don't even have a panel and now I want to rush out an buy three or four just to try the cool layouts and borders and what not! Your panel is gorgeous! Go for it! Be sure and show us your success.