Well, I think that final play may have worked. While this is not what I was picturing as the final outcome when I first started thinking about making a sunflower wreath, I’m calling it a workable fix.
Even the final step was not without a stumble. I attached the strip of solid crochet around the back side of the petals and ended up with this.
It still didn’t look right. The ratio of yellow to brown was what I wanted, but the yarn was not firm enough to hold itself up and flopped over. I may have Frisbee-tossed the blasted thing into my craft room determined not to put any more time into it. After this third and tiny time out, one last idea hit. Folding the strip over created enough stiffness to provide the outside ring the support it needed. While it could be a bit wider, it looks sunflowery enough.
I’m giving this a check mark on the done list, and moving on.
alookatthelittlethings 
I really like it. Great job!!!
Thanks. I think it was the poor choice of yarn that made this one such a pain in the neck.
I like it, too–it’s a stylized and sophisticated version of a sunflower!
That’s a great “glass half full” way of seeing it!
I have decided to start a knitting blog to organize my projects online. Hope to see you there 🙂
https://laurazknits.wordpress.com/
Just added it to my reader! Hope you don’t mind a crocheter lurking around. 😀
Not at all. I learned to crochet before I learned to knit. One of these days I just might surprise everyone and crochet something 😉