Friday, August 16, 2019

Baby steps

Staying at home for a day ... except dog walking and street sweeping ... provides time for other things. My mandela now had a background, though it is not really of the fabric I liked best.


I really do NOT want to buy any more fabric, and the blue I liked best was not big enough to make a background, even if I cut the size. So ... this is the blue I selected. Blue sky in the day, and stars at night.

Next I am planning to put the animals in each corner. Mouse for South (the yellow), Bear in the North, Eagle in the East, and Owl in the west.  Between native tribes, a variety of animals are used with different meanings, but these are the ones that have meaning to me.

The mouse looks closely at things and sees the detail (and I was born in that year)
The eagle soars on high and sees the whole picture, giving a wide perspective.
The bear could be a polar bear or a brown bear. They are prepared to sleep through the winter.
The owl is my spirit helper, guarding me throughout the night.

I have found animal prints I can use in my stash, but all my owl prints are rather comical, so I am now pondering if I should use them or piece something. Maybe if I spent some time cleaning up the mess I have made with all the measuring and re-measuring and pulling out fabrics, the ideas in my head would become clearer.

7 comments:

  1. I can see you've got a good start on our challenge! I will watch how your circle quilt grows and grows. You always have such good ideas.

    I am sorry that Nikko is having harder days. The heat and humidity are so wearing even on the healthy. Please take care of yourself too as you are no spring chicken... fall chicken? No you are a mouse! Drink lots of water!

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  2. The animals you have chosen are just right, specially the owl, and blue skies of different hues, love the night sky as it envelopes the day in safety and stars.

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  3. Looking forward to seeing your final piece. Take care in the summer heat, autumn is not that far away.

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  4. I love watching the progress on this piece - you are so full of ideas - and your attention to detail is amazing - ;))

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  5. Anxious to see how this all comes together.

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  6. Wow what a cool challenge, and once again you are creating something packed with meaning. I love the whole concept of the mandela!

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