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.