It’s been about 4 months since our move and my brain is buzzing with ideas for quilts! Guess I am now fully recovered from the tribulations of moving.
Now I have so many ideas and only 24 hrs in the day. The house needs a good tidy and the yard needs attention, and my only desire is to be in the sewing room. A conundrum, but a good one.
One of the treasures unearthed by the move is a hand dyed batik piece from Senegal (Africa) that was a gift from a brother who served there as a Peace Corps volunteer many years ago. Well a couple of decades ago; where does the time go anyway??
I had pulled this beautiful little square out numerous times over the years, and returned it to the stash. Sometimes I would forget about it entirely for a year, or three. And here it was again after our move.
I found this intimidating all those years ago. My little brother carried this piece, which measures about 12.5″ x 25.5″ around the world for me. And what was I supposed with it?
Now I saw the piece with different eyes this time. Yes, yes, it’s time to DO something with you. And heaven forbid that I wait any longer. It would be a crime for this to remain buried in my stash any longer. My 3 plus years working with applique had changed my eye and the possibilities swirling in my head.
Browns, burgundy and a deep gold. The tones are not my usual colors, as they are rather muted, but I rummaged in my batik stash and sent off for a background grunge yard (still waiting!) and a burgundy batik shot with gold.
I plumbed my Esther Aliu patterns for a basket design. Something simple with strong graphic appeal, like the piece. I found what I was looking for in her Juliette pattern. I had made Juliette without the basket border, and now the baskets will adorn this piece. A 50% reduction of the pattern size will border it nicely.
The challenge is to bring some light to the piece without distracting the eye from it; to subtlely enhance its beauty while keeping its integrity.
Will I give it back to my brother? Or perhaps to his daughter, who is finishing college but was not yet born when he gave this to me?
Have I told you lately how very much I love sewing/quilting/applique???
Happy quilting all!
Lennea
Handmade by Lennea 
I love the way you are thinking this out to bring in elements of other quilts and sharing them here. Your colour choices are great and will complement the beautiful piece , it is a treasure for sure to keep. I can’t wait for the out come . XXX
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Ohhh Great blog Lennea made me smile as I followed you through your thinking of fabrics which do enhance your wee treasure, looking forward to next week now to see how you put it all together. Stay safe and thanks for sharing. Cheers Glenda
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