Balancing Act

A finish!

I've been thinking about this quilt for quite a while, so it is really nice to finally get it out of my head.  This is the 5th in a series of these spirals and houses quilts.  They all have a slightly different theme, at least in my mind. 

As I worked on this, I thought a lot about all the things we have to balance in life, especially during a pandemic year.  I am lucky enough to have a secure and stable home, but do realize that many do not, either by circumstance or by choice. Even children have had more than usual to balance and learn during this last year, and I wonder how it will affect them and their choices in the future.  So, while this piece is meant to be whimsical and bring a smile to your face, it also talks about balancing our lives, and all that comes with that, the responsibilities, the sadness, the happiness, hopefully living life to the fullest, with love, and kindness generosity and compassion.

On a more practical level

 This one started when I discovered the vine fabric.  I was able to buy a bolt (still lots left!) of this African Dutch Wax Vine print, and fell in love.

After cutting out the vine parts that I wanted with some extra around each leaf, it was appliqued to the background, which I previously hand dyed, on top of the already appliqued swirl.  The swirl fabric is also an african tie dye.  I'm not sure how they achieve this look, but I've loved and cherished it for years.  It was time to use it!

Then I dove in to my scrap bag (ok, I have several bags) and choose house and roof fabrics.  I stuck with mostly blue fabrics for the roof, as it seems to give the whole piece movement, direction and balance.

And of course, had to add some little trees for a lot of the houses.  

Lots of quilting later, with two layers of batting, I was going to doing a facing finish, but as I laid the chosen fabric down, I really liked how it picked up the flashes of red in the interior of the piece, and gave it an nice edge, so a traditional binding it is.

Are they little fairy houses, bird houses, or just a whimsy silliness?  It's up to you the viewer to decide!

Thanks for reading!

Nicole