September 2006 Journal

“Back to School”

Even though universities return in late August, September is back to school month. This means back to a routine after the openness and gentle flow of summer. That became the theme for this month's journal quilt.

For this quilt, I decided to do a block pattern to represent the orderliness of life during the school year. I chose fabrics that I had worked with in art quilt/collage projects during the summer, as well as some waiting for future projects.

I superimposed the dancing figure on top of the blocks to remind myself to keep spirit and play alive. The paintbrush is a reminder to make time for art (my goal is to do something artful daily.)

I chose gold sequins to represent the gold leaves of autumn, even though here in Southern California I see very few gold leaves! The jewel-toned beads represent the color in my garden throughout the year, as does the appliquéd flower.

I like the contrast of the colorfulness against the (mostly) black background. I wear a lot of black with colorful tops or jewelry. I’m not fond of the orange colored back of the quilt (which you can't see), but chose it to use up the fabric as well as represent colors of autumn, a season I miss.