Patricia pointed out that the quilt square with the pink flower in it (which someone sent to me) is a compass pattern. I like the idea of taking direction from this quilt which I’ve decided to name Hope Blooming. I see there’s more flowers in it than anything else, not something I was conscious of when I was making it. It also has one of those Baroque love scenes, another kind of hope blooming. I was thinking entirely of color and pattern when I was making this quilt. It’s seems my subconscious had something else to say. 
As for the Baroque love scene, my Italian Grandmothers living room was filled with ones just like it. They were on the upholstery beneath the plastic covered couches and chairs, in ceramic statues on top of the TV. They were the figures on lamps and the designs on the drapes. When we were kids, my sister, Fran and I would mimic them. One of us taking the pose of the girl the other the boy.
I shied away from such images for a long time, but now they have found their way back to me. Maybe because of the love that now fills my life, I can appreciate them again for what they symbolize which is the idea of romantic love. From romantic to cynic back to romantic. There is something child-like about this quilt in the bright colors, bold shapes and simplicity of design. Maybe this quilt is about reaching inside and finding that part of me that knew the truth before the cynic moved in. The truth about love and hope and it’s potential to keep coming back until I was ready to see it.
Hope Blooming will be for sale when I finish it. is sold. It’s measures about 72″x76″ and is $275 + $20 shipping in the US ($30 shipping in Canada). If you’re interested in it you can email me at [email protected].
Maria,
I am smiling. I know all about those plastic couch covers. My Grandmother’s sister, Jenny, the sister she hated, had those on her living room furniture. Not much fun to sit on in the summer. Or at all, to be honest! Do you have to be Italian to put those on your couch? Never saw them anywhere else.
I bet your Grandmother had a kitchen in her basement, too! All my family had them. I think they started out as canning kitchens. Using them kept the house and the people cool during canning season. Later, though, when nobody canned they didn’t go away.
Reminds me of the Zen story about the cat who bothered the master when sitting. He asked his deciple to tie up the cat before the meditation. After the cat died, the servant found a new cat to tie up before the meditation.
Janet
WE lived in the basement Janet. But it was that way at my aunts house. And thanks for the Meditation story. Always good to hear.
love this piece!