The Collaborative Process Works

Something Debra said has helped me sort out my border dilemma. She observed that the green half-square triangles in one of my earlier versions of the quilt echoed the rays radiating from the Virgin. "Aha!" I said. "This is my way out of the border tangle: find repeating elements that tie the center and the border." So I repeated both colors common to both sections, and the fortuitous half-square triangles/rays. Now I'm excited about how the quilt is shaping up.



I also found another Alexander Henry fabric that I've fallen in love with even though I tend to avoid white. It's a replica of Mexican papel picado: tissue paper cut-outs that can be quite intricate. This is going to be fun to find ways to use.


I'm toying with placing small squares of this fabric in the corners of this quilt. There is a colonial-era stone cross that I saw in central Mexico many years ago with the goddess Cuatlicue in the center standing on skulls. I like tucking in this little reminder of Guadalupe's indigenous foundations, but the white still gives me a twinge when I see it.



I feel much more confident about this quilt. I feel like I've found a direction and I like where it's taking me.--Barbara