What do you admire about a tree? How quilting in the green with swirls takes on a whole different meaning than mimciking blades of grass...

                         
While creating this small piece inspired by Lindy Gruger Hanson's, "I Dreamt of a Stack of Moons", I initially was focussed on the trunk representing strength and wanting an erratic colorful leaf to be amidst the greens, but as I quilted....

Roots  became my focus.....And the green that orignially I had planned as grass and Roxy would mimick spears of grass....became....

Whimsical swirling roots of the tree...Never thought that a blank space such as this green strip could then offer options that would change what was the representation of the color....

My fmq novice tip of the day.....WHen using a print with a set direction such as this brown and gold on the outer border, choose with purpose then accentuate the print already there.  I have seen this square fmq design on 365 days of Quilting and also on a quilt by Victoria and love the sense of squares that pop due to stitching going vertical then diagonal and so forth......

And.... the wavy roots can take on a different connotation, Sean's love for the ocean and surfing is handed down to Noah...it's in the family roots!

Love, EM