inspiration and finishing what I started

I saw a black swallowtail on a zinnia at the community garden. It allowed me to photograph it, fairly closeup. What gorgeous colors and patterns.

The white spots on its upper wing resemble a row of little hearts.

I’m ALMOST finished with the October cloth. I have one more square that seems to need more stitching. And I’ll probably stitch a sleeve on the back for hanging. For now, I’ve invented a use for it – it’s a lap quilt. It is so delightful to spread on the lap and let my hands experience the texture of the stitching and the fabrics. I think I could do this everyday for the rest of my life, even in the nursing home!

My next project, taking inspiration from the black swallowtail, is finishing the Dark Butterfly cloth. I’m planning to gift it to Soul Fire Farm. This patchwork was made during the pandemic, and has been sitting on the shelf ever since. It took me about 2 hours to stitch the word “Resist” on it. There are three more words to stitch: Reform, Build, and Heal.

Each of the four wings of the butterfly represents a set of tactics – resist, reform, build, and heal.

from their website: Butterfly of Transformative Social Change

Then I can assemble it into a quilt. The backing is already done.