Another Heart

Well, it's been a full week since my last post. What can I say? I've had several minor reactions to chemical exposures. Taken on their own, none of them would have been much more than a blip in my activities. But the cumulative effect seems to have taken a larger toll. There's been a lot of down time. And DH has left on a road trip, taking every camera we own with him. I made sure to get at least a few pictures I could use here before he left :- )

I have done a little more work on my wonky hearts but I'm not going to show you that yet. What I want to share today is this month's journal quilt. It's another heart, this time for the people of Burma and China.

It's 8.5" x 11" like all the other journal quilts I've been making. I used a silk damask for the heart and a batik and a hand dyed cotton for the background. The silk has a chrysanthemum design woven into it. There's a reference on Wikipedia that says in the Chinese culture white chrysanthemums are symbolic of lamentation. White is the color of mourning in Eastern cultures. I chose the background color to represent the Buddhist monks who have been in the backgound of both countries, providing both physical and spiritual support to the people.

At this point I don't have any specific ideas for embellishments. My first thought was clear or silvery seed beads to represent tears. We'll see.