Poppy Fields of Snow

I haven't forgotten about the large floral print.

It's been on my mind. So has a friend of mine. For most of her adult life, she has been one of those statistics linking mental illness to homelessness. Round and round she has gone, from apartment, to car, to shelter to car, working part-time jobs that don't let her stay too long at any one place. Apart from all that, she is creative soul, a loving mother and a grandmother. Feminine, dark and strong (are you catching my drift yet?).

I saw her two weeks ago when she was in town to see her youngest "babies" (11-y-o twins), and she was acting different, "crazy" for lack of a more respectful word. Last year was very hard on her, with a freak car accident, imprisonment, and release to homelessness, this time without a car. Recently things seemed more hopeful, as she'd found a subsidized apartment, but she appeared more bewildered and agitated than I'd ever seen her.

Still, at that visit two weeks ago, my friend showed such genuine appreciation of my foster girl B.'s bodacious character, and she made such a sweet effort to invite B. up to the apartment where the twins live with their father, suggesting that we five "girls" get together for an outing over the holidays. A visit to the Des Moines Art Center was mentioned! How fun.

On that visit, may it come to pass, I would love to bring her a quilt made of that dark, strong, feminine fabric I've been struggling with.

With large, busy prints, I seem to like the contrast of "Irish chains". (Remember my recent quilt from an earlier post). Yesterday, I came across this quilt, entitled (appropriately enough for today!), "Poppy Fields":

I am imagining the dark floral print in place of the white blocks, however, and solids or near-solids as the chains, with gray as the allover background color that tones down the jumpy floral. Here is my "first draft":

I think I need horizontal chains, as well as the vertical ones. The medium-tone purple will have to go; it competes too much with the gray. The chains will have to read either = white (vertical) or = black (horizontal). I have some forest greens that will look good with the light pink. Those are my friend's colors: black, pink, gray, forest green, and too much vivid, amazing Technicolor life for her mind to handle...

 

Meanwhile, our first snow today has me thinking other holiday thoughts. I have a bin of reds and greens set aside for a Christmas quilt. So far, I've found two patterns that interest me. This, one, called River Trees, by Jan Magee:

 

And this one, from a book of antique quilts (I believe the greens have faded):

 



How about you? Do you have any Christmas quilts you are itching to make?