Making of a Diary Quilt - 2

Getting on with the Making of a Diary Quilt - Part 2.

Day 9 - Making yo - yo's or Suffolk puffs.

I made seven yo- yo's because there are seven stars which make up the Saptarishi Mandal or constellation also known as the Big Dipper in the Western World.

Day 10 - Applique the yo - yo's onto the quilt top.

There is an interesting story about the Saptarishi Mandal, which you can read here - The Story of  Vashishtha and Arundhati. 

Day 11 - Connect the yo - yo's with running stitch.

I chose a yellow silk for the yo - yo's because these yellow Angel's Trumpet flowers release a beautiful fragrance at dusk and the night air is beautifully scented.

I suspect the flowering has something to do with the cycles of the moon as well.

Day 12 - Improv patchwork. Make it as large or small.

I decided to represent the many moods of the Nilgiri sky.

The brilliant blue winter sky, which is all blue with not a single cloud in the sky, the moody monsoon sky with dark rain clouds and the cloudscapes which will have one day dreaming for hours.

Day 13 - Attach the improv patchwork anywhere on the quilt top.

Day 14 - Hand yoga.

Day 15 - Choose a piece of fabric, trace the outline of a familiar object and applique it  anywhere on the quilt top.

I used this fabric which I got in a giveaway. It matches the teal blue of my phone cover.

Day 16 - Trace the outline of a familiar object and embroider it.

I wear a gold chain with a gold sovereign or coin given by my paternal grandmother, so that's what I placed on the quilt top and traced the outline of and embroidered.

Day 17 - Onto a piece of fabric, trace out a part of your body and applique it onto the quilt top.

Decided to trace out my foot. Symbolic of the all the walking I do in the garden.

The fabric is Shwe shwe fabric from South Africa. 

Thank you Helen van Zyl for all the shwe shwe fabric swatches you sent me when we had a fabric page swap.

Day 18 - Embroider or appliqué a piece of clothing. The size is left to you to choose.

These are my  patched black trackies.

I have two pairs which developed holes because my cat Gin has a tendency to dig her claws into my legs when she wants to be fed.

The track pants are of knit fabric and I patch the holes with the fabric from old panties.

These trackies are boros in the making, one patch at a time.

The quilt top is slowly filling up.

I think a third part will be required. Shall have that up in a couple of weeks.

I hope you have a creative weekend and get to indulge yourself making , messing around or learning something new.

Bison Slumber Party

The Bison or Indian Gaur are frequent visitors to our property. They visit once every ten days.

Since the beginning of this year they've taken to spending the night on the lawn.    

This was the sight that greeted me this morning at 5.45 am. Five bison - a huge male, a calf, two juveniles and the mother of the calf. The calf was born on this lawn in late January.

They must find the lawn safe and secure.

The large male we have named Bhima. He's the one sitting down and stuck on one of his horns is a dried up tea bush if you please. A very curious sight.

Bhima sits unperturbed chewing the cud. Needless to say the lilies in the garden have been decimated. Bhima's weakness. 

At this time of year the Agapanthus lilies would have begun to bloom but what I'm left with are the bulbs with some short green stubs protruding from the bulbs.    

Bhima left with his tea bush crown.
I have a love hate relationship with the bison. Majestic creatures especially Bhima who is a fantstic specimen of an adult male bison with his black body rippling with muscles and distinctive white socks, one can't can't help but admire but I hate it that they come in and ruin my garden which I have been trying to develop for the past three years.
I hope the fence we're putting up will give the plants in my garden a chance to bloom and we'll still be able to see the bison when they graze on the opposite hill.
Welaro our home is truly a place where wild things wander.