New Kid on the Block

"Tree of Life" paper quilt block

Size 9 " x 9"

hand colored security envelopes on manila envelope

After an afternoon of doctor's appointments and CT scans, I've got a kidney stone. I got some injections to help with my back and neck pain and pain medicine to last until the kidney stone passes. During the 2 hours between appointments I shopped in my local Big Lots store and found this book.

It is totally awesome and really cheered me up. It has 101 quilt blocks and gives a little history and provenance on how the various quilt blocks came about. The Tree of Life block I did above came from the Vintage Classics chapter.

"About this block: The Tree of Life block is an early quilt block pattern that is said to have a biblical reference, as did many names of that time. The reference to the tree of life comes from Genesis, Chapter 2. This beloved pattern is often times pieced using just two colors, although using colors from the same color family gives the tree pattern more dimension."

I stepped outside of the box, err... quilt block. Instead of using just all black and white graphics of the security envelopes, I colored one of the black and white patterns using a green crayola colored pencil. I also used one of the green and black envelopes for the contrasting triangle in the leaves. For the trunk I used the wood grain pattern envelope and highlighted areas with brown. I pieced it all on a manila envelope.

While visiting at my mom's house, I also found a stash of her quilting magazines. I got some real inspiration.

A quilt artist out of Japan by the name of Reiko Yamaguchi, had a really interesting story on how her life and her passion for the quilting arts began. Many of her quilts are inspired by things from her life. For 40 years she has been a storyteller on fabrics. She also teaches and helps her students tell their lives in their quilts. She confessed that often times all the student's stories can be a burden for her but that she finds vitality and energy in the finished workings of the quilts. Through her many years devoted to quilting she has found similarities with a person's personality and the type of quilts that suit them. For instance if you have a restless personality a quilt with triangles will calm your spirit!

And she was right. The Tree of Life quilt block had lots of triangle and while making it I did find myself for once calmer and a little more secure.