I am trying something new.

I have been saving this 1.5m wide sunset for YEARS waiting for the right time to use it. It has lots of purple and too much bright yellow to use easily, so I've decided to slice it into squares and piece it back together as the background for a new wall quilt. By cutting it up, I can remove some of the "too bright" yellow and create an interesting effect by mixing and relayering the sunset colours so it isn't quite as stripey as the original piece of fabric looked.

This experiment in quilting was prompted by a call for entry for the SAQA Exhibition "Renewal". I have been a member of SAQA for years and enjoy the educational aspects of this group, but I have been patiently waiting for an exhibition theme that I can embrace and enter. I don't enter exhibitions unless the theme "speaks to me" as it takes a significant amount of time and energy and I don't enjoy veering too far from my signature style. I think this theme of "Renewal" is perfect for a sunrise painting.

In total, 144 square pieces were sewn together, leaving me with a 41" square top. I actually love it like this... it's so peaceful looking, but my mind is buzzing with ideas on what I could applique onto it to further stretch the "Renewal" theme.