©1994 Ruth B. McDowell

Some quilts change considerably from my original intentions in the process of choosing the fabrics. I rarely buy fabric specially for a particular quilt. Starting wit ha fairly naturalistic drawing of a cinnamon fern, I went to the fabric shelves to see what I could find. The first fabric that caught my eye was a yellow and green african batik with a stripey pattern. The front and back of the fabric were slightly different in color. The entire two yard piece was cut and re-sewn, using both front and back, to form one of the fern plants. Several dark fabrics were then chosen for the background. I wanted another stripe to make the other fern, and eventually arrived at this very crisp ecru and black geometric one.