This quilt center uses my love of zig zags. Zig Zags can be found in a lot of African geometric designs, including on ancient African artwork.

I selected Ankara tribal fabric to highlight their small design motifs. I also love black and white fabric designs so I used them here to give the pink it’s due focus and to avoid having to use solid fabric to do so.

The borders are solid so that the quilt center remains in focus.

I have yet to determine the backing fabric because I want to use a gorgeous black and white Ankara print, but I just haven’t decided yet.

UPDATE: I took the quilt top to the longarm studio today and decided that I didn’t want to longarm it. I’m going to quilt it on my machine back in Studio A. It will be a little longer for this beauty. I try to honor my vision and not just throw quilts together.

For many Aboriginal cultures, purple connects to deep spiritual awareness, growth, and the divine in some Indigenous traditions. I find a lot of purple in Aboriginal cloth. Now you have to keep in mind that meanings aren't uniform across all Aboriginal groups. Interpretations depend on local lore, environment, and history. That is also true of African ethnic groups. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Aboriginal people of Australia are believe to be part of the African diaspora of some 70,000 years ago. Again, out of Africa come many great people.

The turtle is also an important symbol of the Aboriginal culture as well as Native American culture. It symbolizes extended life, deep knowledge, and slow, steady progress. If find turtles in so many fabrics designed by Aboriginal people.

This quilt is a tribute to the original people of Australia. Today they still live oppressed and ignored in Australia. I celebrate and honor their culture because I believe that traditions matter. As progressive as I can be, I love the traditions because they have so much meaning. They add understanding and rationale to the present if we take the time to learn and understand them.

The purple shades in this quilt and the turtle symbols along with other geometric shapes are set off by solid squares the highglight the purple hues. The back is a tribute to turtles. All of the printed fabric was designed by Aboriginal artists.

The quilt has finished the longarm stage just today and is headed back to Studio A to get its binding, which I am still wrestling with. In the world of quilt binding, I tend to be picky. I try to decide if I want the viewer to rest their eyes on the last border. If I do, I add a waterfall border, which is in the same pattern as the last border. Think waterfall countertops. If I like the backing a lot and I want to showcase some of the backing on the front, then I make the binding the same pattern as the backing, but I have to also like how it will show up on the front. Finally, I sometimes select contrasting bindings, just to add another pop of color, texture or interest to the quilt. Stay tuned for my choice for this beauty.