OK, I admit it -- I'm stuck. I like these colors, but my creative juices are just not flowing. Normally, I would work this all out behind the scenes, but having decided that I wanted to share more of my process, here's where I'm at:
My first thought was "spa." I saw some peekaboo applique (not a technical term, just what I'm calling it today) and thought it might be pretty to have "windows" of blue and sage fabric peeking through chocolate brown. Kinda decorative though, and maybe a bit of a cop-out for me. I owe the group some deeper thought.
So then I thought about "sage advice," which led me to fortune cookies. That had me excited for about three days, but then I lost steam.
So I went back to the spa idea (but now fortified with sage), which led me to zen, which made me think of a zen garden, which reminded me of bonsai. Of course bonsai are little trees, and there's a traditional quilt block called the Tree of Life or Tree of Paradise (images from my Jinny Beyer book of 101 Quilt Blocks, or something like that).
I got very excited about building a little bonsai tree out of half square triangles and set to work. About a bajillion arrangements later, I had to step away.
So here is where I stand. I don't feel like I've captured the minimal elegance of a bonsai tree. Mine lacks the grace of the real thing. So now I'm not sure if I should keep futzing with this guy, or go back to my peekaboo window idea and admit defeat.