Pickled Ginger

When you eat sushi there is this pink stuff you use in between rolls to “clear the palette” called pickled ginger. When I got to the end of my ocean quilt, I was mentally constipated…that’s pretty much the most accurate description I can come up with. I could not think beyond that quilt. I t had absorbed me for 6 months and then it was done and I didn’t know how to begin anything else. I was kinda scary to be that blocked where nothing felt right.

So I pieced a few 5 inch by 7 inch blocks in bright jewel tones. The idea was to just practice stitches for awhile. Even after 25 years of crazy quilting, I still feel the need to practice my stitches. There were more blocks and more practice and I was feeling less stressed about it. And one day I realized I had almost enough blocks for a wall hanging. So I pieced a large central block and ordered some black silk for the sashing. And that’s how “Pickled Ginger” happened. It wasn’t planned out until it was over halfway done…when I had most of the blocks done in a theme I hadn’t consciously intended.