Old Hand-braided Round Chenille Mat with Great Color antique native american with white basting stitches--which would

with white basting stitches--which would be used to secure the quilt top to a backing-- still in place

and and an excellent gift for the student

and since cicadas are symbols of  personal renewal and transformation

and of just the right scale

Old Hand-braided Round Chenille Mat with Great Color antique native american with white basting stitches--which wouldI just couldn't resist the color on this one, which made me think how nice a grid of hand braided mats in bold and unusual colors would be hung in a grid on the wall. (I've be thinking more and more about relationships between traditional handmade textiles and modern art, painting especially, lately, and can't look at this without thinking of 1960s 70s geometric abstraction and targets, too!) Most of the fabric scraps used to make this one, including