Tessellation

This cat paper piecing is a form of tessellation which is an ancient pattern that is mathematical, and was used in both Roman and Islamic arts. The first time I saw this kind of work was in Granada, Spain at Alhambra. Its also seen in honeycombs, which is a pattern on one of my personal quilts. M.C. Escher uses them a lot in his work, so I am a fan of the process.

I cannot say its getting better with the cat quilt because it seems that every time I pick up (block pattern) napkins on a row, I have to spend a lot of time thinking about the notes on them. And they are clear. Its more the lesson of following directions, anyone's directions, evidently even my own. This a simple assessment of the facts about how I operate, not really any self-critism. It befuddles me.

Knowing my short-comings, if this is indeed one of them, helps me stay focused.

I got the top corner done, and have 14 more squares to complete before joining the blocks to form the center of the top. Four corners from four different blocks make up a shadow cat, so even following directions seems incorrect to me until I lay it back down. And to make it more challenging, rows are on the diagonal. Sometimes I think my friend Amy believes she will never see it. 

Facing the negative aspects in life takes a lot of self-worth. And the way this quilt is designed is that the positive and negative images need each other to complete the overall effect. With the tessellation pattern, I got to see how they are so much alike in endless ways. Each block seems unique like each person seems unique. And are we really all that special and different or is it ego that makes us see ourselves as different and needing to stand out and away from our tribes?