Mermaids Tears

The most relaxing thing I can think of is to lay back and float in the ocean- or I guess it's the Gulf of Mexico and look up at the clouds and imagine I am on a tropical island somewhere with just a few friends, a few family members and a quilt shop that carries all the newest fabrics and books.
For me that is heaven.

We have these cool floats (that are like those gizmos for your car windows-) they fold open with wire rims and then snap back small enough to put in their holders. They have inflatable pillows and are just light weight and wonderful to float in the water while the waves gently carry you around.
So when I think about Summer I think about going to the beach and then I think about mermaids and then I get all obsessed ( like I have been for months now with making paperdoll mermaids and doll mermaids and embroidered mermaids and) quilted mermaids. It's enough to get me carried off by men in white coats I am sure sometimes...or so it would seem... to the men folk in the house!
It seems to be an almost direct result of my increasing femininity with mermaids and quilts that the boys have been shooting the air guns at targets and cans and plastic bottles and its almost like a competition to see if they can eradicate some of the estrogen with massive quantities of testosterone around here.
At first I had this center section completed and Fred and Troy both said "Oh Good! You're done!" But I didn't think I was. It needed something. Like they knew I wanted to create something that the recipient would love and was a bit nervous about doing the quilt- they know I get like that every time I make something "for someone else" and really want me to stop stressing. They were probably sick and tired of me asking "how does this look?"
I wanted to add something to the right and thought that the mermaid and flying geese made it look too centered and picturesque.
I tried to explain to the boys about the circular windows but they didn't get it.
I stamped a seahorse on tea dyed linen and then embroidered the outline with cream colored perle cotton.
The center window was filled with an old crochet piece that resembled something like a sea urchin.
The bottom window I made larger and after embroidering some yoyo's and shell buttons, pearls and beads on top of some lace tulle it started to look just
 like a day at the beach.
I used glass beads in the shape of tears to give it a story and some magic.
So this was an adventure and I taught myself some new techniques- like prairie points and flying geese and I mixed machine quilting with some large hand stitching for an almost Folk Art look.
I have some cheese cloth that I dyed with blues and greens and I had wanted to drape that below the mermaid but restrained myself because I really do want this to be washable and that would have put it into the delicate and fragile category.
The back has linen and velvet and cottons and I was sort of leaning toward what might be found on old Jack Sparrow's ship if I dared stow away
and peek in a trunk or two.
I always use coke tabs for hanger on the back and I put a nice label on it too- with another mermaid printed on silk with the date and all the info on it.
So the next time you are out near the sea shore be quiet and listen for the sirens call and perhaps you will catch a glimpse of mermaids swimming about.
If you happen to strike up a conversation with one I am sure they will tell you why they cry and sing of their sorrows- it's because they secretly love shoes and have no feet upon which to wear them.
I can't think of anything sadder than that...except maybe having to give this quilt away...goodbye little mermaid...I know your new Mama will take good care of you...
now to finish that mermaid pillow for my bed! and oh- the strawberries!