You might try taking a look at the world of fine art patchwork quilts to be found on the Web site for Studio Art Quilt Associates at http://www.saqa.com. Recent years have been witness to a veritable explosion of metallic paints and other light reflective embellishments in patchwork wall hangings, any one of which could set the tone for more metallic accessories as well as an overall color scheme in the home.

For my quilt "The Future is Now," commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation in Nairobi, Kenya, I used silver dupioni silk for a background to a Nairobi skyline which depicts the fall of used computer components (spray painted for extra metallic gleam) through the sky and settling in the "mabati" (corrugated metal roofing) topped slums below the city. Included in the piece were rings of Kitengela Glass (you can Google that, too), silver sequins, beads, and some plastics as well as real computer parts. The only hint of color was a single holographic ribbon which gave such an elusive effect that it appeared merely part of the reflected light.

You can see this quilt in the sidebar of my blog if you care to look. I'm keeping eyes open for an opportunity to work with old cds . . . ;)

As an autumn color type myself, teal is one of my favorite colors, right up there with red-violet and rusty red. I could happily live in any of these rooms, but I'm not entirely comfortable with chartreuse as a partner. There's a painting in my bedroom by English artist Terry Frost of four zebras on the Serengeti plains with a wonderful teal-colored rainstorm in the background. I love it!!

Amazing!! After all these years, I must finally be getting famous! ;-)

Do I know you from a certain nature blog where we talked about Mombasa trains?

We're both doing well, thanks! Waiting for one Dalmation (her name is Shida--Trouble in Kiswahili) to come on heat so we can have puppies in time for Christmas.

Otherwise, I'm working too hard. I worked so hard on my blog this morning that I caused it to go down! I must have done something wrong with W3Cache, but I've got my trusty computer pro working on it. He may not get it up today again, though, as it's Sunday. You might check back again tomorrow.

I'm working on a new quilt and a likely class out of it for Quilt University. Otherwise, I was sorely tempted to reach for my purple silks!!

Oh, but those zebra stripes were only too much!! And so sad that magenta purple clashed so badly with the outdoor lighting! What a hoot!! ;-)

Thanks for touching base, CplusE! See you around!!

I love purple. It's always been one of my favorite colors, but it always seems to get a bad reputation. I particularly like the way you have handled the color as a feature color against a neutral backdrop, running a collection of nearby purples through a full value scale. It's an idea I would like to try for myself in an art quilt.

Isn't the art on the wall a photo of a sea urchin?

Thank you, Carole. Money is important, but it is not everything, especially when acquired by cheating others. I value integrity, decency and honesty and I wish others saw it that way instead of calling thievery "sharing." Cheers!

Great! I hope you enjoy it and learn a lot!

Fair enough, Ruth; thanks for commenting.

Thanks, Becky, for your vote of support. I am determined to maintain a strong position on the idea of other quilters teaching my workshops. Perhaps if more teachers held strong against such offenders, we would have less workshop thievery and better educated quilters!

Thanks for your post on my blog, and sorry for the delay in responding. I'm still learning my way around!

Hello, and thanks for your inquiry. In both Nairobi and Mombasa you will find "Biashara" Streets. "Biashara" in Kiswahili means "business." These streets are home to many of the local fabric retailers, so have a taxi driver or safari driver take you there to look for khanga, kikoy and other yardage materials. For "Nairobi radical chic," check out Kiko Romeo at http://www.kikoromeo.com/. Happy shopping!