Renewal, regeneration...these sorts of themes are currently being explored by everyone wanting to enter this year's competition. I haven't delved into the theme in any abstract way but I am thinking of using it to push me into a design that has been swimming around in my head for a while.

I am a bit obsessed by swirling panel shapes (especially after all the work I did on my crescent corset) and would love to create a flower bud with opening petals. Renewal is everywhere in nature and unfurling petals is just the beginning in the cycle of bloom and bust that begets everything. 

I've made a start and it's going OK - I have dyed fabric in different shades to get some sort of differentiation between the petals and make them stand out. Here is the initial toile of the front section;

I'll keep this blog updated with more progress pics along the way.