The border fabric is a bit idiosyncratic, dyed outside on a very hot, sunny day in Vermont. I used thickened black dye (I felt like I was working with used motor oil) after I had sort-of pleated the fabric. I then sprinkled the mess with rock salt, and left it on the table in the sun for several hours.

And here's another example of the same idea. For this quilt, I dye two 3-yard pieces of cloth in the following manner: I wet the cloth, and spread it on a large table outside. I mix several colors of dye, pour them directly on the cloth, and smoothly blend adjacent colors together. When I've finished dyeing, I very carefully hang the piece of fabric up to dry. The resulting ombre cloth has a multitude of different hues and shades. 

The piecing pattern I've created is fairly sharp (with all those points!), but the blending of colors gives the piece a softness. I've done the design over a dozen times, and it's always a completely different quilt because of the mood and interaction of the colors and their placement.