River Runs Through It Project

I'm really excited about this project.  I am in a River Runs Through It project with about nine or ten people.  We all have a specific placement of where the river goes and after that, there are no rules.  I've been inspired by Ann Bauer and Elena Stokes' quilts so I thought I'd combine the two ideas, then add a twist of my own.  This is my first attempt at the background:

I'm going to add pieces by stitching cross in the ditch instead of appliquéing them.  I hope it will look as good as in my head!  I'm not quite certain of placement yet. I couldn't quite find the right fabric for the sun so I thought I'd enhance it by painting with Copic markers.

My head is swimming with so many more ideas...