The time I spend hand stitching is evident. In fact, time may be the most potent material that I use. 
Artwork made by hand is a physical outward attempt to communicate something terribly inner.
I love that these are individuals. 
Even though they re all the same, each is very different. 
I love that they fit in my hand. 
playful / serious
Trinity, damask table cloths, hand dyed linen, silk. completely hand stitched, 2011 
A liturgical piece.
layered indigo cloth
procion freeze dyed with tucks 
the horizontal and the vertical together
Light of the Moon, mixed media with stitch, 2009
My mother's favourite novel was To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. 
I listened to it this week while doing these dye processes. 
There it was - her picture. 
Yes, with all its greens and blues, its lines running up and across, 
its attempt at something. 
It would be hung in the attic, she thought; it would be destroyed. But what did that matter? 
With a sudden intensity,
It was done; 
It was finished. 
Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, 
The inside is what I'm concerned with.
I started over. I thought more about what is inside. 
I gathered winter branches. Balsam fir. Cedar. 
And wrapped them. 
They yielded. They seemed to like being wrapped into themselves. 
Springy. Light as birds.
They are female.
They are full of memories. 
They are protection and nurturance. 
The second meditation panel, Mended World, is progressing steadily this winter. This post records what has happened over the last ten weeks. 
The hand stitched circle was created last summer. Many hands worked on it in the church hall on Thursdays and in between I stitched quite a bit at the cottage. (here) 
To help me cut the circle to the correct size, I made a paper pattern. Cutting into the hand work was difficult on an emotional level and I had to lie down a lot. 
To finish the edge, purchased gold piping was rejected in favour of some made from white Chinese silk. 
The background - or sky - has taken way more time than I thought it would. And more fabric. It is huge. I cannot touch the edges without folding it. 
Part of the reason it has taken so long is because it is made with the sewing machine. We cut the strips from table cloths, then sew them together, then re cut and sew again to make string fabric. Ribbons of string fabric are then flipped and stitched to the foundation. The sewing machine seems to isolate the operator so I usually don't use it on Thursdays except when Linda (above) comes. She prefers machine work and we work together. 
Today it was snowing so hard, I stayed home and completed piecing the square. 
