blessings

the hogmanay blessing

Pinned to our entry way wall. Tiny, about 7 inches square. Cut from a work in progress because I just like this part.

Beside the coat closet for at six months, maybe longer. One day I'll finish the edges, maybe.

'the blessing of the spirit upon this house' is the first thing you see upon entering our home. An amulet, maybe.

To all of you who read this blog, thank you for giving me a place to say how I feel, to record what I've recently read, to show what I've made. Blogging has made me feel connected and understood.

My very best wishes for a creative 2012 for all of us.

Blessings.

Yes

Yes, I did finish Jack's quilt in time. Full image of the quilt is here.

Posing

It will be a while until I'm back to normal.

They've left.
I miss them.

Family Time

It snowed! Wishing all of you a wonderful day.
From us.

I absolutely do

spinach pasta, made this morning for tonight's dinner, by Asan, Grace's partner yesterday, I went into my studio to get stuff for the circle project day it seemed as if I was glimpsing another era I saw the wool fabrics dyed with golden rod just last month folded on the table. They were so distant, remembered faintly. I AM in the present moment for my family. I do devote my energy to them so that things run smoothly. I love having my kids and my grand boys near me. I absolutely do.

But still, I am surprised by how that 'artist' part of me is so far away. Across a wide river.

lucky protection

It seems that whenever I see Jack...I start again to work on his quilt. This time I will finish it. On the back, I've embroidered a Japanese sign for good luck with protective red thread. You can glimpse it in this photo, but a better idea can be seen in this older post. He's still a baby, even though he's two and talking.

magic feathers

keep your mouth shut guard the senses and life is ever full open your mouth always be busy and life is beyond hope Tao Te Ching Yesterday's circle stitching was learning how to make magic feathers. The feathers are for Jude Hill's beautiful internet quilt gift project.

Jude's blog, Spirit Cloth, is one I visit regularly. Her imaginative genius with stitch and her spiritual voice keep me believing in the good power of an internet community.

Jude has made an excellent video with full stitching instructions on how to make one of these magic feathers. Just click on the magic feather graphic in the sidebar to read more.

We'll be making more next week at our circle. If it's not possible to attend, it's still possible to contribute a feather. I'll send a bunch to Jude before the end of this year.

power cloth

More African textiles from my living room. Repetition. Earthiness. The lower two are made from raffia. The mud cloth in the uppertwo images was purchased in Toronto. Both velvet Kuba cloths were gifts from Marilyn. THANK YOU dear one.

BTW, My next to last assessment came in today from England. No marks were given, but lots of comments.
"a powerful body of work that holds great potential" was one.
"It does need some editing" was another.

African Embroidery

Getting the house ready for Christmas has made me notice my collection of African embroidery. I learn much from handling these power cloths. All of the embroideries shown here were found at African Threads, an outlet for women's embroidery from South Africa that has affiliations with the Grandmother to Grandmother campaign for Aids relief. Two separate cow embroideries were sewn together to make a pillow cover. Both sides are the right side. I purchased this vibrant woman's face from Val Hearder of African Threads last February. She told me that the women were paid by the weight of their work. I usually make pillow covers by sewing the stitched squares to a piece of hand dyed silk velvet. This piece by Cynthia always stops me. Busy all day here. Getting ready.

reverse applique dots

This post is a tutorial for a careful technique, reverse applique dots. Two three inch squares are layered, basted together, and marked with a circle outline. A spool of thread makes a good template. The center of the circle needs to be removed with very sharp embroidery scissors. Then make several tiny clips that just touch the drawn line. Thread the needle with silk applique thread. Silk thread is very strong, does not knot, and is nearly invisible once stitched.
The above photo shows how the needle itself is used to create the curves. If you use the side of the needle rather than your fingers to manipulate the cloth, you will get a neater curve. Firmly hold the two fabrics together with one hand, and then stitch the top fabric to the lower fabric with an invisible hem stitch. It's best to just relax with these dots, and work slowly and carefully. I'd say that each one takes at least ten minutes to make, perhaps more. When finished, bring the thread to the back of your work and make a knot before cutting the thread. At this time I also remove the excess bottom layer of fabric. This has become one of my favourite techniques. The dots give a strong graphic with minimalist strength. To make them takes practice, but there is a satisfaction in doing skillful work. Massed, the hand made dots are very powerful. Each unique. All the same.