Thursday 31 December 2015

Scratched to the End


Daily scratchings have rolled to an end.


I have always liked this thready sample from years back.


Long Bullion knots and shiny beads
on loose weave fabric stitched to create holes and lumps and bumps.


I used to manipulate fabrics
and have a dog-eared copy of Colette Wolff's
"The Art of  Manipulating Fabric"


Gathering surfaces into textures
used to be my thing


....some dyed and some painted.


I used to stitch on onion bags too.


The snow rolled in after Christmas this year


One day it was warm and mild
then we got over a foot of snow.


No wind this time
but lots and lots of snow.


And now our world has turned white again....
....well this is Canada after all!

Now I have four years of Daily Scratchings
yards, and yards 
and it is time to move on.
I have been musing about a similar daily routine
should I go huge?
With huge I would be stressing about a resolved design. 
Perhaps I should stitch pages of a fabric book
and write like a journal on alternate pages.
Should I stitch small individual experiments?
Small might allow for 'play'
but then it might end up in many small pieces
suitable for another show.
I have been going back and forth over all these ideas.


Tuesday 22 December 2015

The Strength of Winds


I am mourning the loss of another tree
It wasn't even one of the ones we are concerned about
Such a healthy tree full of fir cones and new growth


It was carpenter ants that started the job
and a windy day was the last straw.
But look at how beautiful the tree trunk is
All those spiralling corridors munched away
leaving paper thin walls.

Monday 21 December 2015

Scratching Into December


Do months have colours for you?
For me December is warm a warm deep claret.
Might be because it is getting cold outside
and with the arrival of each winter I seem to feel it more and more.


A sample heart made with Jude many years ago now.


Rows of samples


Perhaps you need some green in December too.


Certainly need some stars
the nights so far have been heavy with clouds
not a star to be seen.

Hope all your baking is done
and presents are wrapped.

A huge parcel arrived from Ontario
so tempted to open it ahead of time!

Wednesday 9 December 2015

Winter Solstice


We were photographing Winter Solstice the other day
so thought I would record it here.
If you remember
I couched strips of cloth onto canvas
Spiralling round and around
growing slowly through last winter.


Rhythmic stitching
Meditative stitching
until
it got too heavy
and
I had to focus on keeping it stable
in my hands
on my lap.

Tuesday 8 December 2015

Stitching Calmly


I have been bringing elements together for a larger piece.
I am thinking of the Basin
Water that flows in and out with the tides
Mud flats that shimmer on a sunny day
The dikes and waving grasses
and trees.


Stitching on my favourite browns and greys.
Couching yards of wool
which in my mind's eye are trees,
probably deciduous.
The wool had been intended for a scarf
but I just don't have knitting fingers...
or the time....
or the inclination.
Stitching is where I choose to spend my time.

Monday 7 December 2015

Scratching Under Water


November ended with a flood


but first I had to go back and add stitches.
Last week's moon just looked naked
lost in a sea of flat muslin


In my humble opinion
you can never have too many stitches.
The cloth comes to life
valleys and hills 
shadow and light
send the eye on an exploratory journey
around the image.


Then there are the regular 
neat
lines of samples from years gone by.


You don't see blue in my work very often
but
the rains came
the most rain we have ever seen.


One stream broke it's banks


If you look carefully you can see
it swooshing through the woods
and flowing into the vegetable garden.
Trouble is it didn't stop there.
It worked it's way into the basement
which, by the way, is fine again
but was very wet for a couple of days.


We thought our little bridge would get swept away
but it stood strong.
I wonder how the beavers did further down stream.

Wednesday 25 November 2015

Gosh it was Cold!


We went down-town Annapolis Royal
Gosh it was cold and windy
Winter is coming


Ashley could not understand why she couldn't just
walk right into that cold, cold water!


A scallop boat was being repaired
and as usual I was drawn to things like
stained wood


and rusted metals.


Mmm.....Murky markings


Ashley is interested in everything


She loved the feeling of swinging through the air
and Grandpa loved helping her achieve that feeling


Dad explored the rest of the playground


and Mom enjoyed the swings too.
But boy, oh boy, my fingers and toes were frozen!

Tuesday 24 November 2015

Playing Around With Leaves


Diane and I died this huge sheet.
We laid it in my stream for days
Just loose
absorbing tannin


Then we bundled it with leaves


Steamed it


Some leaves left just speckled outlines
Like tiny running stitches


We aren't the only ones who like scratching around in leaves.


Twenty fibre artists met at Gaspereau Valley Fibres last Friday...


....as this rooster and his hens scratched around outside.
This beauties irregular speckles really caught my eye.


Monday 23 November 2015

Quiet Scratching


The house is very, very quiet now that we are alone again


Quietly choosing cloth and stitch


I remember being fascinated years ago
with pulled thread work


More variety could be achieved than I expected
but still very modular


I have always liked treetops against a skyline
and now Mark is now painting tree tops
though they haven't made their way onto his web page yet!


Play with feather stitch....
You can see when I did this years ago
I was still trying to keep the stitch very orderly!


Herringbone stitch too.


How many moons do we have?