Windy Day

This is what happens when you try and photograph tall and lanky Queen Anne's Lace on a windy day! A beautiful accident.

When the wind died down, this is what I got. Me thinks they look like an army, armed to the teeth, ready to invade more of my wilderness.

Things Growing Through my Wrappings

Four trees in my woods have been wrapped for over a month now, and not much is happening. My grandmother's sheets are holding up exceptionally well! They are still pristine white and dry despite all the rain. The trees are being protective giants of the cloth! Several fungi are caught under my wrappings and this one has decided to carry on growing through the linen. Oh, yes, and do you see the tiny bit of critter evidence. One wrapped tree is a huge maple and I'm suspicious that a porcupine or squirrel has a winter nest up there 'cos the rusty pups try and climb it every time we pass by. The wraps will be left undisturbed (by me at least) until next June by which time I hope to have many more markings.

Wild Things Turning to Rust

Walking through the wilderness of my garden yesterday, I was intrigued by nature's cycles. Everything is dying back, yet each wild plant abounds in seeds ready to be taken on the wind and continue the invasion of my garden.

These two pics (above) are New England Asters which grow in the wild bits between garden and tangled woods.  Looks like there might be a few more next year.

Of course rusty pups inspected everything with me. Whenever I stop to take a pic this one plonks herself down at my feet.

A Woman's Dyeing is no Match to Mother Nature's

For ten days bundles of old sheeting and linen were wrapped around walnut hulls, old man's beard, leaves and some fungi covered bark. Once a day they were steamed and then left to rest. After 10 days the results were very bland......

Sooo I resorted to my favourite rust wrapping for some of the bundles. The bottom cloth is linen and I think is ready to stitch. The other two cloths received a third treatment of wrapping around teabags. Love the soft grey with black and rusty spots. Now that India's book has arrived in the mail, perhaps I'll get better;  but my poor attempts at creating colour will never match up to Mother Nature's creativity.

Just look at the magnificent colours and patterns in this Cecropia Moth who honoured us with a visit.

Is he not simply magnificent.

Harvest Moon

The biggest and boldest of moons.

Nature's patterns

Things grow in the unfriendliest of places. These two puffballs appeared on the driveway overnight.

Had to try out those tiny little piramid shapes in stitch.

Started out with a solid pattern in the middle...not too thrilled with that. Found that I preferred to leave gaps and might just leave the drawn outlines around the edges.

Nature's Colours: Womanmade and birdmade

Don't think I've shown you my lovely blotchy black piece that was first bundled with vegetation and came out rather pale. But marinating it with rusty bits created black and grey. I just love it. It goes so beautifully with this little chap who I'm sure wasn't marinated but he clung to the wall outside my back door and watched us one day.

Process

Have never liked themes being imposed on me from outside sources. Just recently got news of requirements for a couple of shows coming up from two groups of which I am a member. For some reason I rebel against being told what theme to cover and what size to make the piece. Gosh, darn it, I have to come up with something on themes that luckily interest me, but I still object!


Anyhoo...when this happens, I have a process. Boxes of old photos are rummaged through and digipics are printed from the computer. Just absorbing them takes at least one day. Then I sketch or doodle and ruminate until something vibes with me. I seem to be the kind of person that needs to dig deep; so I'm nowhere near ready to go to my cloth stash yet. Even if one of my doodles interests me, I try to carry on filling up more and more pages simply because the more you do the looser and freer you get.


The funny thing is that once I delve into cloth and thread, I might veer off in another completely different direction.

Happy Birthday Steven

Wonder if you remember your first try at windsurfing.

Doodling

Yesterday I wrote a letter to my dear friend Margi and doodled on the back of her envelope. Thought I was doing leaves in honour of the time of year; but they ended up as leaf critters. There was a time I doodled on a regular basis and perhaps I'll return to that habit. Margi is a doll artist with a wicked sense of humour. A visit to her web page is bound to make you smile.

Tiny Golden Beauty

This wee American Goldfinch spent some time visitng on the porch yesterday afternoon. Just look at that eye....how beautiful is that! The detail of the yellow skin around his eye is amazing. And can you see that he has fluffy yellow eyebrows! Mother nature certainly has an eye for details.

Tanglewood Floor Cover

A wool sports jacket once worn by some man
Was picked up at Frenchy's by a rug hooking friend.
She dyed it and shrunk it
And gave me a piece.

Onto this I felted some fancy wool fibres
Not flat like a pancake; but lumpy and bumpy.
I gathered up threads all autumnal in colour
And began messy stitching the floor of my woods.

The stitching's a pleasure and great fun to do
Because the needle glides through with the greatest of ease.
The start of this piece was a "what if I try"
Working with wool that I'd not done before.
Now I'm wondering on finishes for this piece of wool
Perhaps it needs wetting and blocking out square?
Maybe it needs a border or two?
Maybe stitched cloth or maybe more wool?

Wind Dancers

Seagulls have been on my mind lately. I've been thinking that they must have loved dancing and surfing the winds recently. This guy was taking a rest between flights. Also on my mind lately....sky and water. I've been wondering how I would stitch them and do them justice.

This beauty followed us all the way out into the middle of the Bay of Fundy... but not back again. I wonder where he went. While our eyes were on the water looking for mighty whales he was looking for something a bit smaller.

Discoveries after the Storm

A fresh morning sunshine after the hurricane hurried through.

A rusty pup lays her nose on what to me are obviously rusty feathers. Watch out Jude, I might have to do a feather cloth! This cotton was one of the pieces dyed grey/brown in the black walnut brew. Took it out of the dye pot, soaked it in vinegar and wrapped it around rusty bits. Then forgot all about it as we battened down the hatches preparing for a hurricane. Am really liking the rust and the grey-brown together.

A few weeks ago I decided to do something about this pink cotton that I knew I'd never use. So out in the sun it went for a few days. Then it occurred to me that rust might improve it! So wrapped it up and again forgot. Luckily the storm was gentle and we didn't loose one tree. This morning I discovered a huge sun rising above the trees and then unwrapped a glorious pink and rust sun. Now I'm thinking it's ready to be stitched.

Black Walnut Hulls

Cottons, linens and a silk simmered for an hour and left to soak overnight. The silk of course took the colour beautifully. Is the difference because it is an animal fibre? Would wool have taken the colour as beautifully? One piece of cotton I immediately wrapped around a rusty bit and hope to find out what that looks like soon.