Shoreline Shapes

Many mornings

I trot (slight exaggeration!) along behind the RP's

mind wandering

trance-like

and then all of a sudden

something snaps me back to the present.

Today it was this shape at water's edge....

....and right next to that another one.

Eroded marks

Tidal shapes

reflected.

Think I need to work out how I would stitch these.

Then the black ducks appeared

and reminded me of how my mother

tried in vain to keep the family together as we walked.

She always complained that we looked like a line of ducks.

They made a right turn

and headed straight for us

but it was the ripples in the water

I had to record for stitching's sake.

Scratchings Interrupted

Ripped strips of cloth

couched down

around and around in circles

took over my life

last week

because

there is always a point

after months of work

when I simply can't wait to see 

what the finished piece looks like.

So my plan for the daily scratchings was

to keep it simple

with anything but couching!

However....

In a midweek FT session

we watched in amazement

as our Baby Grand....

took her first steps.

Precious moments recorded

If You Live in the Maritimes

If you live in the Maritimes

You know that Summer is around the corner

When the lupins bloom.

If you live in the Maritimes

You know you will find

churches with turrets

and churches with pointed steeples

lining the shoreline.

Daily Encounters

 The Black Ducks are getting used to seeing us every morning.

The fox is usually around that early

He waits to see how close we will come.

Back at the house our fiery azalia is in glorious full bloom.

The Ebb and Flow of Daily Stitching

Sometimes the wrong side

the shadow side

is more than the front

Sometimes the right side

and the wrong side

compete

Like the ebb and flow

of daily life...

...the ebb and flow of daily stitching.

A Fortnight Scratched

Scratching time

A week

My least favourite stitch

Lazy daisy ticks

marching across the land

but I didn't give them legs.

RP Kayla is doing very well

after being discharged from the vets

thus discharged stitching.

We attacked the front flower bed

Grasses and suchlike have invaded

Drastic digging going on!

Rusty Pups

It has been quite a week

Our morning walk along the dike

is such a relief and a comfort.

So lucky to be able to walk with my two RP companions.

Whilst I was off hosting our workshop

RP Kayla was in fact fighting for her life

(it was only at the end of the week that

Handy Hubby and our vet told me how severe it had been).

RP Kayla has Lyme disease

she has just started seven weeks of antibiotics.

Amazing that she nearly died at the beginning of the week

and by the end of the week she was comfortable enough

to try a walk along the dike.

We made it short.

We used to be told our region was Lyme free

but not any more

The tick population is exploding.

We walked trying to keep away from the grass and trees

not an easy thing.

How nice to be back with the black ducks,

seagulls, Canada geese, cormorants,

loons, eagles and osprey.

The air was fresh

and the mist was rising

the start of another sunshiny day.

I hope RP Kayla enjoyed her walk.

By the way

I call them pups

but they are in fact 75 years old!

The Tactile Notebook

Twelve of us gathered in ARCAC's beautiful new room

to a classroom filled to the brim with inspiration.

Inspiration on clotheslines

inspiration in piles on tables.

It had taken Sandra many hours to arrange the room

and all her materials.

She is a generous and caring teacher.

So many wise words

were dotted about the room

to inspire us in our personal journeys with words

Diane and Chris mixing paint for all of us.

Anything can make the word

 Linda, Karen, Diane, Celeste, Ilga, Sandra 

and Val with her back to us

sharing pages from her notebook.

Jamie showing

Val, Karen and Kathryn her handmade notebook.

I think we all have magical memories of our three days with Sandra.

As I said

Sandra is a warm and inspirational teacher.

Just two things Sandra reminded me of...

the importance of 

ritual in our creative lives

and

the equally important daily recording

of our very personal reaction to the words

and experiences of our daily lives. 

Wish it had been much longer.

Though we are complete novices at this

Diane and I hope to continue bringing inspirational

teachers to our region.

In fact the next one is 

Dorothy Caldwell in September.

Can't wait!

Scratching Into June

At last....we can begin to live outside

June started with a flight back home

reluctantly leaving my beautiful baby grand!

Home to days and days of rain.

As the skies cleared we began to notice

that Rusty Pup Kayla was not feeling her best

and getting worse as the week went on.

I had to leave my poorly RP in the capable hands of Handy Hubby

for a very important three days with Sandra Brownlee

and her wonderful workshop

"The Tactile Notebook and the Written Word".

A year ago my friend Diane and I decided we simply had to

take a workshop with Sandra.

We had been unable to attend her workshops in other 

parts of the world

and for goodness sake she was from Nova Scotia!

Sandra is also the recipient of the 2014 

Governor General's Award

for

Visual and Media Arts.

So together with the Annapolis Region Community Art Centre (ARCAC)

we invited her to come....and she did!

More tomorrow

Three Weeks Scratching Catchup

Just took a few scraps of cloth with me

and a knotted bundle of left over threads.

Knew I wouldn't have much time to stitch.

Kept it simple

Stitched with my scrappy threads

Coloured in squares

with simple, simple stitches

crosses and squares

squares

 circles

 crosses

dots and dashes

diagonals

vertigals

and now it is June already.

Been Away....

....being a Grandma to this little munchkin

 who wanted to join in on the guitar playing

made a mad dash for the computer every time it appeared

discovered full length mirrors

started to feel around her mouth for those teeth coming in

loved music class!

but most of all just loved to stand.

So much happens in three weeks of the life of an eight month old!