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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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?