A Sunday Afternoon Walking Rusty Pups

We all love walking in this place

where not only trees tower above us.

Moss covered rock giants

grow between the trees.

Rocks crowd along the river's edge

trying to contain rushing waters.

But the river manages to break it's banks when the Springtime

melt comes.

The Rusty Pups love this place.

When they were younger they would rush through the trees

following every scent and noise.

Now they are content to lead the way along the paths

and rest every now and then waiting for us

 two legged members of the pack to catch up.

The sun was very bright that day

and low in the afternoon sky

making for long shadows across the path.

Huge grey rocks...

....looking a bit like elephants taking a dip.

Crumb for Week Forty- Eight

Just four more weeks left.

2016 will soon be history

Can hardly believe it.

I've been looking back over the year

and find that some Crumbs just don't have enough stitches on them!

I think I will have to rectify that.

This month not only do Diane and I have a show at Sissiboo

but we also have our Community Art Centre Member's show

So I was a bit short of work

and decided to quickly frame a few Crumbs.

As a result I have decided to collect 52 old photo frames

of various sizes

remove the glass

respray them

use them to frame my 2016 Crumbs 

and show them as a grouping in one of next year's shows.

A Show Called Recording Nature

Diane and I have a show on at the moment in Bear River

A show called Recording Nature

Deb at The Lucky Rabbit Pottery

Kindly donated a beautiful turtle platter,

a huge vase and tiles

proceeds of which will go to 

diane's passion

'Species at Risk'.

Erin and Jon's Sissiboo Cafe is a great place for a show with

long clean walls

and the best Latte's anywhere!

Today is Diane's Birthday

So I thought I would show her work.

These hooked rugs of just some of the species at risk

were designed by her and her daughter.

Again all proceeds go to that cause.

Diane's own work for this show

is all about the Blanding Turtles project.

That top piece maps the area in the turtle study.

The Bottom one represents the

protective coverings they place over any eggs

the moment they are laid.

This piece of Diane's represents the walk

they take searching in the known

places for turtle activity.

If you can enlarge this photo you will see

bits of a turtle skeleton and shell.

 Another of Diane's pieces

It is lichen

and lovely suggestions of woodland behind it.

And Finally Diane's trees.

My work in the show stretched along a 26 foot wall.

I called this piece "Resting" but I think I want to change that to

"Resting Between the Shadows"

or

"Resting Between Night and Day".

So many thanks for all of you who came and made the opening vibrant.
I met so many interesting and creative people.

Happy Birthday Diane!

Colour Mixing on a Crumb - Week Forty-Seven

Running stitch

Kantha stitch

Quilt stitch

Do you remember being told that the best quilt stitch

would be ten stitches to the inch...

...or was it more?

Certainly no perfection here

but quite a few crosses or near crosses on top of crosses!

Getting Organized With New Beginnings

This soft grey is one of my favourites from this summer's dyeing.

I plan to stitch it into a cloudy sky

I was thinking of adding white fabric into the piece

but

then I tried it with another blue grey and a shot of yellow...

...I think I will get started on the stitching

before I make the final decision.

Then another layer of colours got pinned to the design wall.

It was a lovely morning of putting colours together.

As more layers of colours were pinned to the wall....

....they became edged with flashes of previous colours....

I liked that.

Perhaps I will include bits and pieces of colour

at the edges of this new series.

Now all the potential colour combinations

are pinned to a design wall that gets no sun

just in case they might fade

as they wait to be stitched.

I came home from Manitoulin and Collingwood

intending to start five new pieces.

It looks like I have done better than that!

Perhaps an overachiever!

Ha

Crossing Lines - Week Forty-Six

Another scrap of discharge

has worked it's way into a Crumb

perhaps with a shooting star?

But no, a shooting cross!

I am still playing catchup since my visit to Ontario.

A New Beginning and an Established Lodge

A new piece on the table being layered and pinned.

Decided to return to tradition and try a wool batt for this one.

Lately I've just used two layers of fabric.

Not sure if I will like the puffier effect.

We shall see.

If you look carefully you can see that a rock shape

has already been roughly basted to get me started.

The beaver lodge is enormous

A well established family.

The Rusty Pups always have to have a good sniff

to find out what the beaver has been up to lately.

It is a huge mound of mud and branches.

Sometimes we arrive to find tree trunks blocking

the driveway.

Not our driveway....this is where our neighbours live.

Below the lodge is a second muddy damn the beaver have

built to hold the water back.

They like it wet!

Bringing Colour Back to Discharge - Week Forty-Five

A swirling, energized week

I was surprised at the colour of the threads that ended up

through the eye of the needle.

Single Male Pheasant Looking for Company!

He spent the day hanging around

Patiently waiting

As if he had arranged a rendezvous

"Let's meet by the Tanglewood pond after our summer vacations."

It is hunting season

 I am glad he is here.... protected.

Lately, on our daily walks along the dyke

we have met hunters and their dogs working the bushes and grasses

trying to flush out ducks and pheasants.

I believe all the geese have gone south.

I am stitching rocks nowadays

but these untamed woods will appear back in my work

perhaps sooner rather than later.

Grey lines of stitch broken with yellow, rust, burgundy, rusty clusters

of french knots perhaps.

You all know what it is like looking at something that inspires

and you automatically imagine a stitching

or 

colours

shapes

lines

It is a grey, grey day outside

Grey and yellow

with dark lines of naked branches

Yummy!

greys

greens

yellows

oranges

reds

salmon pinks

Marking Cloth and Canvas - Week Forty-Four

An old family napkin

dyed

ripped

marked with stitch

A not so old painter's drop cloth

dotted

spotted

marked in play

Even when painting I can't get away from 

simple shapes

soft greys and browns

and of course

marks that could be stitches

Not so many layers of colours here

but what I learnt

was that I prefer the marks to be a lighter value

rather than darker

An old acrylic painting completely covered

then marks were made by

scraping into the top layer of oils.

I'm trying to teach myself to paint with oils

Exploring mark making with oils

Most of the time I end up with mud!

I am still a stitcher!