A gnarled and wrinkled stone
silk noil seemed just right
Simple and nearly round
One of my favourite pieces of dyed silk
It took me a while but
I surprised myself and cut into it.
Oh, such courage!
This little interpretation could have been more subtle.
I always seem to prefer a gentler change in colour.
Of course pink for Thursday
when baby Stevie Ray was born!
I think I need to take another look at pink
now that both my grandchildren are girls!
So now I am in the fifth month of Stone Pathways
and am wishing I knew a bit more about
each one.
How it was formed
and
what it is made of.
Another piece of precious silk
this had been scrunched and pressed for another project
but now it's speckled nature
is sitting here for a beautiful speckled
smooth stone.
I didn't have the heart to iron out my silk!
Four months of stone pathways
are now pinned up on one of the design walls.
It is about 7ft long by 29".
I need time to sit and reflect.
Do I want to continue in this format?
The seams are curved
Do I want to change to straight seams for the next four months?
How many layers does it need?
A quilt batte and a backing or just one layer of backing?
What stitching marks bring it all together?
These are some of the questions I will be asking myself
as I stitch on into May.
I am smiling because I was trained to have everything
resolved on paper before starting
before wasting materials.
But that has never suited me
I need to have the freedom to change my mind
to change the direction of a piece.
Basically as stitchers we spend a lot of time with our work
and it changes with every stitch
every mark
and I work best if I take the time to listen to what it asks of me.
Interesting thoughts on your stones. I will be interested to see what you do in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think planning has its advantages, but sometimes the advantage is that when you get to the point, you can throw the plan out of the window and do something else!
ReplyDeleteAs a lover of stones, I am so intrigued by your work. I love the gnarled and wrinkled stone done in silk noil, and the scrunched and pressed silk is just wonderful! You have some interesting thoughts on working with stitch. I think, sometimes, I learn more from what doesn't work than otherwise. Congratulations on the new baby girl. I hope she will learn to stitch!
ReplyDeletegood, to sit back and look ...
ReplyDeletelove your stone variations, have you read "Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters" by Annie Dillard?
ReplyDelete"I work best if I take the time to listen to what it asks of me." yes to this excellent observation. i sometimes remember that, not always.
ReplyDeleteAnother week of great interpretations. It was interesting to read the last part of your post - I have never been known to work from any sort of plan. Jumping in and just doing is my way and you are so right - taking time to listen to the work tells you more about what direction to take. I find when I don't take that listening time I end up making all sorts of messes and having to tear out. All that could have been avoided had I just taken the time to listen!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful Penny and lovely to see them all together. xx
ReplyDeleteThat pink! I agree, what has made all these stones?
ReplyDeleteAs a grandmother of 6 girls, I can safely say, don't worry about the pink. In the first couple of years, yes a lot of pink is worn to show what sex the child is. After that, all bets are off. The 5 older girls all have different tastes and color preferences, so you too may have a neon green or a sea blue lover.
just loved seeing the Stone Pathways altogether, it highlights the size & different shapes of each stone. I look forward to how you interpret the stone's whisperings.
ReplyDelete