Whisperings

I filled the background with crosses

Why

I do not know

It felt right

Perhaps it was that magnificent Snow Moon

on a cloudless night that led me to thoughts of stars.

Perhaps it was the piece itself

talking to me of generations whose voices have travelled through the ages

to tell us they too were here.

Of course, as usual, before trusting my thoughts

I did try out other background stitches.

It seems I often do that before settling!

Love the ruching too

Will have to explore that more often.

So

Whispering Cairn is finished

It's story complete

I am sad

but happy to have it close for a while.

Today I love how the sun is really shining

on that snow covered rock.

Looks like a Polar Bear wandering through the stream beyond!

March came in quite gently with a layer of snow

but today the skies are clear

I suppose that means it will go out like a lion

Hmmm.

Hope not because

this week we will run out of wood!

Listening

 Really listening 

listening to the voice within and

paying attention to the feelings that bubble up with every stitch

is important to my process.

I like to rest a piece for a while

and observe it

sometimes for days.

I like to double check that it is saying exactly when I want it to say

and that it is reflecting my truth.

For me those questions come way before

any principles and elements of design.

 It might sound strange but it is not always obvious to me

you would think it would be

but sometimes I feel bombarded by outside influences

and it is hard to to hear my own voice.

Whispering Cairns I feel speaks my truth

What I know for sure is 

this piece brings me joy

I feel very close to this piece

but

you might recall that it didn't really start to sing for me

until I turned it upside down!

As you see it is not always smooth sailing

but

so interesting to observe the struggles one goes through

and so important celebrate the aha moments!

I have always believed solitude to be a good thing.

For me that is to be in nature

or alone in my studio which looks out at nature.

Some can find their authentic self in a crowd

And that is why one stone in Whispering Cairn is unique.

Filled with a few french knots!

As I stitch on this piece

I wander back through the ages

to those folk to piled stone upon stone

in memory of those who had gone before them.

We are connected.

I will be sorry when it is finished

but today Handy Hubby and myself will

square it up before I start stitching the background.

 Greys are gathering in a basket for new stitchings

I have evolved

There was a time in my life when louder colours prevailed.

Softer gentler colours now speak to me

perhaps it is my age

or that I have grown gentler over the years

(though I try to be fierce!)

or simply because my hair is silver!

I hope I continue to evolve!

May your creative voice be loud and clear today.

A February Beginning

Sunday morning I played around with new stones

thinking they were going to be grey

but perhaps because it is the bleak mid-winter

the stones turned a warmer colour.

 This piece is inspired by Mark's paintings of

stones disappearing under water.

He is brilliant at that.

For both of us scenes like this bring up whisperings of

summers spent on beautiful Georgean Bay.

For those of you in Toronto don't forget

The Artist Project at the Better Living Centre

February 21-14, 2019

Mark Berens will be at Booth 506.

Strips of plant dyed fabrics 

soon to become rocks.

By Sunday evening I was happily couching away.

I have based the background onto an old blanket

and it is like stitching butter.

The one thing about this kind of stitching is

it allows for mind wandering

and

as I stitched these delicious rusts and browns 

my mind whispered memories of

my beautiful Rusty Pups

They are dearly missed

As are their antics and adventures.

And then as I prepared this post

A photo demanded to be noticed

So much like my new stones.

I have a teacher who always says the piece you start next

should always be informed by the last piece you did.

Perhaps this means my next piece will have to be seaweed

in the colours of my Georgean Bay stones.

But I already have soooo many new beginnings just started!

But my mind is flowing with ideas on how to go about a seaweed piece.

It is so easy to have many ideas isn't it

The days just aren't long enough for their execution!

I hope you have a day rich in creative ideas.

Touching Life

Touch

for me

is most important.

It connects me to my work

more so than seeing it displayed on a wall.

Touch is memory.

Touch is healing.

In preparing for a show I have to

think of the visual too.

Remind myself that presentation is important.

So, for that reason I am stitching galvanized nails

to the bottom of my long narrow paths.

I am thinking the weight will keep them hanging nicely.

As I stitch I spy a precious rock that I have carried with me for years.

A talisman of sorts

A tactile memory of a difficult time in my life.

Strangely enough I hadn't thought of including it 

as one of my stones for 'Stone Pathways'.

As I stitch I am also musing on what

the next daily stitching journal will be.

Perhaps

drawing outlines of important things

like my tiny piece of whittling

done on the shores of Georgian Bay

when my three boys were oh so young.

Perhaps these would be a part of a project like that.

Small bits and pieces from my life

that are always with me

kept safely in a pouch.

We shall see.

I hope you have a collection of talismans from your life

that might inspire.

Sometimes we ignore the things we see or touch every day.

Walking Side by Side

 

The last two weeks not yet joined to the rest of Stone Pathways.

Two weeks stretching side by side

Makes me think of 

walking life's pathway

with my lovely Handy Hubby!

Life companions

or perhaps a couple of spuds sitting pretty.

Sometimes opposites attract

Growing old and wrinkled together

One can't help but gather scars along the way

After more than forty five years walking the path together

we can't help but mirror each other's thoughts.

Problem is nowadays as we get more forgetful

we both forget the same things!

We feel the path we walked as a family

has given our boys

a good solid footing

They are now out there

walking side by side with their

own beloveds

and I know they will give their wee ones

clear, stable pathways to follow.

Having said all this 

I realize I haven't done much walking this winter

ice underfoot

Can't wait for my early morning walks

with the Rusty Pups

with the warmth of a sunrise on my face.

Everything

Everything -

The trees,

The wind,

the mountains,

everything inside us and around us

wants to reflect itself in us.

We don't have to go anywhere to obtain the truth.

We only need to be still,

and things will reveal themselves in the still water of our heart.

 from

Thich Nhat Han's book

"Your True Home"

Homecoming

I have come home

Home to the ever changing waters of the Basin

Where Rusty pups blend with rusted pillars

and herons fish in the salt ponds hardly noticed

by inquisitive noses.

I say noses because I wonder if their eyesight is fading just a bit

for they are old maids now.

Where springtime blossoms abound.

Looking inland a thin line of last year's bullrush heads

catches my eye.

ideas for marks or stitches on a future piece immediately come to mind.

It feels good to be thinking that way again.

Two weeks with the little munchkin and never a needle and thread

picked up....

For when a toddler goes down for a nap

grandmothers do too!

I didn't realize two weeks away would have the effect it did.

Eagerly entering the studio on my return

pieces on the design wall and fabrics gathered in bundles

looked foreign to me.

What had I in mind when pinning these beginnings on the wall?

It has taken me four days to get back into the groove. 

This piece, this huge piece

had already begun to take shape before I left home

and is now telling me with great conviction what it needs.

It feels good to have cloth in my hands again

Threaded needle being pushed and pulled through layered silk and linen.

Living again with thimble on one finger

and finding it still there as I go to do other chores about the house.

It just becomes a part of you

so familiar that you don't even notice it is there.

Being away has confirmed that, for me at least,

it is so important to immerse myself in the creative process....

To live it every day.

There is no way I can create and grow

just by dipping into it every now and then.

So I am grateful for living far from the madding crowd

close to the woods and tidal waters

that inspires me

and draw me into a window-filled studio every day.

Having said all that

the little munchkin inspires me too

and I will of course be sharing tales of my visit

 after a bit more catching up at home.

A Wander Through the Woods

Wandering through my woods

my mind is often on stitches

I look at things and wonder

what stitches are hidden in the textures and shapes.

Perhaps this one has very delicate sword stitches in it.

I like the fineness and irregularity of those little cracks in the bark.

Not so sure stitches would do here

What I see is burnt bits and pieces of silk

loosely attached to a foundation.

French knots

Sorbello knots

both individual and continuous Palestrina knot stitch.

Perhaps Bullion knots

or

another wrapped thread type stitch

or 

the simple running stitch

Definitely Sorbello stitch.

Couched lumpy bumpy threads

and as for those eyebrows....

I made a piece many years ago using a kind 

of stitch used in carpet-making.

Can't recall the name any more!

Heaven only knows!

Distressed and ruched cotton fabric perhaps.

And then sometimes you spy 

a wild and rusty animal wandering through the woods

in the distance!

I like this delicate graffitti

Just stabbing stitches here and there.

How about Raised Cup stitch
or some other
Catherine Wheel type stitch

Tall and narrow Cretan stitch

might work.

Stem stitch

or some might call it Outline stitch

More knots

or padded Satin stitch would do too.

Haven't a clue
but like that this really doesn't look like tree bark
more like water I think!

That was a fun walk!