Time Scratches On

 Moving on into November

after full moons

and extraordinary high tides.

Not much to say about this
Leaf shapes woven into starry night skies
plus a leaf

machine stitched onto water soluble

from way back when.

I've changed since then. 

A sampler done oh so many years ago

sometimes feels like yesterday.

My least favourite stitch
but perhaps I should give chain stitch another chance.

The wind came up and blew high tide
right over the pier and board walk in Annapolis Royal.

Orange for Halloween of course

and a birthday celebration for the Rusty Pups.

I have always liked this little collection of

feather stitches, laisy Daisies, French knots and pinwheels.

More machine work done on water soluble.

I'm having so much fun going through boxes finding
these old samples.
It is good to look back.
We are devising a plan on how to hang
my scratchings in my small studio.
This cloth holds so many ideas for new work
that I need to have it close at hand
so that I am not reinventing the wheel
every time I start something new.

As I include these oldies in my scratchings
I am also mulling over ideas on how to record
my days in stitch next year.
This version of daily scratchings has been going on for four years now
and will be about 200 feet long by the end of the year.
It is time to change
but I am still fascinated by the idea of growing a large piece
by adding to it just a bit every day
usually as we sit and relax after dinner.

When Deadlines Are Upon Us

Some of you might recall

A couple of pieces giving me carpel tunnel.

It is oh, so tough stitching through the tight weave

of my dyed Egyptian cotton.

Every time I do it

I tell myself "this is the last time".

So instead of stitching I procrastinate....

....and now of course a deadline is here.

So this last week

with pliers in hand

I stitched and stitched and stitched.

Tried to keep the stitching minimal

but simply had to add little dots of additional colour.

Those dots took me three days.

If a piece speaks to you, you just have to listen

even if your fingers are numbed from grabbing the needle

and your wrist aches from tugging needle and thread with pliers.

To me the dots really make this piece.

Love them must do that again through gentle pliable cloth.

And of course couldn't just do one piece.

No dots here but circles instead.

Now I have to christen them

and write some wise words about them and my process!

So you won't see my scratchings today

I have to play catchup with them.

Perhaps Some Work is Never Finished.

I always liked this piece

but cheeky son thought it was my weakest piece

So I've been reworking it.

Reverting to the Machine

For a few weeks now I've been

stitching and stitching and stitching

Covering cloth with row upon row of machine made stitch

Meeting a deadline

in a weak attempt to reproduce part of

a JEH MacDonald painting.

I hope I don't have to do something like this again!

Not my cup of tea.

Ready to be Adopted!

All that snow melted outside under a barrage of rain.

Inside a snowbound tree still remains

but not for long.

It is ready to go forth and be adopted

at the Community Arts Centre fundraiser.

Actually today I would be happy to adopt out some rusty pups...

...muddy paw-prints everywhere!

Snowy Boughs Again

Never been able to stitch on black 'cos I can't see what the heck I'm doing.

Stitching on white is not so easy either.

I can see what I'm doing but...

...the fear of marking it or dripping blood from my pin pricked fingers

is daunting!

There is also the urge to rebel and throw in some bright colours...

I'm being very disciplined

and satisfying that urge with delicate

threads of colour that will only be seen on close inspection.

And for B over at Aracne...

it will be one free standing tree just like my red one last year.

Snowy Boughs

Working in the studio on white tree shapes.

Machine stitching on Egyptian Cotton

or perhaps animal tracks on snowy ground.

Buttons from Grandmother's button box

or perhaps pearly tree ornaments.

Yellow Bookends

Outside yellow unfurls in the garden.

On the deck fuchsia scraps make a cosy upscale nest.

A purplish sea to cool things down on a summer's day.

Speckles in a sea of........chaos perhaps.

And back to the garden where yellow abounds.

One Thing Leads To another

Didn't know what to blog about.

Summer's heat is slowing things down.

Found this unfinished piece in my huge box of unfinished pieces.

I save every thread remnant.

Here they are caught beneath sheers.

Quite lumpy and bumpy.

Then stitched into....

...roots perhaps.

Brought to mind photos taken back in Dorset many years ago.

Roots travelling over an old stone wall

eagerly seeking nourishment somewhere.

This made me think of the even older hedgerows

in that part of the world.

Had to photograph a photograph...got a reflection...but I like it.

The hedgerows in Dorset are ancient and surprisingly.

Deep within them and below the level of the surrounding fields you will find pathways 

worn down through the centuries by deer and badgers perhaps travelling from one

clearing or field to another.

So that's what you get when one thing leads to another!

Another Completion Ahead of the Deadline

If you know me you know how much I dislike enforced themes and deadlines!

This piece is to fit in a show called Pentimento way over there in BC.

In my mind it is not me at all...completely out of character.

No story of the natural world around me

just a collection of techniques trying to demonstrate layers.

I have called it "Under Construction".

It looks like a building site doesn't it!

Snippets of colour were caught under a sheer scarf.

Then layers of grids in various proportions were couched and stitched on top.

And a woven sample from years back offered another form of grid

to complete the piece.

Talking of things hidden under layers....

Do you see my rusty guardian of the strawberry patch

hiding beyond the poppies.

He might keep the birds away

but the chipmunks have no fear. 

They snatch about half the strawberries from right under the guardian's nose!

Grasses Swaying in Summer Breezes

The grasses on the dike are as high as an elephant's eye...

well over 6ft.

And tall enough for rusty pups to disappear in and ambush

any unsuspecting human who might walk by.

Stitched fall grasses from around the pond.

I've stitched summer grasses too.

Couldn't find them to photograph.

Just remember they're wandering around galleries in Ontario at the moment!

Because we live in a watery place

marshland grasses grow on the edges of

Handy Hubby's manicured lawn.

This one's called porcupine sedge....very prickly.

Grasses like this spikerush grow around the pond.

At the moment a halo of white flowers is working

it's way up their heads.

A Story Complete

 Finally finished in plenty of time for the deadline.

To be called "Sandbank".

 Any self respecting sandbank would surely have driftwood...

 ...among it's flotsam & jetsam.

 About 21 x 24"

Hand dyed and rusted cotton.

It was the fabric that inspired this piece.

Machine and hand stitched.

Inspired by the blue

Curls

Garlic curls find their way into every salad and dish at this time of year.

I've made a few things that curl.

Some of them roots.

Some of them spirals.

Some of them coiled around a shape.

Some of them turn up in unexpected places.

All part of the feminine psyche.

Holey Water Coming Along

I reckon water would hit a sandbank with more force on the ocean side  so...

I've done a bit of needle pleating to create a band of turbulence.

Then the new band of water asked for some holes like the leeward side.

I refused the holes but...

decided on stitching buttonhole circles to apply over the ripples.

As I wrapped circles of thread around fingers and buttonholed for a few hours,

I thought it might be something like tatting...what do you think Deanne?

Anyhooo, the holey water or sandbar piece is beginning to look like this.