Small Observations Walking With Rusty Pups

We walk before the Day Lillies awaken

We walk past tree stumps

reminding me of those years long ago

when people were talking about insects taking over the world!

Perhaps they will.

We walk past grasses arching gracefully 

from what used to be our veggie beds.

We've given up on veggies

now it is left to nature for the butterflies and bees.

And then of course

there is always the favourite huge stick of the day 

that has to accompany us around!

This hot sunshiny summer makes the stream 

a very inviting cooling spot for Rusty Pups

who often dive in and splash their way downstream

disrupting the quiet, still beauty of reflections!

To my surprise I discovered 

there are tiny rusty critters who live close to the stream!

Everything is attracted to our quieter Rusty Pup, Brandy!

Others like the horrible deerfly really bother her

But beautiful butterflies, not so much!

LET me go inside pleeeease.

Rusty Pup, Ginger, is not a fan of the heat

When we sit out on the front porch

She likes to go inside and lie under an open window.

Close enough to still feel part of the pack!

Sometimes the small observations of daily life

are the most important.

In The Middle Of The World

 

My pieces for

 In the Middle of the World

have been lying flat on two guest beds.

As I started checking if they all had sleeves and labels

they became a crumpled mess.

I loved the look of this messy pile of stitch and cloth

and had to record it here.

Stitches on linen and silk, velvet and damask

all dyed with plant materials.

For me sense of touch is very powerful.

It is the reason I work with cloth and thread in my hands.

Every type of cloth reacts differently

to needle and thread.

Every stitched mark enriches a seemingly mundane cloth

and reflects your own thoughts and feelings

of that day.

When you spend hours, days, months,

stitching large works

you can't help but leave within that cloth a piece of your soul.

I know that Judy Martin is also working on the finishing touches for 

In the Middle of the World

Opening October 2nd

at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum

in Almonte, Ontario.

I know that our wonderful curator, Miranda Bouchard,

is working hard for us despite her responsibilities

at Thinking Rock Community Arts

and contributing so much to create a beautiful

and successful show.

I hope you have a day filled with the sense of touch!

Breathe

The woods are breathing in the warmth.

I'm breathing in the Joy that sunshine brings.

Finally!

Up at the pond my beautiful magnolia

is bursting into bloom.

And Rusty Pups can now lick morning dew

from fresh young grasses growing along the pond's edge.

I'm stitching fresh air into my blue background.

Some paler blues....

....and some darker blues.

There is a lot of untamed texture on this piece.

This piece started as a challenge to use blue....

....my least favourite colour.

The more I stitch the more I like it!

I thought to call it

"Holding Deep Memory"

referring way, way back to my schooldays

where my dislike of blue started

but it also refers to rocky inlets on Georgian Bay

a place oh, so close to my heart.

I hope you have a place that fills your heart with memory.

Warming Breath

 

Always thrilled when the red tulips bloom along the stream

Always thrilled when the first warm days arrive.

The only red I have in the garden

Must get more.

And of course

because I showed an interest

the Rusty Pups had to investigate.

Meanwhile back to Blue

I hope you have a sky blue day.

Making Colour

Before lockdown started here yesterday

Diane and Grace and myself happy spent Tuesdays

playing with dyepots.

Madder was one of our first choices

Black Hollyhock surprised us with a deep dark smokey blue.

I actually liked it!

We are very excited to have 

a brand new grower of pant dyes in the Annapolis Valley

Vibrant Acres

I think it was their Black Coreopsis

that gave us a very nice green.

I know

I should keep better records!

I can understand some folk wanting to do nothing but dye.

The magic of reaching into a dye pot 

and pulling out a new colour

is very addictive.

Yummy!

I hope you there are lots of colours in your day today.

Blue on Blue and a bit of Rust

Blue on the design wall

 Pinned over lots of colour waiting for attention.

Rusted blue linen tablecloth

My old denim dress torn into strips and couched down into rocks

Rocks are circles

Blue shibori moon

Moons are circles.

Moonlit rock circles

Loving the shibori moon

Need to do more of that.

Blue

Rocky shoreline

Beneath full blue moons

We are circled by rocks

We have a coastal community in Nova Scotia called Blue Rocks.

Rust can always be found amidst shoreline rocks.

It needs to rest right now as I decide

if more stitching is needed.

I am a fan of excessive stitching!

Whether to stitch inside the rock circles

or

surround the rocks with stitch.

Don't know yet.

But for now I've had my fill of blue!

I hope you too can play with a colour you you never use!

Bits and Pieces

 

April is coming to an end and yet still it snows

But loving the dots created by dripping trees as the day warms up

There is proof, however, that nature's critters 

know summer will soon be here.

One critter, Handy Hubby, 

had the foresight to build a shelf in case the robin's returned.

He thought they would prefer to use his shelf

A shelf is surely more comfortable than a hose

which we really need to use in the summer!

Hope you can see his very smart shelf!

For several days just a pile of straw sat on the hose

but several days later

a perfectly formed bowl appeared!

Looks like our Robins will bring us a new family.

I love my old Matriarch tree

She has been shrinking for seventeen years now.

Riddled with woodpecker holes

Not a scrap of bark left to protect her

Yet still she stands.

I really must stitch a piece about her.

My beautiful Rusty Pups and I love our break of dawn walks.

They always have to share treasures with me

 Treasures discovered in the woods....

....even rocks.

Sometimes they just wanna say hello

or show off the holes they have dug.

Our very messy front lawn is even messier nowadays!

I hope your walk inspires you today.