Happy Birthday Steven

Wonder if you remember your first try at windsurfing.

Doodling

Yesterday I wrote a letter to my dear friend Margi and doodled on the back of her envelope. Thought I was doing leaves in honour of the time of year; but they ended up as leaf critters. There was a time I doodled on a regular basis and perhaps I'll return to that habit. Margi is a doll artist with a wicked sense of humour. A visit to her web page is bound to make you smile.

Tiny Golden Beauty

This wee American Goldfinch spent some time visitng on the porch yesterday afternoon. Just look at that eye....how beautiful is that! The detail of the yellow skin around his eye is amazing. And can you see that he has fluffy yellow eyebrows! Mother nature certainly has an eye for details.

Tanglewood Floor Cover

A wool sports jacket once worn by some man
Was picked up at Frenchy's by a rug hooking friend.
She dyed it and shrunk it
And gave me a piece.

Onto this I felted some fancy wool fibres
Not flat like a pancake; but lumpy and bumpy.
I gathered up threads all autumnal in colour
And began messy stitching the floor of my woods.

The stitching's a pleasure and great fun to do
Because the needle glides through with the greatest of ease.
The start of this piece was a "what if I try"
Working with wool that I'd not done before.
Now I'm wondering on finishes for this piece of wool
Perhaps it needs wetting and blocking out square?
Maybe it needs a border or two?
Maybe stitched cloth or maybe more wool?

Wind Dancers

Seagulls have been on my mind lately. I've been thinking that they must have loved dancing and surfing the winds recently. This guy was taking a rest between flights. Also on my mind lately....sky and water. I've been wondering how I would stitch them and do them justice.

This beauty followed us all the way out into the middle of the Bay of Fundy... but not back again. I wonder where he went. While our eyes were on the water looking for mighty whales he was looking for something a bit smaller.

Discoveries after the Storm

A fresh morning sunshine after the hurricane hurried through.

A rusty pup lays her nose on what to me are obviously rusty feathers. Watch out Jude, I might have to do a feather cloth! This cotton was one of the pieces dyed grey/brown in the black walnut brew. Took it out of the dye pot, soaked it in vinegar and wrapped it around rusty bits. Then forgot all about it as we battened down the hatches preparing for a hurricane. Am really liking the rust and the grey-brown together.

A few weeks ago I decided to do something about this pink cotton that I knew I'd never use. So out in the sun it went for a few days. Then it occurred to me that rust might improve it! So wrapped it up and again forgot. Luckily the storm was gentle and we didn't loose one tree. This morning I discovered a huge sun rising above the trees and then unwrapped a glorious pink and rust sun. Now I'm thinking it's ready to be stitched.

Black Walnut Hulls

Cottons, linens and a silk simmered for an hour and left to soak overnight. The silk of course took the colour beautifully. Is the difference because it is an animal fibre? Would wool have taken the colour as beautifully? One piece of cotton I immediately wrapped around a rusty bit and hope to find out what that looks like soon.