My studio – my house!
I say in some of presentations that my studio is my entire house, inside and out! I am not kidding. Thank goodness I have such an understanding family!
Where is your studio?
Stitch Meditation – 9th Month Review
There is no secret that I love colour – however it’s spelt 🙂 Blocks of colour pieced together to create design and impact.
Held together with basic stitches – made by hand.
Irregularities, imperfections are expected when a piece is created by a person not a machine. They exist and and remain to indicate the maker.
Looking back at the ninth month:
- week 17 – Days 59 & 60
- week 18 – Days 61 & 62
- week 19 – Days 63 & 64
Colour and waiting til it’s complete – one stitch at a time!
Stitch Meditation – Day 63 and 64
Always drawn to colour! When colour is present, the design can be simple.
Creases, folds even holes left from the scrap’s previous incarnation. Where did this piece come from, what was it’s purpose? Left to be discovered by those who stop and look.
Stitch Resources
- Website: Color in Art. By Thaneeya McArdle.
Adding colour — one stitch at a time!
Stitch Meditation – Day 61 and 62
I am very interested in modern art. There is something about the colours and design that really appeals to me. Specifically minimalist art. I find myself looking at these pieces much more than others. Some reach out and speak to me while others quietly whisper. It forces me stop, to listen, and think.
I had only stitched the orange blanket stitch and thought it was complete. Yet, I kept putting it back into the container to wait. I stitched a few others. Then it popped to the surface and I added more stitches. Now its journey is complete.
French knots and a Y-stitch on hand dyed cotton sprinkled with salt. Is it the ocean or the sky?
Stitch Resources
- YouTube: Handiworks. Hand Embroidery for Beginners: 10 types of leaves. (starts with fly stitch)
Waiting and stitching to the finish — one stitch at a time!
Pillows and more headed for online shop!
I’ve been working on updating my online shop. Taking photographs that do justice to the beautiful nuanced colours of the hand dyed textiles is not easy. Many, many photos are taken to get one or two I really like.
Pillows, scarves, table runners, and a few more things are being photographed and in some cases rephotographed. I am letting these items go to new homes in order to make way for some new ideas, new colours and new fibres.
My newsletter subscribers will get the first option to log in and purchase all items in the online shop for 20% off and free shipping. Then I will open it up to everyone. So subscribe now!
Salud! Sit back and enjoy all your savings! You will be happy when the holidays roll around and you’ve done your shopping.
Stitch Meditation – Day 59 and 60
Stitching is still happening in fits and starts. Simple shapes and basic stitches. Rummaging through to find just the right pieces of cloth. Drawing lines with knots and running threads, outlining a circle with variegated thread, improvising and stitching quietly.
Changes to my stitch repertoire are bound to happen though. A friend lent me her copy of a book she thought I would enjoy reading: Intentional Thread: a Guide to Drawing, Gesture, and Color in Stitch by Susan Brandeis.
After just a quick look at this book, I knew it was a fantastic resource for anyone who loves to hand stitch. I immediately ordered my own copy! Susan Brandeis is a retired Distinguished Professor Emerita at North Carolina State University’s College of Design with degrees in art education and textile art. This is the textbook she wished she had when she was teaching.
Beautifully illustrated with examples of her work, a guide to stitch types, samplers of her stitches and so much more! I know that I will be referring to this book for a long while and seeing new things each time.
In the preface to the book, Brandeis writes about living in a world of speed – information, transportation, and commerce are happening faster and faster.
But the abscence of speed in the handmade stands in opposition to that hurry, offers an anitidote to frenzy and commotion, and is one of the reasons I love handwork. I am drawn to the ‘meditative’ quality of working slowly at human (rather than machine) speed.
Susan Brandeis
I’ve listed a YouTube video in the Stitch Resources. It’s a short video of Susan’s retrospective show. It’s interesting to hear of her talk about the ideas, inspirations, and techniques she used to create her pieces.
Stitch Resources
- Website: Susan Brandeis: Textile Art, Craft, Design, and Education
- YouTube: Susan Brandeis Retrospective: Quilting & Surface Design, 1978-2008.
Always studying and improving — one stitch at a time!
Upcycling snow dyed wool and silk scarf kantha style!
Moths! These fuzzy winged insects feasted on this beautiful snow dyed wool scarf, leaving it unfit to be worn. I loved the pattern and colour of this scarf and did not just want to throw it out.
This is another long-term project that I have on the go. I am using a variety of threads on this scarf, alternating in between perle cotton, embroidery floss, and regular sewing thread. I am looking for similarity in colour but different thicknesses to add texture and interest.
Kantha was originally a very humble embroidery craft. Running stitches kept layers of old saris together to create blankets for the cold winters in Bangladesh. I hope my scarf recognizes the beauty of recycling and stitching too.
Stitch Meditation – 8th Month Review
Blueprint formerly Craftsy has announced the platform is closing. This is sad news for so many people. It offered such a wide range of classes from some very skilled craftspeople. Maybe, some of you like me may have purchased classes and not actually worked your way through them. The time for this is now!
I just looked at my old emails and the original purchase date of my first Craftsy class was 2013! I believe that I first learned about them when I attended QuiltCon. They had a booth in the vendor’s market and were very active in promoting themselves.
I am embarrassed to say that I have 2 classes from Craftsy. I completely forgot about the first one purchased: The Art of Cloth Dyeing with Jane Dunnewold. I have never logged into this one!! Absolutely one I am interested in viewing and applying to my work.
What will you be doing this weekend?
Looking back at the eighth month:
- week 14 – Days 53 & 54
- week 15 – Days 55 & 56
- week 16 – Days 57 & 58
Learning online – one stitch at a time!
Stitch Meditation – Day 57 and 58
Always — one stitch at a time!
Stitch Meditation – Day 55 and 56
Placing, then removing, trying a new piece, adjusting. Placing it down, stepping back, repinning. Finally leaving it be and moving on to the next step: thread. Spilling out all the choices. Sifting through, picking out the finalists. Looking at the individual threads – only one or two this time? Simple decisions…
Stitching – running, french knots, cross stitches seem to be my favourites. Something different next time?
Stitch Resources
- Website: Museum of Happiness
Slowly making stitches – decisions – one stitch at a time!