The Chakra commission quilt that I have been working on for far too long is finally finished! I laid it out on my bed so I could remove the lint from it and I just had to take some photos and a short video too!
The sun was shining in and really highlighting the beautiful texture of the machine quilting. It also brought out all the subtle changes in colour of the hand dyed fabrics.
Sunlight showing off the machine quilting texture
The machine stitching has made the quilt, perfect for snuggling under. It has enough quilting to soften the lap sized quilt but not too much to make it stiff.
It has been an honour to have been asked to reinterpret my Modern Chakra Quilt into a functional quilt. It’s been fun to create it using all of my hand dyed fabrics.
There hasn’t been a lot of meditation in any format for me lately. But I changed that a few days ago when I began to knit. A friend passed on information from the CBC regarding a couple of women who were beginning a very large scale project to honour all of the people who have dyed due to Covid-19. The Covid-19 Memorial Blanket Project was conceived by three knitters: Heather Breadner, Allison Day, and Amanda Sharpe. They took inspiration from the National AIDS Memorial Quilt which travelled around the world and a part of it became Canadian AIDS Memorial Quilt.
All knitters and those that crochet are invited to participate in. Unfortunately, the number of squares they require number 9,193 to date. There will be more.
My husband is really the knitter in the family and he’s already made three blocks. My mother has contributed one as well. She knit hers in just a couple of afternoons. Oh, retirement – sigh! I have only until November 2020 to get my square to them. They hope to have all of those collected made into a large blanket so it can start its tour across Canada. But it’s expected that they will need to continue knitting and creating more blankets until necessary. So I recommend reading the information they have posted on their website and keep knitting even if seems November seems to be too soon.
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!
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.
Always drawn to colour! When colour is present, the design can be simple.
Hand dyed cotton, perle thread
Hand dyed cotton, perle cotton
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.
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.
hand dyed cotton, repurposed linen and perle cotton
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.
Hand dyed cotton, repurposed linen, hand dyed perle cotton
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!
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.
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.
Brandeis, Susan. Intentional Thread: a Guide to Drawing, Gesture, and Color in Stitch
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!
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.
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.
