Sunday, January 4, 2015

- The back of beyond: A new direction in stitch

I've found a new Kindred Spirit in Amy Meissner ... specifically her post B-sides (oh, I am so jealous that she used that post title first). I'll add links to this post later, but for now you can find her in the links to the right.

I love looking a the back-side of needlework, as many of you know ...


So much so that I'm deliberately working a piece backwards, sketching on the back with a Pitt pen ...


then working a very open backstitch from the back ... 


which is looking very interesting from the front (although I think I'll try a smaller moon next time) ... 



And now a mondegreen moment: 

Two year old Jackson politely asked for "more please" at dinner.

"More what?" we asked.

" Apple tacos," he said ... which we thought was adorable because we were eating red chile chicken on tortillas. So I promptly got him some more apple sauce.

Except while he was eating that he once again said, "Apple tacos please!" And it hit us ... he didn't want apple anything ... 


what he really wanted was more "avocados."

15 comments:

  1. Apple taco, avocado...Potato, tomato. He must have thought we were crazy.

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  2. Sigh, what a good way to begin this new year with "apple tacos." When my grandson was almost two, he used to delight us by asking for gapes when he wanted grapes.

    The backs of cloths were my nemesis since I don't know how to do many stitches and I don't add backing to my cloths. When I first started putting together my dyed cloths, my sister in law who quilted, did needlepoint, etc, (no longer due to arthritis) said that while the "fronts of my cloths were interesting" I needed to get a sewing machine so I could add backing to cover my stitches"...now I know she meant well but I'm the ornery sister in law in the family so no sewing machine, no backing and I still do only a few basic stitches, have never gone beyond them. This year for her son's (my nephew's) 50th birthday, we had a huge party and I gave him one of my cloths. He cracked me up when he turned it over, saw all the wonky stitches on the back held up the back to everyone and said that this was cool, getting two pieces of cloth art in one...and insisted on passing the cloth around to everyone there...and yes, I do have a cat grin on my face as I write this. For a long time, I was indeed vulnerable about my poor stitching but now, it's about the story that presents itself and the back is as important as the front, wonky stitches and all.

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    1. What an interesting fellow your nephew sounds to be ... I like him sight unseen

      And wonky stitches ... sigh. Even when I try to trick myself into them, they still come out more even than not. More on that in another post ...

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  3. i like " a cat grin on my face " i have one eather when i read this
    and indeed the back ground of how things became somme art , or how something became " a thing " we make more of it than it was before
    can make me smile ( a cat grin on my face
    wish You Liz and Marti a year with sunshine on your shouders and some cat gr....... face
    greet you maria

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    1. Maria - I'm so glad you stopped by the blog ... and that cat grin seems to be contagious in the best way

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  4. my Othersides are a wild wild place. I can't imagine doing this...love seeing you do it though...
    and thank you for the apple taco...xoxo

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    1. I did ask once if someone was willing to show the b-side of a piece ... which was when I realized it is not a universal fascination. Fortunately, I can always go visit Saskia ;)
      As for the apple-taco kid ... I'll have a new mondegreen to share in the next post

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  5. love the b-side too as you know by now, probably because it is the less-controlled side, 'my subconscious stitching' side; your reverse psychology stitching turned out really well

    Jackson's gorgeous

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    1. Thank you ... my grands are delightfully easy on the eyes ... and the newest addition has the added benefit of eau de milk fragrance
      I'd be a liar if I didn't admit to perking at the front as I work ... old habits are hard to break!

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    2. Ummm ... that would be "peeking"

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  6. a glimpse of the subconscious can be laid bare on the back side of work & reminds me of asemic writing-
    "True asemic writing occurs when the creator of the asemic piece cannot read their own asemic writing."
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asemic_writing

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    1. Thanks for the new word! And while it's not quite asemic, the b-side of Triangulation shows potential http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2014/11/being-brave-lettering-with-pitt-pen.html

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  7. Hi Liz, thanks for mentioning my post, B-sides, here in your post and for including me in your list of "kindred spirits" (I see some of my own there on the side bar as well)! Your story about Jackson's "apple tacos" dislodged a memory for me this morning as well -- our son used to say "Um-Bye-Jow" for everything. We finally figured out what it meant when he became exasperated and began fiercely signing "more-more-more." "Um-Bye-Jow" meant "I want that." What dense parents we were. Sheesh. Thanks for the smile.

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    1. Amy - Welcome! I found you on Jude Hill's Spirit Cloth, which is a multi-faceted source of inspiration. I'm delighted that the post awakened your own memory ... I'm always amazed at what someone else's writing can dredge up from my own past. Shared experience that's positively addictive ...

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