Sometimes you've just gotta ...

... say "wow, thank you" to kindred spirits like Gillan

http://www.artbygillan.com/

(from Hearts for Charleston) ...

... marvel at dye magicians like Deb Lacativa 

http://morewgalo.blogspot.com/

(for Cassini threads and cloth) ...

... and shout ...

"What do we want?

Health care!

When do we want it?

Now!"

loud enough to make it onto the local news 

https://www.ksat.com/news/politics/sa-protestors-demonstrate-against-proposed-senate-health-care-bill

Although, as often happens, they only got the story half right. I was certainly in front of Senator Cruz's office to demonstrate for a "no" vote on Graham-Cassidy (which Cruz might do ... for all the wrong reasons). But keep my health care the way it is? No thank you at $25k per year, plus $12k deductible!

"ACA ... mend it, don't end it!"

And sometimes you've just gotta stitch how trees might be ... 

as in this study for The Land as the Crow Flies ...

made possible by wild peace floss.

Fly away home

A wonderful little boat sailed into my life yesterday ...

a gift from Hazel

http://handstories.typepad.com/blog/2017/09/giving-all-around.html

The colors took me back to this picture at the Outer Banks, where our oldest and youngest granddaughters met for the first time this past June ...

How did she know?

Hazel wrapped her gift in tie-dyed indigo ...

from which I tore a strip to make a birthday gift for my dear friend Barb in Virginia, stitched with what I have begun to think of as Deb Lacativa's wild peace floss ...

It was a little longer than the pins I've been making, which gave me an idea. What if I signed the inside ...

so the pin can also be worn asemically ...

Hmmm, I think I like it.

So I'm headed to the post office to send more peace pins out into the world ...

Ten to Kristin for the refugees she tutors and has mentioned in comments here. One to Tina in Wisconsin who sent an email request for a pin. One to Deb along with a check for more of her wild peace floss (aka Dirty Threads)

http://randomactsofdyeness.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-cassini-group.html

And one to Barb, of course.

Back in July when my once-upon-a-time college roommate came to visit we did lots of the usual tourist-type stuff, visiting a vineyard ...

heading to San Antone (and no, we didn't actually go into the Snake Farm) ...

and listening to music ...

At some point (ha!) along the way, Linda mentioned that her husband John (who didn't make it out to Texas this time) had mentioned wanting a dream catcher for his guitar. 

While she was here, I made her a couple of version 1.0 peace pins ...

But it wasn't until this week that I finally cobbled up a Lone Star version of a dream catcher, complete with Deb's floss and Cascade Trail turkey feathers ...

Now ready to fly away home ...

The tipping point

Dana's word, shown here yesterday, was and is open.

Dana is a lover of words and the words she shared in this post ...

http://ravenandsparrow.typepad.com/raven_and_sparrow/2017/09/imagine-peace.html

speak volumes. And yes, her word is there, at the end.

Read it and read it again. Then vow to answer the call.

Because the world seems to be at a tipping point on this equinoctal day. We need to do all we can to tip it in the right direction ...

Continuing ... The International Day of Peace

The sun has risen on the Texas Hill Country, the same sun that has already risen and set over The International Day of Peace in Australia, where Fiona Dempster's peace bell rang out ...
https://paperponderings.blogspot.com/2017/09/international-day-of-peace.html

As I often do, I called my congressman this morning (which is to say I talked to his staff), leaving him best wishes on this International Day of Peace and expressing my hope that he will take actions toward securing peace in the days ahead.

My own actions will include stitching more peace pins, like the ones pictured here ...

resting on the back cover of Mo's Illustrated Lyrics of Old Man Crow

https://www.etsy.com/listing/459307256/the-illustrated-lyrics-of-old-man-crow?ref=shop_home_feat_1
before they fly away to new homes.

To which I add this further ripple of peace from Mo's blog It's Crow Time
https://itscrowtime.wordpress.com/2017/09/16/mending-our-beautiful-broken-world-with-love-and-peace/

As many of you know, the first peace pin flew to Barry Smith in Maleny
http://rustnstuff.blogspot.com/2017/09/imagine-peace-international-peace-day.html
seven months ago ...

It was a response to his call, 

"It's time ... may hope and peace prevail"

Since then, more than 50 peace pins have traveled to six countries and 19 states within the USA ... sent in response to the comments left here.

Those comments are now being stitched into a peace shawl. Some are but a single word, such as this one used with permission from Dana at Raven and Sparrow

http://ravenandsparrow.typepad.com/raven_and_sparrow/2017/09/lucky-me.html

Others are phrases, such as this one used with permission from Beth at Still Life Pond

https://still-life-pond.blogspot.com/

All will eventually be worn asemically ...

in hopes that their outward appearance will trigger questions that lead to conversations about peace.

I intentionally used up the last of the tannin and cochineal dyed linen from the first peace pin. Until now, I had been wanting to "save it." Now I realize "it's time" to let it go, so it can be a part of something bigger.

----------------

N.B. For those of you who share my love of cloth, I commend to your attention the following about tannin and cochineal:

Dana's beautiful series of posts about the tannin-dyed chuppah she created:

http://ravenandsparrow.typepad.com/raven_and_sparrow/chuppah/

And these two articles about the preservation of cochineal dyeing practices:

http://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/summer12/dye.cfm

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/science/mexico-textiles-natural-dyes.html

How long a day

It is 9:00 am on Wednesday, September 20th in Texas, but it is tomorrow in Australia ... just past midnight on September 21st, the dawning of the International Day of Peace.

I have already sent greetings to Mo, Barry and Fiona. And as I contemplate the hopes for peace that circle the globe, I also envision the ties that stretch from "sea to shining sea" here in the United States.

These two peace shawl patches have already been bound together ...

One was stitched with words from Dee  on the east coast, 

https://deemallon.wordpress.com/2017/09/19/peace-is-a-leaf-sent-round-the-world

the other with words from Hazel on the west coast.

http://handstories.typepad.com/blog/2017/09/gifts-of-peace.html

This stitched on indigo-dyed cloth gifted by Hazel ...

and in the original Peace Pin Project post, Hazel's comment was followed by this from Dee, stitched on cloth originally dyed for the Hearts for Charleston quilt ...

Call and response.

And if my camera refuses to focus today, I will blame it on the tears of frustration evoked by the reckless words uttered at the UN yesterday. Already I have called my senators pleading that they "do something, anything, to keep the president from launching a thermonuclear war."

Only then can we turn to working on reducing global warming, enabling DACA dreamers to become full citizens, and ensuring equal access to quality healthcare for all US citizens. 

We will need to use every minute of this day and the next ...

What if less was more?

I've been wondering for a while now if the peace pins could/should be simpler.

So I tore a strip of rusted cloth, folded it over a pin, stitched around the edges, and wrote on it ...

Except that wasn't quite what I had in mind.

Next I tried folding some indigo-dyed shibori cloth, wrote out the words, stitched through both sides, then threaded the pin through the top and stitched it in place ...

Better.

So I tried another, this time with more of the rusted cloth. And I was happy enough with it to add my signature on the back ...

But it still wasn't quite right. 

Then it hit me: Deb Lacativa's magical hand-dyed floss ...

Thus was born the prototype for the Peace Pin Project, version 2.0 ... hopefully with many more to come.

Looking in the rear view mirror

We just parted company with two wonderful house guests from Virginia who are family of family ... what my dad used to call out-laws. It was our first opportunity to really get to know each other and we found much in common.

It was also their first trip to the Texas Hill Country, so we took them on a glass bottom boat to see the springs that form the San Marcos River ...

Texas-style brisket was a must ...

and while we did the obligatory tour of the Alamo and the San Antonio Riverwalk, I most enjoy introducing folks to the Missions National Park with its excellent introductory film about the land and people of central Texas ...

And of course, you can't leave without hearing some live music, preferably at Gruene Hall ...

We also walked the land, naming the critters and trees and wildflowers that are now so familiar to us. The cochineal (scale insects) that live on our prickly pear cactus came up repeatedly, as did some of the other dyestuffs I've experimented with. 

You can scroll down to the index and click on any of the dye links to see more, but for now here's a peace patch hand-dyed with commercially sourced cochineal. The words are used with permission from Gill in the UK and the accompanying book about cochineal was a gift from Anne in California ...

As with all the others, this patch will ultimately be seen from the back ...

Because I like being a little different ...

Addendum

I almost forgot ... here's my take on Caesar salad that N and ML enjoyed while they were here. This is the amount I usually make to serve two of us.

1/2 lemon, squeezed

1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

1+ tsp. Dijon mustard

1/4 to 1/2 clove of garlic, microplaned

3 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs mayo

pinch of salt

Whisk and adjust seasonings to taste. Serve on chopped Romaine with grated Parmesan Regianno and croutons.

Joy Not Joy

There were many ripples on the pond today. And in thinking about my recent correspondence with Grace,

http://windthread.typepad.com/windthread/2017/09/how-its-all-the-same-how-its-just-love-just-life-as-in-being-alive.html

there has been Joy and Not Joy.

I have been stitching the latest peace patch using Deb Lacativa cloth and floss

http://morewgalo.blogspot.com/2017/09/tooling-up-for-color.html

front ...

and back ...

Using (with her permission), Saskia's words, 

http://www.saskiavanherwaarden.com

here shown with the gift of her cloth, front ...

and back ...

"all this makes me so happy ... not the politics, the community"

But much as I love the community, the politics are also my/our reality ... Joy Not Joy.

And so I actively seek Joy, finding it again ...

https://itscrowtime.wordpress.com/2017/09/16/mending-our-beautiful-broken-world-with-love-and-peace

and again ...

http://handstories.typepad.com/blog/2017/09/gifts-of-peace.html

and again ...

https://paperponderings.blogspot.com/2017/09/thursday-thoughts_14.html

Anticipating

September 21st is the International Day of Peace. In the week ahead, I plan to show some of the patches destined for the Peace Pin Project Shawl.

This one, stitched on Deb Lacativa dyed cloth, reads "a quiet web of peace," words used with permission from Judy in Pennsylvania ...

As with the others, it will ultimately be seen from the back ...

The secondary colors were inspired by this post over at Artisun ...

http://artisun.blogspot.com/2017/09/avanthis-big-day.html

Addendum:

In response to Judy's query (below), here's a post about "marking stitch"

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2014/07/history-continued.html

Some posts about "asemic writing" from the index:

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/search/label/Asemic%20Writing

And responding to Jude's comment, this link about Pojagi:

http://www.quiltstudy.org/exhibitions/online_exhibitions/pojagi/korean_quilts0.html

What's in a word

I mentioned copyright recently in the context of using someone else's words. But can one copyright a single word or two?

Not wanting to take things to extremes, but also respecting whatever privacy may be reasonably expected, I've chosen to pluck individual words from the various Peace Pin Project comments without attribution.

And so these bits of Ulrike (Nemo Ignorat) dyed cloth gifted by Mo, carry individual words of peace ...

and will eventually be seen asemically anyway (ha, the autocorrect is having fits) ...

although some are more scrutable than others (I'm having fun with words today).

9/11

Rising (Don Ackert)

Word matters (part 3)

Note: This opening was written last Thursday ...

I started my morning, as always, with words. Reading the news, checking my email, looking at and commenting on Kindred Spirit blogs.

Then I picked up the phone, calling each of my members of Congress to lament the recent developments on DACA and urge them to support legislation that will give a secure path to full citizenship for Dreamers. At the end of each call, the staffers who recorded my comments asked, "Is there anything else I can do for you?" And I responded, "Not today ... thank you for taking my comment" as one snarky rejoinder after another flashed through my mind. Because words matter.

After which I wrote this, put down the portable word generator (aka the iPhone) and stitched ...

Now it's Sunday and this is the state of my nest ...

I need to say how much I appreciate that Don is (outwardly at least) okay with this. He is an extremely orderly person and I'm sure my opposite tendency is consternating.

Anyway, the tub on the ottoman is full of hand-dyed cloth (my own and others, both gifted and purchased). I am now in the process of liberating it and will be posting the results for the foreseeable future, the end goal being enough patches to create a peace shawl (or cloak, as Grace aptly called it). 

Each patch is being stitched with a word or words from the Peace Pin Project, as with this one on a piece of Deb Lacativa magic ...

Don't you love how it echoes the view out my window?

Each patch (this one on another Lacativa) is then joined at the top and the right with 5" strips of a thrifted cotton/linen tablecloth that I like to think of as "dove gray" ...

I'm not measuring anything except the strips, but eventually all these patches will end up "framed" in dove gray in some "to be determined" arrangement ...

Anyway, there will be much more to come on this, including close-ups. Meantime, please join me in keeping Deb in your thoughts as Irma heads up the coast toward Georgia ...

http://morewgalo.blogspot.com/2017/09/pre-storm-still.html

May she be blessed with gentle rain for her land and spared the devastation of wind as we were during Harvey.