Thursday, March 24, 2016

- RIP redux

Retrospective (4/29/2016, originally posted 3/26/2016)

We lost a dear friend on March 24, but I wasn't able to bring myself to post about it until two days later. In the end, I removed the first patch and replaced it with a simpler one:

Patch #84


Nonetheless, the original post on the 26th generated some very thoughtful condolences, so it remains there.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

- Laying new tracks

Retrospective (4/29/2016 originally posted 3/26/2016)

My first attempt at stitching train tracks left me less than wildly enthusiastic, so the patch pictured in the original post on March 26 has been replaced by this ...

Patch #83

I even managed to take a process shot the second time around ...


What hasn't changed is G's ongoing enthusiasm for playing with his train sets, so this is probably not the last time trains will make an appearance here ...


Tuesday, March 22, 2016

- Three in a row

After a day full of shopping and errands yesterday, I once again had some catching up to do ...

Patches 80-82

Sunday revisited ...


a late-night myopic view of Monday's waxing gibbous moon (courtesy of Deb Lacativa) ...


and the green grass growin' all around and around ....

Patch #82
with fingers crossed that Wednesday morning's lunar eclipse won't be clouded over ...

Monday, March 21, 2016

- Squint

Retrospective (4/29/2016, originally posted 3/22/2016)

You've really gotta squint to see this, but I promise you there is a gibbous moon in this linen damask dyed by Deb Lacativa ...

Patch #81

Sunday, March 20, 2016

- An artful day

 Retrospective (4/29/2016)


Patch #80 (revised with green split backstitch)
 Original Post

The Wildflower Center had an art show this weekend, so we met up with some friends for brunch this morning, then headed over.

Folk artist George Boutwell was actually the lure that got us there, as he captures quintessential Texas scenes ... and we did walk away with a copy of his 2009 calendar featuring Texas honky tonks.

However, the coup of the day came in making the acquaintance of Sue Foss, who makes clothing with shibori, batik, and indigo dyed cloth. She kindly told me about the Austin Fiber Artists who meet monthly just a few miles from our daughter's house. I've marked my calendar for the next meeting.

Better yet, I not only made the acquaintance of fiber and mixed media artist Jan Pomeroy (who also had a past connection to Austin Fiber Artists), I walked away with this delightful piece ...


that I pulled out of its frame as soon as we got home. I have commissioned a more suitable housing from Don, then I'll figure out where to put it on our rapidly diminishing wall space.

Last, but not least, I had a thoroughly enjoyable conversation with metal artist Laura Sturtz, whose copper "quilts" and "weaving" speak to a kindred aesthetic differentiated only by medium.

As we walked out, Don turned in his tracks, stopping in front of a plant we have long called "Spanish dagger." Wrong! 


Now we know: thorn-crested agave is what we've got, in abundance! Then again, it could be the  thorncrest century plant, which might actually be the same thing. I'm so confused.

Returning home, I went out to see what might have come up since my last picture walk and was rewarded with this lovely sight ...



Close up

I do believe you'll be seeing another patch of blue-eyed grass soon!

Saturday, March 19, 2016

- Mark madness

Yesterday's riff on runes was ever so much fun ... ending in a patch that was totally random and unplanned. Not being willing to let go of the feeling, I looked for more marks and found them in some of my "dye" trials with metal ...

Sadly, I learned early on how tough it is to get a needle through rusted cloth. Tugging a needle through today's small patch cured me of going back to the rust stash anytime soon. But oh, I do love those marks!

Fortunately, I was able to add a measure from the rain gauge to this week's weather patches ...


I've also created enough 1.5" square patches to enable a little playing around ...




I have no idea where I'm headed, but I sure am having fun getting there ...


Addendum: Some of these patches ended up as bases for the Peace Pin Project (4/1/18)

Friday, March 18, 2016

- What does it all mean?

Yesterday we got confidential news that a dear friend's cancer had returned and spread. Today the news is out in the open, but my heart remains heavy.

I turned to my Kindred Spirits, finding a thread running from tree graffiti at Tanglewood Threads to glyphs at Paper Ponderings to runes at Tales from the Birdhut

I couldn't help but think of J.R.R. Tolkien's writings, replete with elves and dwarfs (dwarves?), hobbits and wizards ... all with their own languages. Once upon a time, I even re-imagined this in stitch ...


dated 1973, when I was seventeen ...

and never quite completed (see tree on the left)

So today I stitched a galaxy ...

Patch #78

with no other message than this: it's not always clear what the meaning of life might be ... we just have to keep going.

One last thing, to end on a hopeful note. Every so often I look at the stats for the blog, which include the top referring sites. Today I saw a new URL and found my way to Bluebonnet Girl Weaving. The seventeen year old who still lives inside me found a new Kindred Spirit and takes heart that some things change for the better.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

- A private patch ...

We got confidential news that a dear friend's cancer had returned and spread. With dark clouds overhead and in my heart, all I could think was ...

Patch #77

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

- Caught up

The long-promised yellow evening primrose finally got done ...

Patch #75

And since today was G day, I decided to do an orange take on a floodplain turkey track ...



Close up

When I asked G what he thought this was ...

Patch #76

He said, "A T. rex footprint." Well, that was close. It's actually lichen dyed linen reverse appliqued over rust dyed muslin. Either way, turkeys and dinosaurs are all part of the Texas experience.

Who me? Political?

P.S. You might live near a city if you play "traffic jam" with your train set ...

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

- Flowers two ways

A minor touch up on the live oak leaf branch was followed by a mass of flowery knots and grassy stitches ...


White for Blackfoot daisies, yellow for bitterweed, orange for Indian paintbrush and blue for bluebonnets.

Only then did I remember Deb Lacativa's bit of dyed cloth ...


Flowers two ways.

And a peek at some 1.5" squares ...


to be continued.