been to be

today would have been my mother and father's 68th anniversary...a fitting way to start the new year wishing them, had it been theirs to be.

And so,
a peek into what sits in my hands these days:

a little lost in thought

thinking about little things

detailing the moments.

a year lost in dreaming, (also asked by Hamlet, "what dreams may come")

for those who may find their way here, greetings to another year.

ending february

 february ends and meteorological winter supposedly has ended, but ha, the cold and snow is still with us.

continuing, here are nos. 24-26.

 the detail shows a little ragged edge pocket (24)

 a simple bit of couching  found here (25)

the brown stain on the cloth is from experimenting with dye: cutch with a ferrous sulphide dip and a chance touch of indigo (26)

back to shoveling snow and fighting the cold again this week.  my seed packs are saying, no, not time yet!

keep warm and enjoy the sun whenever you find it.  not too much has peek'd around here. 

third week of february

things that passed through my fingers this week.

The detail is showing a tiny little "pocket" opening of the top section.  

The details here also have little "pockets" on the pleated areas.

 

For the friend from insta/world/gram who used the word "tease," this is the full view.

To break the thread flow, I also knitted up a few hats this week.  Another stash, another story.

Thaw is a word that might have to be eliminated from the vocabulary - we are suppose to go back to a deep freeze again during the next week.

So for those who wander by, keep warm and cheers.

Exciting week ahead.  Stitching from Northern England, Karen Ruane's SimpleStitch4 starts.  Join the madness in search of cake crumbs.


Cheerio.

caring for the heart

as that day approaches

let us remember all our heart of hearts

The "phases of the heart: for the lost, broken, forgotten" is no. 20 in a series that i've been stitching for  the year, 2014.

"prevailing winds" is no. 19.(below)

Each piece is about 9x9, the white base.  The center is roughly 6x6, center.  These are my memory keepers for the year.  And, isn't everything we do, in a way, a memory keeper? 

I have a template that I sometimes use to pin out ideas and or make "meaningful comments" to myself.  It passes the time.

So far, this year to date, in 2014. 

Treat hearts kindly.  

Thank you for stopping by if you still remember this place.  

my first teacher

would have been 93 today:

moja mamusia

dreaming of home

story teller

an artist

holding

kochana mamusia

things held

 edges may hold:

as decorative or functional

 protection of the center/heart

define a space

recollection

attract our attention

*

 provide us with thoughts

or be as simple as a threaded needle guiding stitches to hold two things together. 

*I'm starting the year re-reading anne truitt.  she speaks of perception, process and self-examination.
(Daybook: New York: Pantheon, 1982)

seasonal II

walking in december

The last Saturday of the year was remarkably warm here so took time out to stroll out in a preserve not too far from me: Morton Arboretum.  Finding my beloved Quercus at arms length is not a challenge here and enso magic in a little waterfall.

one more round of circle game

The center of the last 9 patch for 20-13: traditional 9 patch covered with scrim and further embellished with some split stitching. 

A good time to listen to Joni Mitchell.  

Respectfully, 2013 wanes. 

seasonal

Bringing you seasonal greetings at year's end. 

Remembrance of all our joys and loss during the passed year 

Wishes of good fortune and wellness during the coming year

Hopefully I will be back here in 2014.

Thank you for those who might find themselves here. 

Warm regards. 

i'm still here!

Happy fourteenth of February Two Thousand and thirteen 

last year ended with a heart and so this year begins with a heart...

i've been away, yes.  

issues have been coming up 

but hopefully things are on the mend.

I've been buzy...and I'll post again 

to share my stitches

over the weekend. 

so, if anyone still drops by here...

hello and thank you. 

cheer for the holidays

Wanted to wish all of those who drop by, a warm and joyful season.  I've been stitching away without completing too much however, 

this is the piece (well, one of the many UFO-WIPs) I'm working on at the moment.  The text is in process.  It will read, "two sided story, once told."  It's stitched on an old vintage quilt.  The heart is made from some scraps of fabric samples.  It needs work on the edges as well but it's nice in the hand. 

Last week Karen Ruane's "embroider, embellish, create" class EEC had it's last on-line lesson. (The link is the the flickr group so you can see how wonderful the work was from that group.) 

My cloth is not completed.  It's a piece I'm working on for my mum.  I don't know if I'll get it ready for the upon gift day but her birthday is in January (she'll be turning 92) so by then it should be put together. 

Here's where it's at - the pinned stage:

and the last little piece I'm stitching upon now:

This work has been very different for me.  First the colour is white, for the most part. Also, there is a lot of "fancy" stitch work going on.  But, as different as this is from the things I usually show - it is closer to a picture of my mother - soft, vintage cloth that has known something of life - and hopefully representing the beautiful life that I see in her face. 

Well, happiest of holidays - and until the New Year - thank you. 

May I be a better blogger in 2013.  

another long absences brings you a show and tell:

Happy November 5th.  Guy Fawkes day for the Brits among us.
And yes, I've been away again but keeping busy.

Here are a few show and tells of what I've been up to.

My sister sent me a sweater set to embellish.  So far only the "shell" is done:

It's a basic little paper  pieced triangle with some embroidery added.

I also made a needle case.  I've been  admiring the ones that others have done, for example: Deanna at eclectic-meanderings (scroll down a bit),  and so was inspired to try and make one:

This is the cover.  It reads needles pins.

This is how it looked while being assembled.

And the interior for all those tools of the trade.

I also started playing a little with my version of a sampler.  Practicing my stitch work basically.  It has now become one long long sampler fit enough for Dr. Who  (almost.)  I think I started it in anticipation of Karen Ruane's currently running class, Embroider, Embellish, Create. The sampler is growing and going.  It probably about 7 feet long at the moment so I'm showing it to you in two parts:

And I still have all my other WIPs going too...you see I really do stitch while I'm away.

I'd also like to take the time to remind everyone to keep positive thoughts going to all the storm victims out East.  In particular for Jude and her family and neighbors.  The word is that she is doing okay but still thinks it will be another two weeks before the power comes back on.  The days are getting colder and shorter so let's keep hope alive by donating to a relief fund to bring needed aid to the area.

Hopefully I'll be back sooner then later.  Stay safe and warm.  Thank you.

WIP:wednesday, nothing finished/a lot started

I can tell the days are getting cooler.  My kitties are starting to snuggle - and it is comforting and warm but they also think my thread is a toy...

Nevertheless.  I feel like a squirrel putting away her inches, paper pieces and base cloths readying for a long cold winter.

So without delay: what's awaiting the needle.

This exercise was to try and piece together an oak leaf, the subject of most of my work this year, using paper piecing into shaping the "patches" together.  First I created the drawing and made the template which I them cut to use for paper piecing..

I then stitched it to a base cloth and coupled it with an outline of the leaf.  It too is divided (pencil lines) into a nine patch which will just be stitched.  

Here is another version of a nine patch...just using triangle templates and the leaf for inspiration.  The 90 degree angles are fine to stitch but the 45 degree angles - well, it rhymes with stitch (the word I'm thinking of.)  This is just a little sampler to try out ideas. 

And now for the true nine patch inch by inch method.  Some are tacked and basted and some are just pinned.

 And just in case there is nothing else to do, make more paper pieces.

 I'll keep the progress reports going. Still working on my other projects too: the jacket and a few more patches for holes I've been finding in my jeans...and embellishing a sweater for my sister and the owl is still hooting, "what about me, what about me...i'm still waiting to be finished....what about me...."

Keep warm if your weather is getting cooler - Oh, my October already!

tuesday preview

Hello Lancashire, Leicester calling...

I will be doing a WIP Wednesday but in the meantime:

There was a hole that needed plugging.  Only three hexies with a little kantha like stitching.  Your modern day boro.  If you are old enough to remember Nancy Sinatra's "these boots were made for walking..." you can hum the quote in the picture to that...

So til tomorrow...

not much to say!

Most completed piece from last week - the piece from Karen Ruane's: Extended Embellishment

This is a piece of scrim that has had FME: free motion embroidery done on it with a sewing machine then wrapped and embellished with embroidery stitches.  The piece isn't actually complete yet but the main section is.  The "framing" and "edge" work still has to be done. 

The other things that I have been working on is causing my fingers to get sore and achy:  English Paper Piecing:

I am basically practicing making little hexies and 9 (1") patch pieces.  I'm hoping to use these as elements on a base cloth (perhaps the one I started - see last post) - using traditional quilt elements but interpreting then in my own way - embellishing and stitching - something in that boro style that is inspired my Jude's work. 

http://spiritcloth.typepad.com/spirit_cloth/

The other thing that I've been doing is hunting and gathering...as the days cool down things start falling from the sky and it's time for me to find shapes and save dates for my winter's inspiration (mood board?) images/imagery.  I still have all my oak leaves from last year in a box.  These will start a new box:

I'm also gathering real material (cloth) for a new class with Karen Ruane that will start in November:
http://karenruane.bigcartel.com/product/embroider-embellish-create-2012

This is real vintage lace gifted to me by my sister.  She got a bag of cuffs and collars a while back from a friend who had removed them from garments from an elder relative that must have passed or was cleaning her closet of old dresses.  Some of them are very fragile and I'm not sure I'll be actually manipulating them but how wonderful it is to hold and have these things (fellow stashers will understand!) 

And speaking of stashes aka our own messes:

 I am quoting here from Karen Ruane's blog post (hope it's okay Karen.) 

 Karen had posted a picture of her work table:
http://karenannruane.typepad.com/karen_ruane/2012/09/unpacking-virtual-boxes.html captioning it, "what's on my table?" and from this grew a flickr group: (karen's quote)
 "Sara has started a new group centred around tables, the stuff we have accumulating on them. As you know my own table is always covered in junk!The group has the potential to grow into a fascinating archive of images and the more contributors the better. To sign up or browse then just go here"

So without further ado I proudly present my table (aka mess):

Cheers  for this week.  Thank you for stopping by.