Stuck between some rags and a hard place...

A little w.i.p...

modern day "rags" woven onto a make-do loom, once the bottom half of a box of notecards.

Light as a feather and easy to hold, just 5 by 7 inches.  Splendid idea, wish it had been mine...

... Jude Hill's  'Contemporary Woven Boro' class is in full swing

and this tension technique comes from creating a small frame from whatever we have at hand.

I know I'm not alone when I say I  ***LOVE***  this process, weaving without a foundation...

The warp is from torn bits of an old silk blouse...all the rest scraps from this & that.

*****

A silly question...ever tear cloth with your teeth?

I'm an expert now: chomp down hard at the place you are starting the tear

and pull strong & steady with one hand straight out in front of you.

Heh, you never know when such skills could come in handy...

They co-mingle so nicely, all those tiny ribbony pieces...

Here is the back looking much like an Apricot Surprise birthday present.

Fray heaven!

I couldn't tie bows (more on that below) so the ends are knotted instead...

*****

So what about this "hard place" I mentioned in the title of this post?

I am unable to sew.  Not a stitch.

Unable to use my right hand for most anything at the moment...

The doc says he can fix me up, only a matter of time...time which is ticking faster now with my boro mates.

So this is why you are not seeing any basting...no surface embellishment of any kind.

 Hope you like *puffy* as much as I do, it will have to suffice for now.

...just wanted you to know...

*****

While so many parts of our country are still covered in deep snow & frigid cold,

we were able to enjoy THIS today... 

View from the Painter's Studio

~ painting by Caspar David Friedrich, 1805 ~

Till later my friends, always so good to have you stop by,

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Time out...

Someone is on her way to the vet today...

nothing too serious

and she's always up for a car ride...

Her favorite vet, Dr. Emily, is on duty this afternoon.

Lucky dawg...Dr. Emily always sits on the floor with her, talks real sweet,

moves gently and keeps everyone calm...

She'll tease dawg, chide her for chasing things at breakneck speed...

that IS how you rip out a paw-nail after all

Funny, the ways they have to let us know something is not quite right...

...this one will start to lick you if you happen to miss her meaning the first time.

Here's something a bit odd... I too, went on a 'time out.'  Yesterday.

Laid up with a little annoyance from one of my own digits...

a wonky finger actually... back paws feet are ok.

No stitching, no beading, no work...all projects at a complete standstill.

Nothing but r&r now for my entire right hand 

along with too much time to think about setting the world to rights...

Do our animals suffer sympathy injuries?  of course not.

When dawg gets back, we can have a little chat about it...

while we nurse our right, front paws together  ;>}

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Weaving velvet...

If ever I could find a velvet frock such as this one, something in this exact shade of green,

I just might be encouraged to change my mind forever about the wearing of dresses

(which I never wear)

Yes.  Definitely.  This would persuade me.

oh, and the glorious stitching details at the cuffs...

~ painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 'Veronica Veronese' ~

These I would NOT wish to wear,

not one little bit...

ever.

They must have been the height of fashion in their day, worn by Lady Mary Stanhope around 1660...

blue velvet, embroidered with silver gilt thread...once tied across the tongues

with decorative ribbons perhaps...

~ Shoe Collection, Northampton Museum & Art Gallery, UK ~

Back to the future...where a wall can be velvet...

~ Capital Museum in Beijing, photo (c) Trey Ratcliff ~

where we can travel in style if we want to...these seats look comfy don't they,

but...

~ Hankyu velvet, photo (c) Sam Bowman ~

...not nearly as inviting as these velvet seats.

~ Rocks, Moss & Water, photo (c) Martin Cathrae ~

Watchers.  They wear their velvet in summer...

~ Prairie Grass Bucks, photo (c) shadarington ~

and the groves, their velvet raincoats...

~ trees covered in velvet moss, photo (c) KWDesigns ~

...while here at home, repurposed velvet becomes a bit of architecture for my long cloth...

*****

What a gathering has happened over at Spirit Cloth!

'Contemporary Woven Boro'...a workshop who's meaning redefines itself each day...

over one hundred of us (imagine that)

*traveling companions* engaged in the common language of cloth:

 weaving, stitching, experimenting, learning from one another...

jumping off...out...even when there appears (at first) to be no familiar net to catch us.

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The humble cloths that are Japanese 'boro'...

Multiple layers of extensively repaired and patched fabrics...

hand-sewn for practical purposes, for retaining warmth...

utilitarian assemblages such as futon covers

or clothing such as a 'yogi' (sleeping garment used as a blanket)

...abundant use of recycled indigo dyed rags

and handwoven cotton & hemp scraps, 

repeatedly mended...

some held together by thousands of 'sashiko' stitches

transformed into something precious and valuable.

"These textiles are generational storybooks, lovingly repaired

& patched with what fabric was available.

Never intended to be viewed as a thing of beauty,

these textiles today take on qualities of collage, objects of history,

and objects with life and soul."

~ John Foster, Accidental Mysteries blog ~

tatters, telling complex stories...

"although boro has become a bit of a trend these days, the raggedy edges

and patching and primitive approach to cloth making...there is a subtle reminder

that this was not an intended art form.

this was life, mending, thrift, respect for cloth.

this is the result of living small with consciousness of means.

the need to stay warm, the patience to repair, restore and to keep going...

and the resulting beauty in that."

~ Jude Hill, from 'art, craft, and dedicated intent' ~

All photographs courtesy of kimonoboy.com 

where a short history on Japanese textiles can be found here.

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Spiral...

...found walking this morning amidst the most beautiful hoarfrost,

an ice spiral

 with a red alder leaf at its center.

This is for T...

...who is weaving some grasses on her side of the world,

stitching it back together in her own quiet way.

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Uncovering a thousand threads...

In 1917, some text was written about this work, The Emblem:

This fine example shows us a beautiful and graceful lady in a rich interior seated at an embroidery frame.

Her face is half turned to us as she raises the cloth covering the work.  The attitude is reserved,

as of one reluctantly disclosing a secret; and indeed she does not show too much,

for her flowing sleeve tantalizingly hides the greater part of what she has uncovered.

Pictorially the work has great charm; and though there is no story to it, it suggests an idea.

We are to suppose that she has been long at work with cunning needle in secret, making a splendid banner,

emblem of a great cause and destined to be borne at the head of its supporters.

Such an object is worthy of the labour consecrated by love that she has given to it.  

But the time for its display is not yet, and for the present the secret must be jealously guarded.

Sir Frank Bernard Dicksee, English painter and illustrator of the Pre-Raphaelite persuasion, seemed to know a little about the ways of women, don't you think?  I wonder why, or how.  He's caught this furtive moment with perfection ~ that hesitancy to reveal.  We've all felt it at one time or another...isn't it quintessentially just like this?

I've had a whole year of this feeling and was not even aware of it until now.  I am unsure what this means and I'm uncertain what to do about it or even if it needs having something done.  But some things are percolating.  My time to focus just received a rather splendid calling card.

The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time,

but in their significance to ourselves, they find their own order...

the continuous thread of revelation.

~ Eudora Welty ~

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To one and all...

'Tree of Life'

~ Gustav Klimt ~

Central section. Pattern for the Stoclet Frieze, c. 1905

Best Wishes of the Season!

And for something beyond lovely, go visit Butterflies on Christmas Eve...

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Small reminders...

Sometimes that's all we need,

a little reminder to make us pause

take another look

reconsider a season.

Quite some time ago, I hung this bookmark from the wall lamp above where I read & stitch, tied in that particular spot so I would not forget its important message.  It has never even seen the inside of a book.  When the window is open it flutters nonstop in the breezes but now that it's winter and the windows stay latched, it's catching shadows from the late light instead.  I snapped it fast, didn't see the 'Rule of Thirds' or even the shadow it cast of itself.  Just the lacework wallpaper and how calm it all looked illuminated by that light.

And then I did what I have done a hundred times before.

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When a robe is not a robe...

'Huichol'

Woven glass beads

12" x 11.75"

by Sharmini Wirasekara

More of this exquisite bead art can be seen HERE...

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First Friday and some other firsts...

Every month in nearby Old Town Anacortes, they have what's called 'First Friday Art Walk.'

Galleries, shops & eateries stay open late and the main drag buzzes with activity.

Have you ever been to one of these?  Oh so much FUN.

But there's something extra special about the First Friday in December.

The holiday season seems to infuse it with such a festive spirit

and a festive spirit was just what I was after.  

A clear, cold night perfect for those with warm winter coats, like dawg,

who came along for a night on the town.

Although a rural woofer, she'll never pass up an opportunity to prowl for pats.

The Samish Gallery of Native Arts was filled with stardust!

Ok, window reflections from the street trees but that would make for a good story, wouldn't it?

Glass snowflakes...

woolies...

and little antique shops with scents of mulled wine & hot apple cider

wafting from the doorways, not to mention the baked goods heaped on trays.

Ok, we won't.  But that led to this...

Adrift

THE BEST restaurant in town.

For starters, a to-die-for Thai tomato bisque soup followed by

seared scallops in lime butter, sauteed organic kale with garlic

sided with a scrummy potato croquette,

all washed down with a local red.

Yup, the feelin' was quite festive indeed.

By morning,

the sun brought these...

long, glorious shadows after days & days of gray-upon-gray.

The first sun of December!

Upstairs on the worktable, there was a little weather happening.

Some rain was falling...

T's soft rain, all the way from Australia where they are having summer

and where I like to imagine their stories are being stitched into storycloths, too.

Sending heartfelt wishes of good cheer and festive spirits to all!

Note: all night photos were taken with the trusty phone (aka Batphone)

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