2/23/2011

Wonders never cease...

24


It began with waking up to this ~ four inches of the wet, sticky stuff and still falling.
This is the view from the mudroom door looking towards my veg growing area...
kinda pretty out there...as far as snow goes.


This is the first snowfall we've had since Thanksgiving day.
Certainly the first snow since bringing this one home...
Meet Quinn...

Hi, I'm 18 months old and I can't stay still...
Hello sweet girl, bet you want me to throw the ball, don't you?

I haven't mentioned her until now because in all honesty, it's been touch & go around here
and I haven't been entirely convinced we were going to be able to keep her.  Little issue with dawg
Numero Uno who got it in her head she was not going to be usurped by this youngster
 in HER territory.

Who me????  I wouldn't hurt a fly...

The face of an angel, my Isla, but she is one cranky b*&%$  when it comes to owning me.
There...I admitted it...I am owned by this dawg.

Quinn is one of those gems that comes from a rescue organization and you can't figure out
how in the world her previous owners could bear to give her up.
For those who don't know this about me,
I am passionate about adopting animals from rescue groups.
No offense intended towards those who choose to buy their pets from breeders, etc. 
but my gosh folks,
the number of homeless dogs & cats is already staggeringly high...
don't they deserve first consideration?

Stop me.  I could go on about this for hours.

Oh please do, I'm listening...I'm wet but I'm listening, really...


I found Quinn through the Pacific Northwest Border Collie Rescue, the same group that harbored my beloved cranky one after she was saved from running in traffic and later, with no one to claim her.  
I can't say enough wonderful things about these dedicated folks!
Rehoming these wonderful dawgs is their life...and I mean LIFE.
I love you guys.  You ROCK!

Quinn is a border collie mix of some kind, probably mixed with Belgian shepherd.
Then again, Isla was listed as a border collie mix and turns out she has no border collie in her...
zippo.
Thanks to the wonders of modern technology and a little test called 'Dog Breed DNA Analysis'
it was discovered that she is 3/4ths rough-coat collie (you know, Lassie type)
and 1/4th Australian shepherd.  Not that it matters one little bit.

But back to unceasing wonders...

*****

It's no secret in canine circles that bringing a second female dog into a household can spell disaster.
I was banking my hopes on the fact that Quinn was still a "puppy" in many ways
and Isla had shown a lot of tolerance for puppy behavior in the past.

Do you want to know how many times I've thought I was dead wrong?

But then...{{{{{{drumroll}}}}}}... today happened...SNOW happened
and everything changed for the better.
[insert the Hallelujah Chorus]
What transpires when two dawgs who are giddy about snow end up having their first snow day together?

Let me show you.

It began with Quinn displaying "play bows" to Isla (invitations to play)...

...which Isla accepted and turned into a massive round of the zoomies

...back and forth and back and forth...

...and when they got so tired they had to take a time out, they did THIS...together...two feet apart

...and do you know what THIS is people?  THIS is a bloody miracle!
This is the powerful force of nature working her magic with natural instincts
in a way we humans could not accomplish with all the worry & fretting in the world.

Amen.

One last shameless plug: if you are considering bringing home a new pet,
won't you please consider adopting from a shelter or rescue group first.
Have some hesitations?  Let's talk.  I'm as close as email.
Like me, you just might find that although you saved a life,
they actually have saved yours...


2/12/2011

2/10/2011

Stuck between some rags and a hard place...

17


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,

2/05/2011

Time out...

4


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  ;>}




1/24/2011

Weaving velvet...

20


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.

1/10/2011

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

27


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."




All photographs courtesy of kimonoboy.com 
where a short history on Japanese textiles can be found here.



1/03/2011