Spirit Cloth

Component- Butterfly

Component. The word I use so much.

I used to use element more, but component is so related to compose. And then compound.

In any case as it relates to traditional patchwork quilting, my beginnings with cloth, building blocks.

But really, ultimately I end up with Puzzle Pieces.

Because in a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together in a logical way. Puzzles are often created to be a form of entertainment but they can also arise from serious consideration. And evolve into something more useful.
Each component is for me the visualization of a thought, the fundamental element, and part of the language system I use to communicate. Share what moves through me.

The Butterfly has simply evolved into my symbol for becoming. Becoming more or less. Transformation, change, and the beauty in that. And the wing... reach. Not new. But the form it takes has encouraged a bigger appreciation of process as art.

Since each symbol is often a result of building and layers, They might be broken down into components themselves. It's an infinite process really. Like the basic square...thoughts,scraps, stitch, the names of things, all puzzle pieces that ultimately tell the story, clues to the thought process itself.

In this last year I have come to concentrate on dyed components more. I use indigo a lot. My approach to shibori is not so much to focus on the perfection of the technique but on how imperfection, witnessed through repetition, might help morph a shape and encourage the evolution aspect of over and over. Puzzle pieces with softer, more liquid edges. Like clouds, they help me imagine new form and story but still allow me to use them like quilt blocks.  I hope you catch my drift.

I built the Butterfly above with 2 triangle components (my symbol for safety), folded and stitched and then embroidered the body. But way back in Diaries I started like this:

 

video link if you see no player above

 

 

As I look back to Spirit Cloth Diaries I am thrown back to the time I was working on the the Magic Feather Cloth, a lot of these butterflies ended up on that cloth.  I also just came off a class with Glennis Dolce.  Although I'm moving down a less traditional path, I learned the basics of shibori there.  I've put her free online class under Freely Inspire in the side bar, even though the link is also over at Feel Free.  If you need the basics it is really helpful.

I'm back to adding to Feel Free. Cooler days  mean more computer time.I just added a page for components under Composition and I will add a page for Butterflies under Components soon enough. There are so many ways to build a butterfly. Right? Not sure about you but wings seem a good idea at the moment as the end of days as we've known them seems to be upon us.

 

Trans-Morph-ation

Something going on.

With dyeing, with form.

A few indigo plants came up on their own. A few fresh leaves. A small vat. A little experiment. Another beautiful day.

Wishing for a change of direction.

A red star.  A lot of color for me. But it was hot. I got caught up in the idea of a wishing star being a placeKeeper for a change of direction.

I'm back to what-iffing. Catching small thoughts in a new way. But I can talk about that later. Here, the star as a corner has caught me as an interesting arrangement. I made one sketch,there are others waiting in line. But the thread part is important. I pulled snippets of thread from the thread nest, because I save all those small thread ends. One by one, small pieces of color ended up in a nice blend and variation on red. But it also had me thinking about variegated threads in general. How so often the color repeat is too long, so on small areas you don't see the color change soon enough. You know what I mean? That's why I like  Deb's Threads.  Her crazy method of dyeing produces the perfect scattering of color. Way better than the commercial kind and even some of the hand painted threads I've seen. 

A red star then, practicing a few things for the Endless Wishing Cloth... and the reflection of a new day.

PS. I did rows and rows of split back stitch on the star points here. very close together.

Imperfect Patching

Raining again.

Who cares?

So if you've managed to follow along, back to Endless Wishing. The cloth, that is. As I continue Collage Quilting.

I explained how I created the cloth woven center. Using the mosaic method. Now lets look at the patched border.

click here if you see no audio player

The hand piecing method I use to put these pieces together is mostly a simple strip version of this method. And even if I use the machine, I still glue stitch the seams flat. You can iron. It's just a quirky thing of mine. I like the way it feels. 

Typically March. Wild.

 Frozen solid.

I did manage a double faced moon last night, with a bit of dye, doodle and stitch. Fireside.

Just a bit of stitch.  I love how many ways these dyed circles can grow into story.  And here how the weave in the cloth works right through it all. My favorite part was stitching that little eye.

The indigo vat seems happy by the woodstove. Happier than me. I'm itching for Spring. Again.

ThreadCrumbs will reopen later today. I'm off to stock up on supplies.