Spirit Cloth

fragments

...a fragment could be a little piece of something that you put together without knowing where it will end up or how it will become more. just the spirit of cloth as it moves you forward.

...or a fragment could simply be a little piece of the past that needs mending. something to renew.

....and oh!  a fragment might also be an orphan of sorts, the result of an unfortunate accident that has caused you to cut off the good parts and give them a new start.  something to rescue.  and since this one was not planned to be cut, i have placed it on a like colored scrap so i can work it outward to give it a little room to breath at the edges.

fragments in all cases are small pieces of story.  mine, yours.  things to build on or with.  like squares.  yesterday i though what if (?) i post about fragments a lot,  on fragment friday.  i meant to post this yesterday but the pieces of my week got away from me somehow.  

and...of course when i think of fragments i also think of  the fabulousness that goes on over here.

soft spots revisited

...all i have to show today is one soft patch.  a soft spot of pink silk velvet once again but it has taken on my new shape for the coming year.

and i must say that i have already developed a soft spot for this new magazine, Needle ,  put out by the hand embroidery network. (HEN).  it is way more than i expected.  way to go!  i am happy to see so much attention being given to hand work these days.  maybe there is hope for the human race after all.

small cloth, big cloth

my focus is on smaller cloth for this moon's cycle.  tinier pieces i can hold in my hand. just one or two thoughts worked in detail.  it is a nice point of view for a change.  and i am now thinking while working up some small cloth...how small cloth can become big cloth.  thanks to eva's post, i purchased this little book.  filled with small squares and  big dreams, it is a wonderful treasure filled with stitchery and story of the women who create them.  tiny cloth with a huge purpose.

and so again as i stitch some small cloth i think about big cloth, about the nature of a blanket and the bigger picture.  a quilt is like a human wrapping cloth.  i think it is the drape and flexibility of fabric that draws me  to it as a creative medium. the way you can hug it, wear it, hide in it, find shelter and warmth in it.  so coma, that big slow project is coming back to me, and i think, given its long shape and ugly back, i think it will be a wrapping cloth.  a sleeping bag.  a cocoon.  a keeper.

morna posted an interesting video on her blog.

doodle wednesday- dots as little pieces

needle chanting has slowed me down considerably... i am find a new focus on smaller cloth. and small's relationship to slow...ideas as bits and pieces and how they make a bigger story. old and new. how they can be rearranged. dots as fragments. dots as moments. the spaces between moments. the reconnection of memories. a slow motion . still animation.

...and overlaps.

you have to see this new  video  by rima staines.  are you visitng the hermitage?  i dedicate this doodle wednesday to her amazing work. astounding actually.

hand and eye and coma

thanks to elaine lipson...and her quiet yet constant dedication to bring us crumbs on the textile trail of slow cloth, i recently subscribed to the new handeye magazine.  a wonderful new publication focused on textiles and connecting cultures in the spirit of sustaining craft.  my copy has arrived and the format is large and the concept clean and simple and the photos are enough to whisk you away.  you can read more on their website (click the image), the mission statement is here.  a great new read, i love it.  i have added it to the publications in my sidebar.

and so i have been whirled away. the sun has returned and so has coma.

fly away color

the first spring blooms are exploding.
there are petals everywhere. time for the next round. (this metallic embroidery was already on the fabric. i just cut around it)

and speaking of fly away color, i always love indigo. in addition to its depth i also like how it gives away its color on the edges. if you tear it or wash it , the softness of its heart is revealed. i sent this piece of chenille to be hand dyed in indigo by tiggy. i thank her for taking the time to do that for me.  she made a comment on the violet and yellow in this piece. complimentary she said. have you ever noticed how nature presents colors in the most unlikely combinations, especially on the edge of change in a season. it happens in a flash. so you should always be ready at a moments notice to see it happen. it'll knock your sock off.

the gift of inspiration

...i received a wonderful gift from julian who runs exot with my brother nemo. wow!...  (shown here with some fabulous wallpaper fragments i received from brother jeff , a while back...) i am always impressed with gift giving when it is right on.
this book documents wallpaper design from three pattern books in the department of prints and drawings at the victoria and albert museum. 900 designs dated from 1837-1852. just packed with inspiration.

...i have always loved old wallpaper. i just love that it is often layered,yes!, and  its faded quality is often used to generate my color palettes. the patterns themselves are really quite adaptable to fabric, many originally created as textile designs in repeat and motif.  and then, i especially love those unusual papers that look like stone or wash effects. beautiful surface ideas. a while back, when i worked on the listen to the river quilt, i did a bit of work with some old wallpaper fragments. i have done a lot of computer printing experiments on fabric with these which i want to go back and dig out of the archives so i can document my results here on the blog. i'll be doing that today. then i can inspire you.

wallpaper related links: 1  2  3

wallpaper related posts: 1  2  3 

fabric stories

.....quite by luck ...free!....i have come into possession of three out of the six volumes of The Journal of Design and Manufactures which were published between 1849 and 1852 by Chapman & Hall/London.

...the books ( volume 2, 5, and 6)  are in very poor condition and include marvelous samples of design, fabric swatches and engravings. even fiber samples! i suppose i will take my time and perhaps scan the pages in to threadcrumbs (which i have left unattended for too long now) to preserve the crumbling words along with the images for inspiration. i also found this review on the web. i like the format of these old journals as an example of recording ideas and knowledge. 

phyllis, who has been visiting here has started a new blog that promises to be a wealth of textile related story. go check out mendofleur. i have added this link to my sidebar. a new path.

undoing hibernation and stitching relief

....what if self induced coma, the kind that is all about me is a bit selfish? ... i have been quietly stitching on another heart sampler. valentine's day always brings the heart shape to mind and i always try to work through that symbol , trying get some relief from its socialized saccharine sweetness and convert it into something more purposeful and less empty. i chose the name chance for this one for many reasons which i cannot explain right now. surely a bit later. today i want to dedicate this corner of chance to those suffering through the fires in australia. many of you readers here are closer to that than me and i hope you are all safe. jeana has posted some links for relief efforts on her blog . shula has posted too. and there is a flickr group if you are a quilter.
.....the next corner will be dedicated to warm and fuzzy. the kind you can feel by helping out. if you get the chance. (the point between stillness and motion?)

quilting atmospheric conditions

thank you all for participating in the discussion about the little boy story and the continuation in my last post...(to be continued)....it seems we all have deep rooted thoughts on the subject of creativity and education and the shape life takes for us. i think it is interesting how our comments evolved within the context of the ending of the story we were considering. this seems to bring me back to the idea of transition and change. and optimism. life and creativity are a bit like weather. something we keep trying to predict and just end up experiencing or holding on for dear life. something about alignment of conditions. for a moment or two. then poof. a new day. lots of small journeys (hopefully with companions) and what a TRIP it is.
i like weather and the possibility it brings.
yesterday was cloudy with showers...like this.
today it is sunny...like this.

for any of you participating in  CQR over at what if.....the wind will blow me over there soon to get things rolling. i promise. a much bigger squall than i expected. you gotta love it.