Spirit Cloth

doodle wednesday, lion evolution

nope.... no new doodles this week, so i have raised one from the dead for the occasion.... happy halloween!

there is that old moon again...  pulling me...  and what i consider to be one of my first lion/ beast symbols.

with this illustration (part of a calendar) , i went for a job interview (a zillion years ago) and i was told my stuff was weird...and i decided NOT to be an illustrator and got a regular old day job. and so now it seems a spooky sign, a ghoulish reminder of time lost and inspiration to have the guts to do what i want.

at 12:00 midnight ...i will be pulling names out of a hat.

kids say the the most amazing things

thank you all for your comments on the night-light ...it reminds me of my son, (let's call him binky...not his real name) and how he was for a while afraid of the dark...it just so happens that i am entertaining living my craft and quitting my job and i always end up talking about this with my son (now 28), because for as long as i remember, he has been drawing and making things and even weaving at one point. and then there was a disconnect. he was drinking and womanizing and piercing things and well... i won't go there.... and then somehow he came back to creating. an we were talking a few days ago and i was trying to describe my feelings about art and craft and things and he said...."mom. i think we work hard to practice and perfect our skills until there comes a point where we are so comfortable with the method, we are free and our creative act is one with our soul speaking".... shit, kids are great. what hell we go through for such a gift.

stitching a nightlight

....the time seemed right to complete ' in the red moon's light' being that we are being shined on by the sanguine moon and i am feeling like finishing up this mountain of WIPbits sitting here in a pile. gift giving season is coming.
i spent the day's commute focusing on the moon and tacking down loose edges. the face features are done in metallic copper thread, hard to show the effect. the whole thing is raggedy, done in heavy linen, hemp, flannel and upholstery type chenille fabrics, on a base of cut corduroy. i am thinking pillow.

this one is about being alone, and moving slowly through the darkness... until suddenly your eyes adjust to the night light and the world slowly becomes a soft velvety place to rest. and the chilled dampness has changed to a crisp breeze and the shadows are your friends.

the red moon. the keeper of night's light.

quilting in artwork

Andrew Wyeth .1962. Garret Room

i just thought this was wonderful.

the artwork, the quilt, the documentation. the spirit of the thing.

indigo love

.....i love indigo. simple as that. there is just no blue like it. i have collected indigo dyed fabric forever ( i am almost that old). this one came back with my son from indonesia. hand dyed, hand woven (my fingers are blue). i even once worked in a mill designing indigo yarn dyed fabric. and i have some indigo dyed thread!!! once i ordered a bunch of indigo dyed fabrics and it turned out that they were not really indigo dyed and that made me very sad (right after mad). it isn't really easy to find indigo dyed fabric, except for denim, especially for quilting.  unless maybe you are in japan. and that is why i collect indigo fabric. i have considered dyeing my own but it seems from watching and reading about other indigo dyeing adventures, it is very difficult. maybe i will wait until i retire. in about 100 years or so.

walter ( not his real name) sent me these a while ago. he knows how much i like indigo. maybe he wants another quilt. or maybe he's had enough of the blues. not me. i like to visit SRI. i like this quilt, i really do... not enough quilters work with indigo. and look at this....

SO i've decided to have a blog anniversary celebration! i have collected a pile of indigo fabrics, 7"x 7" squares, one of everything i have collected. and a few smaller gems. many weights, mostly cotton and some linen (i have yet to find indigo silk) . who wants their name in the hat? warning... indigo  is subject to ozone fading and crocking. (oh i love that)  i will announce a lucky winner on halloween. at midnight. for the prize of the midnight blues...(i'm howling)

where am i now -part 2

the back of the quilt is a special experiment. i decided to try to make this cloth completely reversible, a lining ( i love linings) for every front block.  so each block has a 2 sided story.  after completing the front, i was here....beginning the lining of the lava with cool green moss ( velvet). here is where i am today. i still have fairly empty corner which i had planned to fill, but i am thinking now that a little bare earth is as much a part of a garden as the growth. so with the hunters moon upon us i will spend a few evenings in the red moon's light, strolling and gathering food for the remainder of this journey.

where am i now?

when i started this blog, i was here....and although i missed my blog anniversary by a few days....i thought i would review where i was and where i am today..."listen to the river "quilt - side 1.....there is a separate  center cloth that  represents the river that hasn't been made yet.  it  is supposed to tie on to the center and cover the lava. sometimes. i will  finish  the main quilt and give it to walter (not his real name) as a new year's present (his birthday). the river quiltlet will be next year's chapter to this story.  i have noted to myself that the center of the quilt has a buildup of layers, with another to come it is definitely the warmest part, the heart, of this cloth. tomorrow i will  see where i am on the other side. after that i plan to wrap this up by  "proof-reading" this story cloth over the final days in this year, a block by block review...   

mending a little trouble

.....one little doodle came to visit walter, as a little ever so slightly pink elephant, "a little trouble" as it turns out was flying a bit to close to that indigo star (fabric from kristin) , probably wishing a little too hard.... any way one of his front legs melted away in the heat of wanting, and some repair was necessary.  a dream scar to carry on his continuing journey. scars always seem like stories to me.

doodle wednesday 4

elephant fairies. i think everything should have wings. i feel a series coming on.

see these on fabric

stitching life goes on and on

back to "listen to the river"... and  the life lions 3 are walking the edge and finding their way.

i am going to try this method to fill in some space in the garden, raggedy leaves perhaps and i think it will add lots of texture.

wait! i have been inspired to actually quilt with this method, which will require me to poke holes all the way though the quilt...to the other side....

tip-remember to catch your breath right after you catch a thought....

and speaking of life goes on, "a little ragged" as he has been named, has a new heart in purple as a reminder of his lavender stuffing, sweet smelling to bring on a good night's sleep.  he has hitched a ride on an orb and is heading here where he hopes to create some comfort and a few smiles.