Spirit Cloth

slower quilting

...if you have been reading here, you might know that i have been learning a bit about silk by working with it.  i have started with silk gauze, because it is sheer and light and seasonally appropriate.  because even with many layers it still forms a thin cloth, the fabric is a bit challenging but in no negative way.  it seems the nature of silk simply requires a bit more time for consideration. not a bad thing, no. just simply slowing down a bit more. the layering of color opens up a whole new rainbow of possibility.. where the color overlaps, new shades emerge and i feel i have only scratched the surface.  i have just begun quilting, experimenting with stitch and thread (another post) to see what works best for me. handling and quilting the cloth is so delightful i find myself working more slowly and appreciating the feel of the process. silk merely need to be understood.

painting with the color is another way to go. the gauze may seem fragile but its crimp really prevents unraveling and it can be manipulated by stretching and twisting to cover the desired area. right now i could say that a sharp needle and a smaller stitch is where i am headed.

i am sourcing my silk gauze here. from glennis, because she has such a grand sense of color and sensitivity for the silk.  i feel that when i work with it.  and i appreciate that she has made it available... even in indigo!....we agree that quilters need to work with silk more because it has so much possibility. it might generate a whole new generation of textiles.

i will be adding a source page to my sidebar by week's end.  a more complete index of where i might get stuff and more importantly,why. just an extension of a community that might work side by side in the pursuit of excellence through understanding. you might contact me if you think you should be there,

what's going on?  well, #1...today i have decided to include an additional  silk segment to all my upcoming online classes.  just to teach some of the things i am learning about this fiber with in the context of the class. cloth to cloth is open for purchase (in the shop) and begins may 15,  almost full but a few spots left. i will post a bit more about that class later today.

doodle wednesday...scribbling through a crisis...

so, hi!.....it looks like i have resolved my computer issues for now, although i am way behind on a lot of things.... amazing how the computer has become so much part of my daily routine, feeling a bit uprooted after just a few days... but ready to get back to it . i spent some down time scribbling.  a magic scribble was the result. a recycled thought, based on an old drawing, it has inspired a magic serpent and perhaps a whole scribble series.  quite a relaxing thing to do, scribbling, expresses some sort of thread of confusion so well, a temporary timekeeper. ..... a puzzle and a solution rolled into one. at least that is how it turned out for me.

thanks for all the sympathy.  i need a new machine, but for now i have a loaner and a back up of my other files...

what else is going on? so many things....well, let me make a list and i'll be back. 

one thing though.... i am revamping my supplier list for the sidebar, because i am enjoying working with the cloth produced by others so much.  it really gives layers a whole other meaning. 

stuff happens

just an update... i am only online for a short while at a time, since this machine will go poof soon.   hope you are all well.  i will be using the time out to finish up a few things and to back up all my files....hopefully.  keep you posted.  i still have my mobile for email.....

trouble

this program will be temporarily interrupted. my computer's hard drive is failing. no estimate on down time. bye. 

three studies for old sky

 

...i am just playing with this idea right now....but "old sky" will be a base concept for the border of magic.  and the messenger beasts will walk there.  the keepers of the edge of magic. i am looking forward to that part.  i guess it's about time for another video.

somewhere around day 80

 

the magic cloth has been on the wall again.  for way too long.  time to take it down again.

something like spring mist

... we did get rain yesterday, but the normal dreary greyness was lifted quickly with a new wash of green. i could almost hear the color changing.

....i am just loving this sheer silk as a color wash.... darkening the shadows and coloring  or recoloring at will.  how transitional color wash is!  a bit more green crept in yesterday....

...i was able to use some of that sheer flowered silk scarf from grandma, layered in combination with some of the dolce silk gauze to create a floating style corner/ border. the edges are becoming blurred, giving the whole piece a soft focus.

...this spring thing sort of floats now. a new season suspended beneath some old sky...

...and this morning, the sun is out, and a bit more spring seems to have washed in with the rain... i am stitching it down before it floats away.

cubed

dice...i collect them. today i am just focusing on the dimension of their squareness. and remembering this...

stitching relief

...yesterday was sunny and warm. but not the best of days personally. i dug in the dirt for a while, which was nice. but when i picked up the square sun, i noticed the silk had really puckered up  after i quilted the sky to a backing. so i made the best of it, using the extra fabric to form some relief, for a face. i have used this method before but this time it seemed much needed, this relief. some metaphor for problem solving...

...as a book mat, this one came out a bit longer than planned. it finished at about 5x12".  i just kept adding a little more blue. and a little more blue. boro style, to mend and extend the edge.  the yarn dyed checkered gauze backing shows a little on the edge here and there...creating a sort of magic fringe with its alternating thread arrangement.  what if the sun was square? it might be a very long day.

today it is raining and i am off to see mom. i might play a bit more with the square sun idea. it has an old sky feel to it.

reconsidering blue

...this is not a new book.  it is a gift from long ago...when i was working with indigo in a different context.  the textile industry.  i am rereading this book, along with others, reprocessing the information with a new point of view. learning can happen in layers.

...indigo has become so much a part of my work. in ways not yet expressed. it seems appropriate to deepen my knowledge in order to honor its influence. indigo textiles, technique and history, gosta sandberg, with 2 dots over the o.

...the square sun has found a home among layered blues. i considered a square cloud. but not this time. i like the contrast...