Spirit Cloth

The Joy in

Determination...

I just unrolled this one.

It's the giveaway for Patchwork in Perspective, Part 1/ Thought Catching.  Of course the class has been on hold now for some time.  The move interrupted my thought stream.  I can honestly say I forgot what I was thinking.  But I am still thinking.  So no harm done. I stopped longing for any thought in particular and instead have settled for thinking itself.  I will take a few more stitches here. And pick a name. Eventually I will put together that Feel Free Newsletter and get on with it. Please excuse the fact that I have not updated a lot of the info on the site in a while...

There is so much to do here, it fills my day. I made a lot of plans, but you know what they say...

What's left of the snow.

 

A loose page #91119

 

I've tried my best to repair the audio issues with Feel Free. I think it is ok.  I am in the process of proofreading to make sure all content is in order and nothing got lost.  I will reopen the site next Wednesday, and do my best to catch up and complete part 2 of Patchwork in Perspective by the end of October as planned. And then... your guess is as good as mine.  There will be, most likely, a big space. But space can be like a thread. If you hold a longer view.

 

Not Counting Sheep

I've not been sleeping well.

Counting sheep is not working.

Ok, I thought, maybe counting something else.

When you are counting, trying to measure a lot of something that's already there, you might start anywhere, just going through them all.  

Last night I counted all the pages that need repair on the Feel Free site. There were 47. I tried to fix one, it took about an 1/2 hour.  Knowing me, I might get to 3 a day considering the current state of affairs. I estimated about 15 days.  So maybe 2 weeks. Not as long as initially imagined. So the site will reopen in 2 weeks. So I ask all you Patchwork in Perspective folks, either part 1 or part 2 or both, can you hang in there?  I am learning that I have bitten off more than I can chew with this website thing, but I am willing to get through this...and I think it will be OK. 

This counting did not help me sleep.

So I moved on to counting Cloth.  I tried to remember, one by one, all the cloths still here with me, the ones I never call finished. I fell into a deep sleep and here I am.  This one, above, the WIND Robe, was for convenience sake, #1.  It was on the wall, so I started there.  This process will bring me peace and has given me an idea for the Thought Catching segment, once I get back to it.  

And so... I woke up and hemmed the sleeves and bottom this morning. I will not pack this one, I will wear it to the new place. If we find one.

And as always, summer fades...

...whether I count days or not.

A Little Bit can go a Long Way

I caught myself thinking this morning.

About how much I really need.

Sometimes this much can last all week...

I painted the inside of this old wooden bowl white. A while ago. So I could see the colors better. And I drilled a few holes and made a loop for hanging, while it is waiting to hold the beginnings of another small journey. And that loop is a piece of wrapped leather that is part of an old ankle bracelet I made and wore in 1969. Time flies and scraps remain.

A Feel Free Newsletter went out today. Take a peek

It's April It's been raining. Feels just about right.
Today I open my studio for Patchwork in Perspective ( Part 1). I've placed an icon in the sidebar here as a gateway to the home page. And here in this post as a test, it is the gateway.

Thought Catching is my initial focus.

Because it is how I we begin, keep going, and look back.

Longer, Still just going

So the base, the available space to be filled, is  about 6" wide by 20" long. In this case there is no reason for that, it is just how it happened. Sometimes, and perhaps more often, I impose a kind of personal math, that has to do with nine. But it didn't happen today

That top partial giant moon is a scrap leftover from something trimmed down. I like how that seeing part of it has changed the scale of things.  The dotted moon is  something I kept for myself from the shop, because it was still hanging around and I figured nobody was attracted to it. But I love it because the woven design reminds me of eyes and I will play with that a bit.

There is still room at the bottom, maybe for deeper snow or who knows.

I could fold up the bottom 2 " and make it 18.

Maybe.

I feel the same way about teaching as I do about making. How it goes has a lot to do with how I'm feeling. And what's on hand.

Not trying to impress anyone.

And trying to convey how good that feels.

The sun is out and it's really cold. It is kind of cumulative, the ground is colder and colder and it become harder and harder to maintain heat in the house. Unless you burn more fuel of course.  We ration that, but it should be above freezing tomorrow.  My finger tips are cold. Old fingers.

I'm looking at the long cloth, but working on this one today. Just Move(ing) to the Spirit, motivating myself to making changes in my habits. It's February, but it seems the same as yesterday.

So it's February. 

My birth month.

A new beginning. In my mind.

I played around with my logo for Feel Free. Nine as a puzzle.  I added numbers. For the 9 part "free enough" whispering series I hope to host this year.  At least I think I can do one.  February will be sign up month.  I think I'll be able to open the studio in March.  I will publish the details tomorrow in the Feel Free Newsletter. If you have subscribed and do not receive tomorrow's mail. Please contact me. No need to tell me if you did. Just to remind you, the Newsletter is used for convenience, to alert you about new activity. Links to the Newsletter issues are also in the left sidebar menu on the Feel Free site.

Thinking

I'm looking at these two.

While imagining they are the same.

If I go, step by step, that could become clear.

A couple of days ago I basted the cloth. And I made this video...

Video link if you see no player which often happens with the email subscription...

Most instructional content will be shifting to Feel Free this year. As I often have a hard time with inserting audio and video here on TypePad. I'd like to call this year the year of the shift.

My year begins in February this time. And Eventually seems within reach.

 

A Studio Day

A warm one. Before another polar vortex. I put my winter bitch in the closet.

I will build one small fire, warm up the stove. Since the sun is out, that's enough for the day.

On a lighter note, this will be a Stoodio Day.

The lightness took over yesterday. When I patched Joy back to my center.

Stitching, anticipating February, weathering a storm before it happens, stitching, sewing snow, S(new)ing...? Snewing. Probably with out the context, we might read it Snoowing.  Oh ha.

The patches are half dipped indigo, two stitched together seemed to be a snowscape. The cloth is doublewoven, from an old baby blanket, so I did not add my normal extra layer.  Maybe you remember this Cloth Story. More of those to come. Materials are like good friends, every day you learn a little more about them.

Invisibility

I'll say more about this later, just catching a thought and testing video again.

Mostly the Invisible Baste aka Glue Stitch approach is relaxed and the stitch shows on the other side.

But it doesn't have to...

I added a video to the Glue Stitch page over at Feel Free. But really I need a more detailed version. I'll get to it.

We can also consider this a form of applique. And blind stitching but I might even call it the Secret Stitch. I have no real reason to do it this way here because I've been really relaxed about the other side. But what is on the other side can be a choice. And well here I think I am just doing it to spend some time thinking about it again.

PS  I've sent out another issue of the Feel Free Newsletter. Getting there...

Letting Go

of the The Chill that was haunting me.

Got up, lit a fire. Inside. I'm not so good at idle. Juice some ginger and think positive. It can work. I think Dad said that.

When I used to draw all the time. I used tiny black ink dots a lot. I was looking for some of my old drawings. They must be somewhere. For now, in cloth, the hand stitched stipple.

I think I will let this one never be finished. I think I will even name it that.

 

I will send out another Feel Free Newsletter test tomorrow. Before beginning the official issue. If you get it and all is fine, well OK. No need to say. If not, check your spam folder. ClothWhispering seems to be flagged as weird. If you still don't see it, email me.  If you have had trouble subscribing (at the bottom of the Feel Free page), try the Help section on Feel Free. If all else fails, there is a link in the menu bar. All issues will be there, for now, in case. If you follow here, I will let you know whenever a new one has been issued. That should cover it I think.

The Newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the 2019 Sharing Series.