Spirit Cloth

Cloth and Cold

Cloth is useful. Again.

This is the studio table now, not in the studio, but useful for spreading out, etc., as the temperatures remain below freezing for the 3rd day in a row. The table top was rocking a bit. A scrap of silk was just enough to change that.

All the cloth around here is used. As I age I relate more and more.

I'm not feeling right today. The chill is in me. I think I'll take it easy and do some extra napping.

The cold has also become useful. Helping us begin considering moving to someplace warmer than previously considered.

Looking back we see everything has been, is, will be...useful.

She has a few more stitches. Fringe. She continues.

Dad, who passed away in January, now years ago, his painting is in the background.

 

 

Some Old Thing

Years and years ago, I made this patchwork for a pillowcase.

I gave it to my mother.

It was one of my first patchworks where I departed from commercial fabrics. In fact the yellow squares at the border are cut from my high school gym-suit. I clearly remember high school gym. Probably because I was always embarrassed by the teacher because I was not athletic.

I got it back to repair. But time passed and so did Mom. It's not a pillowcase anymore. It's a story fragment. I cut part of it off to use in something else. I don't remember when or what. But it's probably buried in this blog somewhere. The indigo is new. I can say I patch with dye. And of course, there is a lot more to say about dyed patchwork when I pull it together. I hung this on the wall to remind myself to do that.  I've not time for a lot of things right now.

It's raining. Way more rain than we need really. It just keeps raining.  Yesterday, after waiting so long for a dry day, I had some wood dumped. I covered it with a tarp, not having time to stack. And expecting a shower. It's been raining all night and still raining. Like a monsoon. At sunrise, no tarp and a big pile of drenched wood.

Excuse me, but SHIT.

Love needs Transparency

And so sew , it begins.

A little bit of a rocky beginning but love is not about easy.

Mo's pennant project, coming along...

I stitched a piece of old Japanese silk to the pennant. Stitched around the edge and then across here and there  to stabilize.  Then I cut away two sections. Leaving a bit of a skeleton. The old  cloth supports another old cloth. One softening the other. And I felt a sense of transparency was good here. Love  needs that.   I will use very sheer cloth to complete this.  To make sure the light continues to move through.

Soft Saturday

Let it be a soft day.

It will rain till Monday. The studio is closed from the cold. Amazing, May and cold. Not that cold but cold enough.

I will continue the hanging ceremony.  This is good. I am rereading the blog at the same time. Uncovering old stories that go with old cloths. Imagine if I left them here. Out of context they become just like rags.

An unplanned contact print...

Old Cloth.

Isn't this  great?

From the JOURNAL OF DESIGN and MANUFACTURES. Vol 5. 1851. London

An old book with fabric swatches. This one labeled CLOTH made by Haycock's Patent. Some special finish on wool. It's value to preserve color and sheen to be determined by time.

I love this idea of an old book, maybe a journal?, as a "bundle". I'm sure a hot humid studio helped a bit but who knows where this traveled before it met me.

I wonder how many of these were printed?  I wonder if this happened to all of them in the same way?  Or did their journey make a difference.

This gives me an idea. How about you?

PS. There is a comment issue with Typepad today. I cannot comment on any Typepad blogs and cannot reply to comments either. Hey ho. Seems ok now.