September has taken hold. Warmer than usual but still...
The turning has begun. It will dip into the 40s tonight.
This is the edge of the Coma Cloth. Where the edge was no match for new eyes.
I have so many new eyes. I just feel like closing them all. If only for a moment's rest. I watched the news before bed, woke up, went out to the chilly porch and screamed "I can't take it anymore!". A few moments later, off in the distance, over the hill past the stone walls, I heard "Me either".
For those of you subscribed by email, there is a video below and if you see no player you can watch it directly in YouTube by clicking this link.
I am a firm believer in Form Follows Function. And to extend that into the spirit of the thing, if you have no use for what you are making/doing, it will not turn out to be anything much at all. Usefulness is a broad concept. Maybe you need to make a living, maybe you need a blanket, maybe you need simply to see what happens. But there has to be something. For it to be something.
This one is forming. Through intention. Even though I remain on the edge of what it might look like. I want it to be a two sided blanket, I don't want one side to be more than the other. I want it to center me and yet express empathy. To give visual form to that. No matter what it looks like.
The red. Such an odd addition. But I like that it fits, make the candy colors work more deeply. As I drew and expanded the original red lines, stitched and then thought the split stitch was too blah and would also take too long, I switched to my signature Wrap Stitch, (here, stitched only on the top layer) I drew some dividing lines, for the bars, and suddenly those spikes seemed like backbones. And courage popped into my head. And then the words...to become whole again, to heal, requires courage.
I spent a long time stitching, and not one single minute watching either convention. I feel clear headed. And that is what I need this one for.
I did finally get the full video to post on Instagram. It will probably be that way now. Words and audio and more photos here, video there. Things are what they are and we go. Now that I know better how, it will simply be easier to continue and I thank you for understanding. The process, a patchwork in itself.
The seed ended up in the corner. The cloth is a bit white and I considered a tea stain but then I began to love the purity of it. So thin, the earth showed through and that was good too.
In words, if you did not see or were unable to see the video... I use a red pen to draw the rays, ink being see though, the lines appear brownish but I will redden them up with stitch. Just a running stitch in red to bring the lines to the other side. For now guides. And of course quilting at the same time. Strength. Stability. This is an old pueblo symbol and I have used it many times as a sun, but it is as I learned though my research, a sacred symbol and I will only use it as a guide now, to something else. A teacher.
For a two sided cloth, some stitched go through and some don't. Moving between the layers appearing and disappearing is the magic connection.