Spirit Cloth

Deepening Winter.

It's cold, we've gone Polar. Looks like below freezing for a week or so. And maybe some snow. The big unstacked wood pile is frozen. An excuse to continue with other things. 

Life became really confusing this last year. Maybe actually just confusing. 

In any case, The Deep Pool of Thought... posts here and here... has become a larger cloth still, simply by giving it a different use. And it could be a blanket too if I keep going.  And I probably will, what else is there? And it's cold.

What's happening with all my internet places? Well, I'm sorting through that. 

I was going to start talking here today but the man is sleeping and the basement is cold and so tomorrow will hopefully be another day. 

Morning Softness and Unfolding

 

The "studio" is full of still packed boxes.

Let's unpack then. Talk about stuff. Just like that.

It will help me understand where I am. A ceremony.

Because I cannot sit and stitch. My back feels better but I did a bit of damage to my hip joint, which happens now and then. It's a weak spot, that joint. Some healing has to happen before I can sit for long periods. That includes the computer so I am not out and around visiting on the web much either.

This was the first thing I pulled from a box. Sitting on top, one of the last things I cobbled together in the time before the move. Some small cloth. A nine lives patch. But more importantly what I want to call a story card.  I've been working on card ideas for a while. But I ended up not wanting to print cards. Not wanting more than one of anything. Long ago I was considering one of a kind cards.  Back in the Flickr days. Gosh I've known some of you that long. One by Jude. That was the name I was using. Anyway, now, not just paper but cloth and paper, hybrids I began calling them, but to make  long story short, oh ha!, they're coming.

This is a Cat In A Window. But that is part of the story. Still in the works.

My car broke down yesterday but we actually found a small repair shop within walking distance. (a bit of a hike actually)  Cash, 50 bucks, done, yay! New friends.

 

And this is funny lamp #2.

Funny because I just don't do ceiling lamps. 

I like it mostly for the reflections it makes in the window.

A moon maker.

I wonder if the previous owners noticed that? Probably not, I said to myself. I tend not to give folks enough credit when I sense they are not like me. I will correct that. It's not fair or useful.

The Tendency to make it through...

 

We are on the path to June.

A cold May but it's OK.

I'm gardening small this year. So many little things that I started here along the path, not sure they would make it through winter, they did! And I'll start a pot of indigo today. Small and portable seems good to me lately.  Maybe carry it with me.  Like thoughts.

Miss Aloe. I put her outside a little too early this year. It looks like she will make it.

I cobbled a few scraps together.  They came together so nicely.  I named them to remember.

 

The Tendency to Hold Together  

Learn. Remember. Evolve.

 

There is a new post in class today.  And the next part of the Series, Patchwork in Perspective, will go on sale tomorrow.  How it might go has changed a bit.  I will probably post the details of that here tomorrow, before I disappear for a few days.  To be by the sea.

Think Simple...

Without the clutter of greed, agenda and expectation, little things can be surprisingly useful.

I try not to overlook that. Think. Consider. Keep Going.

Many times, I get the question..."what do you do with all these little pieces?".

I consider each one, and each step, a thought caught.

And I try to put them in perspective.

Thought Catching now aka Patchwork in Perspective  is officially the first segment of a sharing series I will host in 2019 starting on my birthday, February 19th.

Ok , after thinking for a long time, I have named it and scheduled it. The thing is, I have not figured out how to handle it.  Let me talk a bit. But not today. Tomorrow. Here. Talking to you, Piece-Makers, just to throw some ideas out there. A little catch today, release tomorrow.

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.

Circle games

This morning

continuing with combining components in new ways.

Folding circles, again considering time passing...

as a component itself. 

I might just rename these from time passing to Eventually.  Eventually fragments. They might be very handy to build a story. They might fit anywhere and add an element of truth to the process.

 

Pieces of Days

Just a glorious morning.

Cold with that promise of warmer. Even if it's a long way off.

Here I am, in the same spot. Almost waiting for spring. But there is no need. For it will come Eventually.

I did a bit more quilting on Holding Pattern last night but showing you every stitch will get a bit boring so let's let that ride for a while.  It takes a lot of stitches. This patchwork base was in the shop for a bit but I caught it before it flew away and decided there was more story here for me to tell.  I just added a tiny bit of red silk fringe that appeared caught on the bottom of the scrap basket. Set it free. I've pinned the whole patched fragment to a longer piece of cloth. More space, room for going. What I originally loved here was the imperfection of the dyeing and how the wings seemed to be appearing or disappearing, how the form was in transition.

We feel this will be our last winter here. Change is in the air. And I will call this little long cloth that. Change is in the Air.

Like Magic

Poof. The snow disappeared.

Another morning, near 60 degrees. By this evening, another deep freeze. It's amazing that sometimes science is used as a near antonym for magic. To me they are nearly the same. More about that another day.

Meanwhile I love this picture taken this morning. A lighted window in the distance. The stories it might conjure. Imagine.

We are low on wood, but not onion skins. The doors close on the studio today. Last minute cleaning. Last cloths from the Dye Po(e)t. I see strays everywhere.

I'm not exactly sure where the green came from but that old copper pot has secrets which become apparent over time.

Just Floating There

Odd winter morning.

All warm and steamy as the temperatures rose to almost 50 overnight, melting snow and filling the air with moisture.

Warm enough. No fires burning. Soul-o is out before sunrise. Probably we will have just enough time for a wood delivery before temperatures drop again.

She ended up here, just floating on a scrap of commercial quilting fabric that was dipped in the indigo vat a while ago.  I stitched over a few of the stars to integrate it all into my wishful thinking. I was going to make a pillow out of this one but I think I'll leave it like this. A floating fragment. In winter.

A note to all you who subscribe by email. What you receive is a copy of the daily post on my blog, it floats out there separate from everything else on the site including links, conversations and pop up news and shop updates. Sometimes links in the post don't translate to the mail you get. If you click the title of the post it will take you to the blog.  If you have a problem with audio or video, that's the way to fix the problem. My subscription service is getting worse and worse. It is not that reliable. I stick with it because it's free. In February it will go away. You will have to visit the blog after that. Or not if that's what you decide. I will remind you one more time before the mail stops.

A Stack of Possibilities

We want to need to relocate. Eventually.

I've been confused.

I could spend a lot of time talking about that. But Nah.

I made a video this morning. While straightening up. I didn't bother to get the tripod. It's a bit shaky but it seemed more important to get the thoughts out. Worrying about presentation can dilute my intentions of catching my thoughts. I find that more and more (that presentation is more involved in catching the thoughts of others). So just this...

 

video link if you see no player

 

So B, for Bases, when I get around to it, will be a big subject. Because a base is a place, that goes beyond cloth.