Spirit Cloth

What is What If?

I just want to talk about it,  this thing I now call What If Diaries(?).    It is not a class, it is more like a resource.   It is a lot of things.   Scraps of self.   There are steps to be taken to  have this Happen.  Layers.  But firstly, I will be reopening my What If (?)  blog, under a new name, The What If Diaries.  Starting over actually,  in a way.  Consider it a Gateway.   I look at it as a kind of  treasure hunt.     Because that is how it all happened for me,  still happening actually... a journey in self discovery and I am just telling the story.

The  What If  blog  is not restricted.   It is open to all.  Like a door.   I cleaned it up and updated it a bit... and it will reopen  with the New Year.   And then we begin.  Again.  And keep going. 

Along with the reopening of What If,  I will be closing the shop.   Because how I will be doing that  will be changing as well.    In fact,  Everything will be different.   Too much sameness out there.   Doing the shake it up dance here.   You?

A little more Home

It might not be obvious yet, but there are some big wings forming.  In a full spectrum sort of way.  



This morning, sorting through the  basket of magic stitchery, ( it is such a treasure hunt...) there it was, a little home.  number 85.  Just right.   This has to be in the center somewhere. Home is like a center.

This post is part of the Magic Feather Project.

Old cloth

I found this in the scrap pile this morning. It is an old dobby woven silk taffeta. Too brittle to sew. But I love it. I am back to the scrap pile, and plan on adding to the threadcrumbs library, overhauling that a bit,  as well as using some of these old wovens as inspiration for some dream weaving. Supplementary weft weaving (floats are added to pattern the cloth by adding additional filling threads in between those of the base weave) is often referred to as on-loom embroidery, being quite related to counted thread embroidery in concept. I'm back to thinking about that. It's the weave thing.  

And I am reading. How about that? I am reading  a book I found in a used book store long ago... the Grammar of Textile Design, the third edition. You can find the first edition here along with other texts, for free. It is a very serious weaving book. I like it for its information and illustration but I also love it's old form. I like to just hold it.  I've been holding it for a long time. Maybe to keep it from falling apart. There is evidence that others have held it as well.  Now I am reading it.

Even if you consider yourself an expert at something, it is always interesting to get another point a view. Even a textbook is that. A point of view.

giving

a small quick trial, continued from here. i love the little heart leftover, its transparency after giving up its color. the avocado skins and pits are new to sludge in the dye pot. i have the pot sitting in the sun now, too warm to waste wood for a fire.

and look what i found. wow.