A Wish for You

May your jack-o-lanterns be smiling, your treat bags overflowing, and your night filled with fun.

Image credit: Alexas Fotos

Bargain Thread

I go through a lot of embroidery thread every year, so I keep an eye out for any large lots of it being sold online as part of an estate sale or after a shop closing. Good quality thread is expensive, especially the specialty metallics I love, like holographic Sulky and Kreinik braid. I knew the latter used to be called Balger when it first came out, so when I saw a lot of 44 pristine-looking vintage spools of #8 Balger thread, I decided to buy them.

Buying vintage thread online is sometimes a gamble, as what you get can be deteriorated, smelly, stained or tangled. Happily what I got was perfect. All but one of the spools are unused, and all of them are in mint condition. Each spool has 11 yards of thread on it, so they'll last me a long time.

Best part? New these would retail for about five bucks a spool. I got them for about a dollar each.

I'm going to put them in the box with my holographic threads so I can sit and admire them.

Hmmm. I think I'm going to need a bigger box. :)

Two Bags Down

Last week I finished up the slow-stitched beach bag by sewing it together and lining it with a scrap piece of medium blue broadcloth.

More than anything it was a relaxing project, and gave me time to think about lots of stuff.

I also finished this treat bag I made from my bargello experiment and filled it with snacks before mailing it off to my favorite person in time for Halloween.

The pile of snacks I stuffed in the bag. :)

Almost There

Last night I finished the embroidery on my slow-stitched beach bag, and added a few shells and vintage buttons to serve as embellishments. I didn't want to heavily bead this one (as I so often do with my crazy quilt bags) in order to keep it simple.

This really has been a get-some-breathing-room sewing project for me. I didn't push myself to hurry, or make it too complicated. This time it was just about having fun.

Today I'll sew it together, line it and then post pics of the completed bag.

Growing

It's a little fuzzy, but here's one of the first pole beans to sprout in the garden. We're so excited to have these; they're really delicious. I'm not sure if they'll still be around for Thanksgiving, so I might freeze some for that dinner.

Is it silly to get excited over homegrown veggies? Probably, but I don't care. Whee!

Insider Info

There's a beautiful creature inside everyone, just hoping to be seen. This is how I see my favorite person's.

Saved!

The boys quickly barked at, attacked and subdued this gigantic fuzzy creature I was wrestling with while doing the laundry. I didn't have the heart to tell them it was just a blanket.

Fear

This is a quilt I made a few years ago, mostly because I was afraid to make it.

I agonized over this quilt pattern for two years before I finally worked up the nerve to try putting it together. I made a lot of mistakes cutting the fabric. My color choices were not the best, either. Honestly? It turned out to look like Minecraft.

I wanted it to look like algae on rocks, with the hand quilting to invoke little drops of water rippling out on the surface of a pool. I think the hand quilting was the best part of the quilt.

I gave this one to a dear friend who has been at my side cheering me on for a long time. But making this quilt taught me not to be afraid of making anything. Even if I make mistakes. Even if it ends up looking like Minecraft. :)

Choosing the Path

For the last little quilt in my mini series on Winter back in 2019, I started stitching a piece of hand-dyed silk:

I wanted to do a scene from memory. This was a moment even further back in January 2013 when I took my favorite person to see snow for the first time in the Smoky Mountains; a trip that also changed me forever.

I wasn't trying to recreate the scene exactly, just the feeling from that moment that has stayed with me all these years. A feeling of finally facing the ugliness in my life, and the blessings, and choosing my path accordingly. Literally, choosing hatred, or roses.

I never truly understood Robert Frost's poem, The Road Not Taken, until this moment in the mountains. Today I can tell you that I made the right choice -- one that made all the difference in my life. On that day, I chose roses, which is what I named this little quilt.

Officially Speaking

Since the puppies have had zero accidents inside for the last two weeks, I'm going to call them house-trained now.

Many thanks to my guy for working on this with me and our boys.

Unplanned

I'm making slow but steady progress embroidering the beach bag. I should have the embroidery on this section finished today.

My stitched circles are still a bit wobbly but improving a little. I do these freehand without marking stitch lines so it's all up to my eyes.

I'm also adding some random feather stitching in different threads.

Not having a project plan doesn't worry me anymore. I'm learning to trust the process, I guess.

Currently Watching

At the moment I'm watching the k-drama Do You Like Brahms?, and I'm so impressed by this series I wanted to mention it in case someone is looking for something good to watch. On the surface this show is a romance between a weary world-class pianist and a hopeful but failing violinist, but it also takes a unapologetic clear look at the intensely competitive world of young classical musicians in Korea.

There's so much in the show that resonates with me. What it's like to have a particular talent, and how others who covet that treat you, has been the most disheartening aspect of my experience as a professional in my own field. It's also something I don't miss now that I'm working out of the spotlight. Anyway, if you're looking for something decent to watch, this one is definitely worth it. Available on Viki.com for free with lots of commercials.

Having Fun

Now working on the embroidery for my slow-stitched beach bag. I have nothing planned; I'm improvising as I go along.

I haven't embroidered (or sewn anything, for that matter) in a while, so my running circle stitches are a bit wobbly. It doesn't matter. Perfection for me is an unattainble goal, so I focus more on the quality of the experience.

For this project, it's very soothing, relaxing work.

A Matter of Resilience

Last weekend I read Claire Wellesley-Smith's new book Resilient Stitch ~ Wellbeing and Connection in Textile Art, in which the author added a postscript that almost apologized for the poor timing. Writing a book about making connections and becoming part of a community through sharing and love of textile art is a noble endeavor. Publishing it in the midst of a global pandemic is also brave, in my opinion -- it speaks to a possible future that we all hope we'll survive to enjoy.

This is not a project-based book, although there are a few workshop-style exercises you can try to better understand what Claire does with her own textile art. This is more a memoir of sorts, and an unbiased look at other textile artists, a little of what they're doing with their work, and why they pursue this particular craft. I like how Claire pointed out that sewing and quilting have always been considered low or minor arts, and yet despite the lack of validation through recognition makers have continued practicing and innovating and taking them in all sorts of interesting directions.

What resonated most with me is how Claire is helping advance the evolution of textile art, which I've watched becoming more personal and sustainable over the last few years. Allowing makers to step outside the rigid boundaries of the instructional perfection ideals of the past to explore their own visions is really important. I always felt defeated by quilting until I tried slow-stitch and found the meditative comfort of being able to do what I wanted, make mistakes and simply express myself through fabric and thread.

Reading this book is like sitting down with the author, having a cup of tea and talking about what makes us create. There's a running theme of resilience throughout the chapters, but this isn't the battlecry of the textile protestors or a demand for the reader to go on enduring the unbearable for the sake of their art. Rather it's a series of observations (Claire has a sharp eye, too) on the resilience of textiles themselves, a gentle prod toward more sustainability for the sake of the planet, and what all that means to those who stitch.

I've always struggled with making connections with others and joining groups, and there was one woman Claire interviewed who seemed a lot like me. What she said about her experience with a textile art group made me feel a lot better about my own shortcomings. I think it's sad that due to the pandemic we can't gather and sew together, even informally, but we can still reach out through social media, talk about textile art and show our work. I'm doing that on Twitter, and I've been able to meet some wonderful textile artists.

I highly recommend Claire Wellesley-Smith's new book as a comfort read and a thought-provoking look at how textile art is evolving and bringing us together (hopefully someday soon.)

Looking Back

While I was reading Claire Wellesley-Smith's new book Resilient Stitch ~ Wellbeing and Connection in Textile Art I took a look around my home office at my little collection of slow-stitched art pieces that she inspired me to make. This one is the very first I made; I embroidered a piece of hand-dyed recycled silk on muslin to depict a setting from one of my stories.

This piece I made from memory; it shows a life-changing moment I had atop a mountain in Tennessee.

I made this piece from a piece of old, pilled flannel that reminded me of my grandmother's favorite robe. The tree is one that grows in my backyard. Trees are often a theme in my work.

My word embroidery isn't that great, but I wanted to express how I feel about fall -- the apprehension over the impending holidays, the depression from watching things turn brown, and how much I wish I could skip October, November and December and just go right to January.

I followed up the fall piece with one about something I do like during winter: the colder temperatures, and the occasional frosts we have here.

A piece I cobbled together while feeling particularly isolated, and trying to express that through my stitching.

One of my stronger pieces; I was feeling very determined and focused after making some very difficult life decisions.

My two largest art quilts, each made during a summer of my life when I gave myself permission to play (something that's still hard for me) instead of make useful things to give to other people (my creative default.)

I don't belong to a creative community in real life; I keep to myself and rarely show anything I make even to my family. My textile art has always been a very personal thing for me. This year on Twitter I've slowly found other artists who share the same interest and joy in creating, and I feel as if they're becoming my community. So that's progress, too.

Moving Along

I didn't finish a sewing project this week, but I did make some progress on the slow-stitched beach bag.

I've tacked down all the fabric elements on top of the old backing fabric I quilted.

Time to break out the embroidery thread box and have some fun.

A Day of Stitching

It took me a full day of stitching (interspersed by puppy care, walking, attention, and meals, stretching, trips to the loo etc.) to sew the hidden quilt backing fabric to my canvas bag foundation. Since this is a slow stitch project that's fine -- I'm not in any particular hurry -- and it's a rare luxury for me to have an entire day to devote to my textile art.

For the quilting I followed the original stitch lines from the hidden quilt. I like doing things like that as an homage from me to the maker. The part that took the longest to sew was the fragile ragged edge side. That was pretty delicate work; I really felt the age of the fabric as I stitched. It was pretty thrilling for me, too. Every time I work with very old fabric I feel privileged.

I managed to get the little original boro patchwork right in the center of one side, too. Stay tuned to see my progress.

In the Garden

I haven't had much time to get outside other than to walk to pups, but this morning my boys graciously allowed me to take some pics of our gardens. My guy put a piece of lattice in the re-christened strawberry garden to hold the cucumbers, which are growing like crazy. This morning I counted three flowers on the somewhat wilted, brown strawberry plants, so they're still hanging in.

I was surprised to see the cucumbers were already flowering, too.

I intended to get out there this week and cut some herbs for drying, but the puppies ate my best intentions . . . I will trim some chives today, at least, to cook with for my dinner.

I've been picking and eating radishes all week and yesterday gave some to our neighbors to try. This second bunch are again super crisp but not too hot.

The pole beans have topped the string frame and are looking very healthy.

They're flowering as well, so our odds of having home grown green beans at Thanksgiving are looking good.