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Friday, April 15, 2016

It's Derby Time

Our Main Street DDA is doing a Derby Day party and has asked artists to decorate a hat which will be raffled off at the event.  I delivered mine today.  The hat had a plain black ribbon band so I went to my fabric stash to see what I had.  I found something black and white with a touch of red and blue that had horses on it.  

Okay, that's it; however, all I had were small scraps. So more digging, lots of black and white scraps, some heavy duty interfacing make a pretty nice bow.  The center, a rhinestone pin... did I mention I sometimes think maybe I'm a hoarder.  My house doesn't look like it but my studio sure does.  I have never been one to wear a rhinestone pin yet I have several, probably my mother's or my grandmother's or Ed's mother's... who knows.  I have them and one worked perfectly as the center of that black and white bow.  

That's why I save all that stuff, one never knows when one may need it.

Once the hat was delivered I did some more stitching and thinking about stitching.  Actually I was thinking about something I read that Dee Thomas said about contemporary embroidering and her stitching, "Perhaps it is decorative, a damning term in the art world, but I would rather people liked it for what they see and what they think about it, rather than as a concept that needs explaining."  

She also mentioned not thinking she wanted to stitch because when she was learning she never did it perfectly and hated it.  I could relate which got me to thinking about Mother.  And the more I thought about it the more I realize that given time, she would have been in the contemporary camp. 

Yes, her stitches where perfect, she was a certified Master Embroiderer.  However, her work wasn't traditional... Instead of flowers of a white pillow case, she did perfect stitches between the lines of the pillow ticking and stitched it into a purse.  I have no desire to do those perfect stitches, I am not nearly as patient as she was; however, I don't think she'd mind if she was still with us.  


Friday, April 8, 2016

Another Silly One and a Blanket Block

I haven't decided, is she an angel or just throwing up her arms wondering what the h#%l was she thinking when she stitched me.  Whichever, I like her and I think she'll live on my studio wall with some other dolls that hang there.  They'll like her company.

I worked a bit more on one of the blocks for our winter blanket.  Her face is trapunto, there's a bit of old lace (have to use some of that stash) and now I'm adding some embroidery.  I'll be doing more embroidery on this one but haven't decided where or what.

That's it for today, I can't believe I have been so good about posting this week.  Spring Break and my grandson isn't here every morning before the bus so I have time early morning.  That will change next week.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Something for the Garden and Some Stitching

As I was stitching the face on this one I was thinking, actually singing in my mind,  "I see the moon and the moon sees me..." Guess that's why the eyes got so big.  I have no idea what I'm going to do with this but I've gone back to redo a class I took from Jude Hill several years back and this is one of the pieces that has resulted from that.  I like everything but the big eyes.

And this, I did for our garden a year ago but it was too top heavy so it has been sitting in my studio waiting for me to add a larger plate at the bottom.  I haven't found the right plate for the bottom so I added some heavy stones and cemented them in that bottom piece.  No longer top heavy and ready to go in the garden if Spring ever arrives.

Yesterday was Tuesday Painters day but I haven't photographed what I did yet.  I'll post that later in the week.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Stitching in Circles

This is a little piece I stitched yesterday.  Looking at it this morning I see that it is exactly where I was, lacking focus, wandering in circles.  I'm still there but recognizing it helps I think.  At least I hope.  We shall see what today brings.  I may do more on this but for now I'm calling it done.  It's about 3 x 7 inches, a bookmark I think.