looking back and forward...

There's been lots of talk about Weaving (with a big W) on Jude's blog here. I would love to be able to Weave on such a loom but there is no time to do all the things that are already on my list. So I will stick to weaving (with a small w), on small home made looms, to still get the wonderful feeling of the under/over motion that is extremely satisfying to the soul. More than 35 years ago, when still living in NYC, I did a weaving on a wooden frame using my grandma's angora yarns. I went and searched for it this morning and here it is. It needs a good washing and I really should do something with it. Any ideas?  It is soooo... soft to the touch. Click on images for closer views.

woven on a wooden frame---7" x 5"

grandma's angora yarns

This is one of my favorite cloth weavings that I did in one of Jude's classes.

 While searching for the weaving, I pulled out some older stitched pieces. All the pieces I've done by hand,  in the past,  have been small so working on my magic cloth is a very new experience. A large cloth is not as easy to handle and takes ever so much longer. One really forms a relationship with a large cloth. I'm constantly thinking about what to do next and ideas that pop into my head are written down immediately so that I will not forget. Here is a small piece that I did about 5 years ago. It is mostly hand stitched but there is some machine stitching as well. It measures 12½" x 15½".

that orange color that I do not like always shows up anyway

I just love that cow.

And while looking back, I discovered that I have done a portal in a quilt before the ones on my magic cloth. It was back in one of Jude's classes, I believe, during the terrible oil spill in April of 2010. That portal was an escape hatch for all the fish and sea life that were in such danger.

an escape hatch...piece measures about 12" x 12"

Looking to the future, after my magic cloth is finished, or maybe, nearly finished, I think this piece will be the beginnings of my moon cloth. I have lots of moon pieces but I'm going to stick with colors I really like this time so many of the moon pieces already made will not be used. There is lots more incentive to continue working on a piece when you love the colors you are looking at.

a piece made in Jude's 'sun, moon and stars' class

Jude's classes are very inspiring, even if you are an experienced stitcher, and they give a different point of view in hand stitching cloth. They have been a constant motivation for me to continue stitching on a daily basis. Her classes are still available and you can read about them here.

creating a softer edge...

I've been working on the portal (not porthole, as I previously posted) that will be on the front side of the magic cloth (The Play Ground). I tried several different things but I think I will settle on this one. I wanted this portal to have a softer edge to provide a soft, gentle entry to the other side where the harsh realities of life are experienced in a more linear fashion. Click on the images for a closer view.

the spiral is on a hand dyed silk and the edge is a sari silk strip.

This is the beginning of the portal on the back. If you missed that post, you can find it here. The portals will be placed back to back.

portal on the back. center is japanese silk stitched into a hand dyed silk cloth.

I'm so anxious to start putting the front and back together but I have lots more stitching to do on the front before that can happen. Things are moving quite slowly but progress is being made. I like having different areas to move to on the cloth when I run out of ideas of how to proceed. I have never worked this way before. Jude has been the inspiration for this new method of putting it all together.

bits and pieces of this and that...

It was time to do some yard work this morning even if I was just mowing weeds. The front yard looks better now and another day I will work on the back. Amazing that there are already some flowers appearing here and there. The poor trees and flowers are so confused these days. I think clicking on these images will give you a closer view.

Spring is on its way

Started some work for the back of my magic cloth...The Play Ground. Its story is about the concept of time which has been a kind of obsession with me since childhood. More about that another time and more of an explanation of the cloth's story as it progresses. The last cloth I double dyed seemed like a kind of porthole to me so that is what it has become...a porthole to the front of the magic cloth where there are no boundaries, no order, a kind of timelessness. The front of the cloth will also have a porthole to the back.

just the beginnings of stitch...

Several years ago, I made a small quilt whose story was also about time...music taking you to another time and place. That one was called An Other View. It is quite small...just 12" x 14".

mostly machine stitched

a little mirror is stitched in...you can see my hand holding the camera here

the back...this little one was made in 2007

I think I've got my double moon...

Was doing a bundle that I'm hoping will turn out to be some kind of a kaleidoscope design and 2 scraps of fabric appeared from somewhere. So used 4 can covers to try to make some moons. I think I now have the makings of the double moon I've been after for my magic cloth.

some silk folded in a kaleidoscope shape with leaves, pennies, and nails within the folds and wrapped around a copper pipe. it will be a while before this bundle is dry.

small pieces of cloth between 2 tin can covers and rubber banded together

nice 3" circles...perfect for my double moon

Still stitching on my magic cloth but it's slow going so here's just a peek.

all the flower petals will be covered with stitch

pencil play...

I've been playing with my set of Inktense Pencils on paper and on fabric. I love being able to color with pencil and then with just a bit of water brushed on, it gives it a watercolor look. If you decide to buy them, check ebay before paying full price. I got a set of 12 for $7 including shipping. They work really well on fabric as well as paper, leaving the fabric soft and stitchable.

on fabric and paper

this cat wasn't dark enough so I enhanced the color with the pencils

And more experimenting with natural dyeing.
I'm trying  to achieve double and triple moons. I used several rubber bands over the tin can. There are also some onion skins stuck under the silk fabric as well. A couple of days should dry it up so I can see if it worked.

rubber bands and onion skins over a tin can

it had to have velvet...

I just love the feel and look of velvet so I had to add a piece to my magic cloth.

lush purple velvet

My magic cloth now officially named:  The Playground (the old, the new, the imagined, and the possible)

Did a bit of dyeing this week...here are some images.

leaves on habotai silk wrapped around a tin can

added a copper pipe on the second can

the result...some leaf definition...both pretty much the same

more meditative stitching...and...

Really want to incorporate some needlelace here so cut out one of the holes and started experimenting. also added and manipulated some cloth.

It seems to be saying...RELAX...

The section of the magic cloth with the goat was too light to my eyes so I added some bits of fabric to darken it a bit and added some paw prints to hopefully connect it more to the cave section above.

more stitching to be done here

and...here are my FLY STITCHES for TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday)...

added some bullion stitches and beads

stitching on the cave walls...

A few weeks ago I wrote about the movie "The Cave of Forgotten Dreams". That post is here if you missed it. A couple of my hand dyed pieces reminded me very much of the walls of the cave.

hand dyed cloth with leaves and wrapped around a tin can, simmered in oak leaves and acorns.

















I cut and arranged and stitched all the layers together. Some sections are 4 layers thick but it feels so good as the top layers are the dyed silk. I made some stencils and templates and added beasts to the walls of the cave, made footprints on the floor and placed some trees in the night sky at the exit of the cave. So here is what it looks like so far. I plan on doing more stitching on this section. This is my favorite section of the magic cloth so far. The fact that this section doesn't really blend in with the rest of the cloth is not really bothering me. I'm going to make it work somehow. Click on the images for a closer view.

inside the cave with the drawings of the beasts on the walls

paw prints

my best dye results so far...and...

I did an unbundle this morning after 3 weeks of waiting. I think these results are the best I've gotten so far. I started out with white cotton soaked in soy milk for a couple of days. Bundled with eucalyptus leaves, onion skins and a few copper pennies and wrapped around copper pipe. Simmered in water with oak leaves. It seems using the soy milk as a mordant really makes a difference with the cotton.

cotton with euc leaves, onion skins, copper pennies and copper pipe

the circles are where i embedded copper pennies in the bundle

I see a swirling going on and some sun rays that will be enhanced with stitch

Some of you asked to see a larger view of my magic cloth.  So far, it measures 29" x 22" but will be approximately 48" when complete (don't know what year that will be). I would like to do as much embellishing as possible on what is here so far before adding more around the edges. It's just so much easier to handle that way.

measures 29" x 22" here

this area might wind up being filled with eyes of beasts at night

lots more stitching needed here

I split some Japanese silk in half and filled in with black and white

a black and white trimmed cloud raining on a bobbin lace leaf

Still working on the meditative stitching when I get stuck on where to go next with the magic cloth and starting to add some scribble stitches in color.

adding color to the meditative stitching

Over at Magic Diaries, we're talking about eyes and the designs they can initiate. This is my eye that I'm playing with. Hope it's not too scary.

So that's what's going on here. Lots to keep me busy for a while.

scribbling on my playground...

my magic cloth has become a kind of playground. when i get tired of playing in one area, i move on to another. trying to reveal the inner layers of things, the essence. peeling away the layers, one at a time.

invisible to the naked eye but there just the same

a hidden web and some scribbling with the magic thread

a split personality or the beauty within???

just the beginning of embellishment. more soon.

the Magic Beast Cloth continues...

I've stopped trying to plan the whole cloth. Doing that just makes me put it aside and go on to something else. So I am now just adding sections that inspire me and will try to connect them all with embellishment.

playing with hexagons

and fringe (from Jude)

 I like the idea of extending a design into another section with applique and embroidery.

auditioning some silk (from Jude) to extend the flower into another section

I might be adding some beasts in amongst the hexagons...a kind of playground. maybe just hints of beasts as my drawing skills are not that great.

And just a reminder for those of you who observe Daylight Savings Time, set your clocks back one hour tonight.