Embroidery - The Bog - Cape Breton Island

Bonsai in the Bog

A few years ago I took a photo of a bonsai-like tree in the middle of a bog in Cape Breton Island.  Last year, I noticed that small tree had all but disappeared - maybe due to dry weather or munched on by moose who regularly frequent the bog.   I decided I needed to record its passing with a piece of embroidery.  I had planned for it to be only bog - no sky - but in the end decided to add a little sliver of blue as a contrast (I know, I didn't follow the 'thirds' rule).

It is only 4" x 6" but took many hours of hand stitching to complete.   Then I added a thin batting with extra behind the tree.  I added backing fabric and stitched around the tree shape and in between some of the foliage of the tree to give a 3D effect.  I added a mat and will frame it.  Below is the original photo inspiration.

Bog photo

In spite of the intense heat and humidity of the past two weeks (I don't have AC) I managed a little machine work in the early mornings.   I am stitching another swamp with strips of fabric but this one will have waterlilies in it.   Here is the background all stitched up.  Now to add some hand cut foliage and small waterlilies and lily pads.  I like it to look abstract with just a bit of reality thrown in.   I used straight and zigzag stitching for most of it but did add some adjusted honeycomb stitches (elongated to look like lily pads) here and there.  When I am finished I will post the photo inspiration as well.  You'll be able to see why I used the strip method for the scene. 

I'll be adding a touch of reality with foliage, water lilies and lily pads

The combination of sun and rain is really helping my somewhat neglected garden.  Here are a couple of brilliant day lilies that bloomed last week.

I spent the week seeking refuge in air conditioned surroundings.  I hit the library, the shops, the pubs and ended the week with a coffee shop, art store and fabric paint demo at Wabi Sabi by a member of my Out of the Box group.   The paints are Stewart Gill and they keep a soft hand so you can easily hand stitch through them.  Needless to say, I purchased a varied selection of paints and will be experimenting with them in the weeks to come.

Finally today we have very cool temperatures and I love it!!!

I'm linking this post to  Needle and Thread Network WIP Wednesdays to celebrate their 100th post!!

Bookmarks, Dyeing Ribbons, Birds in the Bushes, Finishing my first Hooked Rug etc

First a little update on my last post -Prairie Sky II. I couldn`t say before but this piece was purchased by my friend Jody`s partner as an anniversary gift.  The best part is that Jody, a Saskatchewan girl, former co-worker, and my choir director, wrote a song called Ìnfinite Blue`  which was the motivation behind my two (so far) prairie pieces.   Her song, in turn, was inspired by a poem written by her mom.  Happy to say that she was thrilled with the piece and with the thoughtfulness of her partner.   Oh, I love secrets!


On  Friday I brought some new bookmarks out to The Pickle Dish in Carleton Place - a fabric shop and more.   Jan really liked the new fabric ribbon embroidered ones and took them all to sell in her shop.

 

 

Soooo,  yesterday I got out my little ribbon dyeing kit that I purchased from Ribbonsmyth and dyed some ribbons.  This little kit contained 4 basic colours - a red, green, blue and yellow - and I was able to mix them to create some really nice colours.  It came with lots of instructions, recipes, and pipettes.    It was so easy to do - just a plastic container in the microwave for 1-3 minutes and voila!!   I dried them in minutes under the lilac tree, ironed them and soon had a little bag of lovely silk ribbon.

I`m not sure if I can re-create these colours but next time I will make note of the number of drops of each colour I used - maybe even make a sample card - but for now I was just playing!!   I put a piece in water afterwards as instructed and it didn`t seem to colour the water so I`m pretty sure they are colour fast.   Can`t wait to try out more - and maybe order more colours:)  I do believe I read somewhere to dry them inside so the colours are not faded by the sun but mine were out for only a few minutes in the shade and dried nicely.


The last two weeks was also a time for getting things done.  I finished my first little hooked rug this week - hooked in the last few yarns, folded back the raw edges and sewed a one inch binding on the back to secure it.  It was waiting to be finished off for awhile but in the last two weeks  I have tackled some major unfinished business - cleaning my office, buying a car, booking some work on my eaves, so why not tackle some UFOs.

And now for something completely different.  This year my serviceberry bush had copious amounts of berries.   I had to do some research to find out just what this bush was because the birds and squirrels gobbled the berries like there was no tomorrow.....next year I plan to get in on the act too.

This young blue jay actually sidled up to the chipmunk and was begging to be fed

But it was too busy filling its face with juicy berries

 

Eventually mom or dad appeared and role modelled for the youngsters how to pick their own berries

The squirrels ate them by the handfuls

sometimes hanging upside down - don't try this at home

Cardinals and robins were able to eat them on the fly but they were too fast for me to snap a picture

I'm linking up with  the Needle and Thread Network WIP Wednesdays.     See what other Canadian fibre artists are doing this week.

Prairie Sky II

A few weeks ago I designed another Prairie Sky piece.  I started with a painted satin sky, added rolling hills and fields, and finished with a base strip much like the original prairie sky which is my blog header.   But this one is only 10 x 12 inches mounted on an 11 x 14 stretched canvas, and after I stitched the piece together, I hand stitched each individual fabric with french knots, twisted chains (for furrowed fields), and other tiny stitches.   The base strip was machine stitched with grasses, then hand stitching was added (ouch! my fingers hurt).  I zigzagged the edges then extended the width of the piece by painting  onto a stretched canvas background so the piece looks kind of 3D.   I added some pearl paint to the canvas sky to resemble the satin sky of the piece.  I really love it!!!  In fact I think it is one of my best pieces.   It took weeks of work but came together like magic.

detail

detail

 I only got to see it for one day before it went off to its new owner.   More about that later.   The paint hadn't even had time to cure but the new owner promised to be careful......I have made so many pieces but I really hate to see them go - especially so quickly.  But this one I know will be appreciated and it will have a good home.

Sad news - the person whose photos inspired my pieces  'Kitchen Party' and 'Autumn in Stoney Swamp' - passed away on Thursday.   He was a lovely man and a talented photographer.  He will be missed.

Kitchen Party

Autumn in Stoney Swamp

Sacred Threads Exhibition

Kuan Yin: Mother of Compassion

This week I packed up my quilt for the Sacred Threads Exhibition in Herndon,Virginia.  If any of you live in the area of Washington DC or are visiting in July, I hope you have time to visit this lovely exhibition in Herndon, Virginia (near Dulles Airport).    On their website gallery you can view previous shows and they are fascinating!   The theme is all about different aspects of spirituality -joy, grief, healing, inspiration etc.   The pieces are often very personal.  For the visitors, there will be accompanying audio from each artist in our own words describing our work and inspiration.

My piece Kuan Yin: Mother of Compassion was created over a period of two years but the inspiration went back to 1996 when I was finishing my social work thesis on the topic of spirituality and healing from abuse.    I interviewed several women counsellors and one was a Vietnamese woman who spoke to me of Kuan Yin.   She said she felt that women who were abused could relate to a female image.    She described Kuan Yin (kwan yin) as kind, gentle, strong, compassionate - carrying the pain of others as if it were her own.   She told me a story of vietnamese refugees fleeing by boat, who were boarded by pirates.  Frightened they chanted Kuan Yin's name.   The pirates noticed a picture of Kuan Yin on the boat, conferred briefly then left - taking nothing and leaving the people unharmed.  To me it was an example of compassion in action.  Her stories stayed with me for all these years and has formed the basis of my personal philosophy in my work with abused women.

Years later a friend brought her goddess cards to a get together and there was an image of Kuan Yin.  I decided to create a quilt using my own image.  I researched the symbols associated with kuan yin and added icons - a rice bowl  for feeding the people, a bird and tiger together symbolizing peace, lotus flower symbolized a level of attainment, a blue bottle from which pours the water of life, and the willow branch for fertility, and the ability to bend in the wind.   The dragon signifies different things in folklore but for me here it symbolizes strength and feistiness.

The piece is hand stitched applique, the icons were drawn and painted then appliqued to the piece.  I used paint, beads and sequins for embellishment and hand quilted the background.

I was thrilled to have this meaningful piece of work accepted into the Sacred Threads exhibition.  So Kuan Yin is heading towards Washington for a short visit before returning to Canada's capital.  I thought it was rather appropriate because I think our politicians on both sides of the border need a bit of compassion in these troubling times.

I took photos of the packing process and will post shortly.   In the meantime I am keeping my fingers crossed that she will arrive safely. 

Spring Thaw - Stitches, Applique and Paint

Spring in the Swamp

A couple of years ago I took this photo of a pair of Canada Geese  swimming around the melting ice in a swamp in the Greenbelt.   Last week I painted a couple of geese on fabric, then I fused some icy puddles of bluish organza to a watery blue background.  I fused the geese to the background as well, stitched their feathers and the reeds around them, and touched up the 'ice' with pearly blue paint.   Then I fused a brighter blue around it (1/2" on each side) and plan to attach it all to an uncut mat.     It looks like the smaller rectangle is transparent 'ice' attached to the brighter blue but it is an illusion.  The bright blue is only a border.  I might extend the reeds into the border to connect the two.  I call it 'Spring Thaw'.

Spring Thaw

Taking Time to Smell the Flowers

And here is my girl among the wildflowers.  The exposure was not quite right but I thought it was a perfect picture of her - so happy to be out in the yard after such a long winter.   Maybe the subject of another quilt?

Stitching, stitching....

 This post is linked to Needle and Thread Network - WIP Wednesdays
Take a look at what other Canadians fibre artists are doing this week.

I spent the last two weeks stitching every evening on this little piece.  It's just 5" x 7".  I didn't count while I stitched but there must be thousands of stitches.   I started off by drawing a clump of pitcher plants on white fabric and painting it with caran d'ache pencils.  Then I fused it to a brownish patterned batik and handstitched - first the plant - then every space around it.  Sometimes I don't know why I do this but once I start I just keep on stitching. I just enjoy the process.  I used a combination of  floss, silk ribbon, and heavy silk threads.

Hand stitched pitcher plant

Here's a close up view

The original photo inspiration was one that I took either in Newfoundland or Cape Breton Island.  Unfortunately I can seem to find the origin so that I could post an electronic copy of it.

We had some serious rain here last week and my lilacs really started to droop over my patio.

Covering my tiny patio with blooms

A bit waterlogged but still beautiful!

Alas this week they are starting to fade away.....I so love lilacs!!

PS - Found it!  Here is the inspiration for my stitched pitcher plant.  Great foliage surrounding it!

Pitcher Plant - See how they start to turn grey as they age:)