Shards. Day 1

 It appears that I'm headed down a new rabbit hole. Not a bad thing, but I certainly need to finish a few things before this leap! It's a bit of experimenting that does need to be done to see what works ahead of the design work. That makes it ok. Besides, "all work and no play..."

Quilted beads

 

I had a group of 7 creatives stitching fabric beads yesterday. One student had never stitched before. How wonderful to introduce someone to stitching!

I have a vision of stringing the beads to use as garland on my Christmas tree.  This may take a few years!

Morning stitching

 

Im finally feeling myself after a bad bout with the flu. Now is the time to jump into the projects that were back burnered. With a beautiful sun shining this morning,  I pulled yellow to work on. The thread may be too bright for my plan, but a layer of solar fast over the top may mute it enough. For now, just stitch.

Road trip - St Louis

 Hitting the road as soon as the dryer stops and clothes all folded and put away. I changed the sheets yesterday and did a bit of cleaning.  Always nice to come home to a clean house.

It looks like rain in St Louis for the next 4 days. That translates to art, movies, and long talks. I'm looking forward to time with my son. And my grand dog. And coffee brought to me in bed. A little spoiling goes a long way...

Glass / Fort Wayne

 I know very little about working with glass. A few episodes of Blown Away, a visit to a glass blowing shop with my cousin for a short minimal hands on session, and my latest obsession - breaking bottles to tumbler in my rock tumbler. 

The glass at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art is a wonderful experience. Not knowing how it is created gives me the time to just look and admire. As a fiber artist, this glass kimono was a delight to take in. I have no idea how woven glass is formed. I just enjoyed the moment.

Tears for our Earth

 I've begun working on my final quilt for the Earth Fragments series. That sounds silly to me because I actually have 7 to do before the last quilt. I guess one works on what motivates at the moment. Pulling together fabrics, supplies,  and ideas takes time and a bit of planning.  I had an idea of sewing bones on the quilt. There are 3 small bones in my stash of crazy things I've picked up over the years. Not enough to pull off a statement about the end of life.  With planning and asking a few friends I may come up with a few more. Or maybe a better idea will come bouncing in my head.

Anyway, for a base I am using a quilt top that I pieced ever so long ago. It was pink and green. Lovely in the 80's and yucky now. A day in the dye pot totally grunged it to a better background option. If only I had thought to photograph it before the dye pot. I wonder if I have a sample block in my archives?

Cobalt - Earth Fragments Series

 The stitching on my current series is slowly coming along. Deadline for the quilts is March 2025.  3 quilts finished (except for sleeves), 4 WIP, and 3 more floating in my brain. Currently, "Cobalt" is hanging on my design wall. With a whole day planned with my church sewing group on Saturday, I feel like this quilt may actually find itself finished, or at least very close!

The dress was created with a cyanotype print using foliage from my garden. I'm in the process of stitching the white areas. I've been working about 20 minutes on it each morning - trying to not be obsessed with the finish. Instead, it's been a slow piece giving my some quiet thinking time before the day begins. 

My "design wall" is actually a rod in my dining room that usually has a finished quilt on display. While the dress project continues, it is a good place for the current work. I see it each time I'm at the table, giving me time to observe and figure out what I need to change. Since this photo, I've added more pieces to the top. It's just pinned in place at this point. The bottom of the quilt is mostly cyanotypes while the top is stenciled pieces using acrylic paint. 

Why "Cobalt"?  Each quilt in my series makes a statement about the abuse of our earth.  I was shocked to read about the cobalt mines in Africa.  My focus on creating the quilts is what "progress" has actually done to our earth. "Cobalt" began as a look at how mining leaves the landscape barren, stripped, and destroyed.  

My research led me to Siddharth Kara's book, Cobalt Red, giving me a picture of what has also happened to the people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These are a people that were forced into slavery years ago. Big industry continues to extort the Congolese people. I cannot erase the images painted in my mind after reading this book. At this point, my action is to promote awareness. That seems like a tiny drop in the bucket when the issue is so extreme.