state of grace

sat down with the idea to salvage a color catcher where some benibana had been tested.kept on working straight through until the piece was completed.

there's  coloring,stamping and stitching.

 detail

another detail.
it was welcomed work as i had not taken a needle in quite a while.
like the matte surface of the color catcher.














neki desu
 

time to settle down

i've been trying techniques and doing a lot of sampling,but technique alone does not make a piece of work. time to get to work and start thinking with pencil in hand what idea i want to develop.

as a warm up i finished the above, a small riot of stitching and surface design.more is more.

was looking for the beginning photo, but i guess i posted it on instagram.







neki desu

stars

been inside because of rainy weather. such a change in weather,  first snow on the mountains! 

knitting sample converted. bad photo.

a fabric patch and then some plastic cord like those used by kids to make bracelets.add some hand stitching and it becomes playful.thinking about pattern on pattern.

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a few more tweaks and we're done

close up of the french knots for texture on the  upper left side quadrant.

bottom left texture. long kantha stitches for the bottom left quadrant.

upper right(sort of) quadrant.never thought i would dare paint over stitchery.

the whole nine yards.looks pretty cohesive don't you think?

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when it's too hot to move

stitching takes the mind wandering.

no sweat. just long stitching sessions.








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looking outside the box

 http://furorbrillante.blogspot.com

http://claireabaker.blogspot.com

www.sabatinaleccia.com

www.junkooki.com

emilybarletta.com




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blast from the past

found these from 2005 and they are not entirely bad. still like them. woven in hemp and merino wool, wet finished in hot water.then stitched and assembled on digitally printed organza. some stitching added.


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little stitches

nimble hands.
have a great weekend!





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swinging& stitching

after a pretty glorious fal ltime in madrid i'm back. i was supposed to be enjoying fll in kyoto, but life has is was.can't complain becaue i got to see some pretty stupendous colors at the botanical garden. their momiji collection is great, even bonsais in full color.

once back home i spent time getting up to par and baking my xmas cakes which are already crossed out from the list.feeling smug because the preps are going on schedule, this week downtown for the nougats & gifts, plan the menu and set the tree.and at last i can have time to do what i want. however, this week is a super long weekend with just 2 actual working days. hope this doesn't turn my schedule into bogusness .

this number was made some years ago from a very heavily felted wool blanket. it is fondly called the golem and i have used it sparely.took it out this year and re styled it by narrowing the bottom and doing some stitching because it needed spunk.

stitching heavy felt is challenging to say the least therefore my heavy embellishment was cut short.

maybe next year i'll add some more. the back is still orphan.




















neki desu

despite the rain

a good weekend was had (been wanting to say that for a long time). it was cool so i could concentrate on working and not sweating.even wove for a long while!

finished this lutradur  piece that had been waiting for better times. painted and stamped background,pieced woven scarp from this project -nothing goes to waste-machine and hand stitching and puff paint. really like those voids!

i want to explore puff paint further, would like to

do something to erase that school craft hour look.

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busy hands

finished
















in progress

this one's a disciplined sampler
and it feels good to have some structure.










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stitching void

this is about all i can do at the time.still grateful for being able to do this.

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structure

instead of idle stitching i did some searches on the net and found blackwork samplers.these look like fun and also give some direction and structure to my cop out heat therapy.i am picking and choosing the patterns i want to stitch because not all of them are appealing to me.

blackwork is very interesting in that it mimics lace, perhaps-and i am wild guessing- because in tudor times lace was a specialty of flanders and probably they imposed taxes and levies on it.and who knows even copyrights -note the irony.
alençon and chantilly were  established as lace centers much later.

i also downloaded a chart here. however, this looks like serious work and i don't think i'm ready for it yet.

you avid& knowledgeable stitchers feel free to correct me.

neki desu

the heat goes on

and i am bored because i can't work nor go out during the day. we are living like the people in northen africa live; going out after twilight.
i have been doing some stitching because it takes very little energy.no designing or big planning, but something to wake me from the stupor.
old linen getting recycled with running stitch.it was going to be 6 squares like the ones on top, but i got sidetracked with the negative spaces.



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no time for losers 'cause we are the champions

lazy sunday stitching after the  champion's league hangover. even i who doesn't care for soccer.

hand  and machine stitching  on felt, digitally printed organza embellished with hand stitching.

eased into monday by stitching and baking cupcakes.

in the good reads dept: here's our past & our future history as textilians. enjoy!

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waiting therapy

also known as procrastinating. have a bunch of beautiful excuses such as waiting for more heddles.

this is  free motion machine embroidery on needlefelt , hand stitching ,ai dyed commercial  knitted bandage, digitally printed organza and angelina fiber. also lots of fun while i wait.

neki desu

token of gratitude

completing this piece as a token of gratitude for the person who held my hand virtually-i should say virtually held my hand virtually- during the soldering and whining episode.

both the piece and the soldering need a few more touches to be called finished. but i'm taking one day at a time.

the piece is poly chiffon with needlefelt, foiling and hand stitching.the poly chiffon gives a  hint of glimmer where it shows contrasting with the matte felted wool.the silver foil is self explanatory.

（＾▽＾）

stitching was therapeutic after my stint as an electronics repair person.

neki desu

neck and hands

resting my cervicals. threading almost done, but i felt a slight pang so i'm not risking it. time to sit and do hand stitching, with a little machine stitching. this one i wanted to weather all running stitch  using copper wire, at least that was the intention.but on a second thought it would have been too much. lutradur, painted and stamped, stitching using copper wire.

i am finishing a lot of ufos so i can start new
ones  ;)
woven silk scrap with some needle felt , dyeing printing and stitching.









need to get out of the house ASAP.there are renovations going on next door-again. the drilling is unbearable. not to mention the radio volume blasting salsa. i understand people who walk into a store and start shooting indiscriminately.


neki desu
 

while people are doing less

is more i am doing more is more unintentionally. sat down enjoying a nice sunny day with a cool breeze, tending my vat and keeping my hands busy following the old adage idle hands etc, etc.

was having a relaxed go and couldn't stop. now pray thee tell how can i od on stitching and still be working on the zen series? scary isn't it?

neki desu