November

Can you believe it's November already? It is true that time speeds up as I get older. And memory starts to evaporate. And stuff, the years of accumulation of stuff. I look around and I see so many things that I no longer need to own. Things that own me. 

I've started to clear out years worth of collected textiles, listing them for sale at one of my Etsy shops: WickedWaifVintage. I gently launder them by hand, and I iron them once they are clean and dry. As I handle each piece, my appreciation for the work that went into it is renewed. It's so easy to become attached all over again. I find myself pondering - do I really want to let this go? I work hard at making sure the answer is YES. It's time to let go. To make space, space to breathe. 

Memory Lane: Baby Lily has a snuggle with Doug. 

Autumn Traditions

There is a period of time each fall when the acorns fall hard and fast and I fear for my safety on the deck. I went out a few days ago and collected enough acorns to fill two large bowls as well as a good-sized basket. This particular wooden bowl was a gift from my aunt Phyllis, many years back. It's resting on a lovely runner, hand-woven by Mary Worley in Vermont. She used to sell her weavings each year at the American Craftsmen Show in Wilton, but she isn't doing that anymore. I feel very lucky to have quite a few of her linen kitchen towels, some runners, and a couple of wool blankets. I think it's very important to support those who make beautiful things. If you see something handmade and you like it, grab it while you can. It won't be coming your way again. 

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The annual First Congregational Church Fair was a week or so ago. A true town tradition, with enough apple pies for everyone to buy and a huge caldron of simmering "Everything Soup," hanging above a small fire and carefully tended by members of the congregation. It's possibly the best soup on the planet, or at least it's in the top ten. It seems like everyone in town, and beyond, manages to stop by at some point in the day. All ages are represented along with a fair number of well-behaved dogs and puppies. There was live music - performed by our neighbor's band, Yippee Coyote. Their rendition of Jack White's Never Far Away, literally brought tears to my eyes. I also enjoyed the woman in her 70s (I'm guessing) who stopped by during a different number and danced along to the music. It was a lovely sight and made me wish I could feel the freedom she must feel, to be who she is and do what she does. 

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There are always artisans who set up their booths - in fact, that was where I did my first craft show along with two friends: Judy Wylie, who hooks gorgeous rugs, and Eileen Honey, a painter who these days is doing a lot of art journaling. Also, there is a humongous rummage sale where I scored this beautiful vintage bird cage, for six dollars. My initial instinct was to buy it for resale, but I like it too much to let it go. The roses, by the way, are from my daughter's boyfriend, Bill. He brought two bouquets - one for Adeline and one for me. Smart man.

Lily Pulitzer Prize says Nite Nite.

Do - Undo - Redo - Repeat

Perhaps you remember when I started working on this star. That was at the end of August,. It's been moving slowly. I used to bemoan the fact that I was such a slow worker, but now I accept that it's my way and that's okay. I don't like to rush the stitching. I like to spend time looking at it while I work. Another thing that causes the finish to move farther away - I often pick out all the stitches in a particular section and then start it over again.I don't enjoy that, but it's a necessity. I enjoy the result. 

So, now it's nearing completion, and I have a name for it: Blood Moon. :-)

Exhilarated

Last night was the reception for "On the Fringe" - a juried show of works by Connecticut members of Surface Design Association, at the Bruce S. Kershner Gallery in Fairfield, CT. My piece, Twelve Patch with Crosses, was in the show and, before the night was over, I was thrilled to see it had acquired a red dot. 

The thing about this piece is that it became something so incredibly different from how it started. I am accustomed to going with the flow when I sew ... the textiles and the muse conspire to guide me the way they want to go and I'm very glad that they do.

The horizontal piece, up above, started out to be a vertical 12-patch and it was going to be very minimalistic ... solid black background with stitching only on the squares. 

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But, as I was stitching, I kept feeling like I wanted to fill that black space, but I didn't know how. I kind of wanted to fill the space with stitches, but I found I was not comfortable stitching "outside the box." The more I looked at it, the more the black took on its own life and all I could see were the crosses. Suddenly, I wanted to make crosses. After all, all the cool kids (i.e. awesome stitchers) have crosses.

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ARTISTS REPRESENTED ABOVE, CLOCKWISE STARTING FROM TOP LEFT (click on a name to see the artist's website) ::: CHRISTINE MAUERSBERGER, JUDITH MARTIN, ELEANOR McCAIN, JUDE HILL, AND JUNKO OKI.

So, I plotted and I stitched ... 

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And this is where all those scraps of fabric and stitches landed ...

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Here I go again

This is something I seem to do fairly often: I make something, it sits for a while, for one reason or another I decide it isn't quite right and I alter it. In this case it was a tiny art quilt, which I liked quite a bit. I put it up for sale in my Etsy shop, but nobody bought it and I lost faith in it.

So, now I am "upcycling" it ... making it into a sewing roll-up, and I am loving it! I guess this is what it was meant to be. I especially like the little pocket I've added to it's interior. 

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Stars and Solace

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Weaving cloth, making stars the way Jude Hill taught in one of her online classes. It seems I've been obsessed with stars for a long time!

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Two of my early felted wool patchwork stars.

Also loving the postcard India Flint sent, in celebration of her solace project, which I participated in. It looks absolutely wonderful, doesn't it? It makes me happy, just looking at the photos. .

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PHOTO :: INDIA FLINT