Action on All Fronts!

 Here we are with only a week left in March!  

I know spring is supposed to be here but it's taking its time arriving in central Alberta.  There's still lots of hard-crust snow, melting only around the edges, and there's lots of ice on sidewalks in areas that don't get enough sun.

While there are buds on my lilacs (well, at least on the one I can see without clambering through snow pack), there are certainly no other flora attempting to peek out of the ground!  There are, however, more birds around too -- cedar wax-wings, pileated woodpeckers, a crow or two and maybe even some nuthatches have been spotted.  I'm not a birder, so except for the obvious calls (magpie, crow, chickadee), I really can't tell who's who -- but I love to listen to them call to each other and carry on their conversations:  "Hey! Hi!  Howarya?  How was your trip back?  Interested in shacking up this year?"  You know; that sort of thing! 😉

I've even managed to sit outside in the sunshine for 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour on a couple of afternoons this past week -- with knitting in hand -- just to enjoy the sunny atmosphere.

Given that the Art in the Park 2022 exhibit launched in Revelstoke a couple of weeks ago, I've turned my attention to preparint for the Encore! Lacombe Art Show and Sale, which takes place April 14-15.  I've given an interview to the Lacombe Express (though I've yet to see it in print) and I'm meeting with the current coordinator of the show on Tuesday for a video taping that will be published on Facebook etc.  Ack!  I've never done that before, but will try my best to appear confident and interesting.  I'll be taking some small pieces with me as illustrations of my work.

I've also managed to take one last small piece to my framer, and she is working hard to frame it and to mount two other rather 'experimental' pieces in time for the show.  I'll go back in early April to pick them up, plus others from the Gallery that I'll exhibit (and hope to sell!) there. 

Speaking of the Gallery, d'you see that rather large QR code in the left margin?  If you have some sort of gizmo that can scan it or whatever, I'm told it takes you to my artist's page at Curiosity Art & Framing.  I posted it on my 3F page on FB and a friend said it worked, so if you try it from this blog, please let me know if it worked for you or not.  

Most of the new work I've been doing is "soft", meaning it's not mounted on canvas and framed.  This past week I struggled to give birth to a new piece that I'd been carrying in my heart and mind for several months.  Here's the story:

I love to walk on the roads around the hamlet in which I live.  For decades, there was a large field at the edge of town -- only a couple of blocks north of me -- owned by a farmer named Jim.  On the southwest edge of the field, bordering 50th Avenue (the main street, paved) was a laneway.  Part-way north, it curved west, but there was also a path that continued north a bit farther before it turned west into a small wood -- trees on either side, wildflowers, and the occasional critter could be seen wandering about (skunk, deer, birds nesting).  It was pleasant to walk through, but only from spring through snowfall.  This made it a particular treat, because you could only enjoy it for a few months at a time.

Well, Jim's gotten older, like the rest of us, and has no children -- so in the last year or so he sold the field.  I didn't realize this until my first walk in the spring of 2022.  I walked up the laneway and kept going up the path to where it was supposed to turn into the woods. 

Instead of this: 

April 2021

I saw this...

May 2022

I started to cry.  Inquiries confirmed my suspicions: Jim had sold his field to a big crop producer who didn't want the north bank of trees to interfere with its ability to grow as much crop as possible.

That said, over last summer, the jumble of ploughed-over trees remained (they're there to this day), and I don't know what was planted -- maybe green manure.  It certainly wasn't canola, but it was cut down in late summer.  Heaven knows what will appear this year.  

But it lead me to make a piece.  

I've not made a 'proper' landscape since before Covid.  I really can't do it any more -- but I wanted to honour the death of this small, beloved wood.  So I tried.  I made this:

Background sandwiched for quilting

Quilting completed; thread painting of "ghost trees"

Close-up of trees

But it didn't look right. On waking one morning a few days ago, I knew what I had to do.

I did this:

Requiem for a Small Wood: A Diptych
(c) 2023
Commercial and hand-dyed fabrics.
Fused applique, collage. 
Machine quilted, thread painted;
 accented by Sharpie marker.

It's not my best-ever landscape, to be sure, but it says what I wanted it to say.  I've faced it, attached sleeves, and will hang it in the show -- but I've not put a price on it for sale.  Who can put a price on a destroyed woodland habitat?

I'm supposed to give the City a piece for its permanent collection.  I was going to give this, based on a location driving east from Lacombe to my home:

It's Still About the Sky (2015)

But maybe...just maybe...'Requiem' might be more important.

What do you think?

Meanwhile, I've been getting other 'soft' pieces ready to hang -- sewing on hanging sleeves. I've got 3 left to do.  Then comes "The Cutting of the Dowels" -- cutting dowels to fit, and inserting eye hooks in the ends of the dowels for hanging.  I picked up a good selection of dowels at the hardware store last week, and will ensure that I prepare them in time -- in case I need a couple more!

In the "utilitarian front" -- i.e., comfort quilts, cross stitch and knitting -- I continue to soothe my soul with assorted projects.

My "Triple Treat" units are up to 57 -- with 7 more to go to make 64, all on the 'browns and golds' theme.  It takes 4 units to make a full block, so 64 will make 16 blocks, 12 1/2" square (unfinished).

I've added a few more blocks to my postage stamp quilt block collection, and am working on another crumb block or two.

I've also decided that after a decade (or two!) of waiting, it's time for me to use a glorious piece of yardage for a "One Block Wonder" quilt.  I have the fabric, the instruction book and the 60-degree angle ruler...so stay tuned!  I'll be using the book by Maxine Rosenthal from 2006.  See?  I told you it was from over a decade ago!

In cross-stitch, I'm focused on three pieces, one of which is a new start.  The "start" is a small piece designed by Jeannette Douglas, which I began on March 21 as an homage to spring:

Design: "Chubby Bird"
Designer: Jeannette Douglas
Fabric: DMC 28-count 'toile a broder' linen,
coffee-dipped to produce a creamy colour
Threads: mix of called-for fancy floss and DMC 
-- all from stash

The other two pieces are on-going -- and one I can't show you because it's a gift for someone who reads this blog.

I have, however, made progress with "Here Be Dragons" -- for my son's June birthday.  I've finished the wide borders on the top half!

Design: "Here Be Dragons"
Designer: Modern Folk Embroidery
Fabric: 28-count white Lugana
Thread: "Gomez" hand-dyed cotton from Roxy Floss Co.

I'm hankering to start the central design, but conscience says I should finish the lower half of the wide border.  Thoughts?

Aside from these three, I've my Sunday Stitch -- "Keziah Campell" and...well...others...but these are the priority for now.

As to knitting, I've finished the first pair commissioned by my friend:

Pattern: "Simplicity"
Designer: Janel Laidman
Yarn: Gathering Yarn One-Shot Wool/Nylon Fingering

And I'm well away on the first sock of the second pair she wants.  I've finished the leg, turned the heel and I'm making my way down the foot:

Pattern: "Simplicity"
Designer: Janel Laidman
Yarn: Patons "Stretch" in the "Licorice" colour-way

And I finished that second dish cloth, and started a third -- in a solid colour, a lovely burgundy.  Soon my linen closet won't know what hit it!

And so it goes. 

These tasks -- plus walks in the sunshine each day -- are what's keeping me sane as I wait for Spring to really arrive.

As usual, I'm going to leave you with a link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  This week she's been Spring Cleaning her studio.  Me?  Not ready yet!  But as the racks that hold the baskets that hold my fabric will have to be available for my booth at the up-coming Lacombe Art Show & Sale...well...Spring Cleaning will happen soon enough!

Take care, gentle readers, and may your spring (or autumn for readers south of the Equator) bring you many blessings!

Till next time...

The Art of Utility and the Utility of Art

 It seems I can't manage to post more often than every two-to-three weeks these days; I'd rather be making!  And so it's been since I last wrote for you, Gentle Readers.  Life remains good, though there are days when the Sorrowful Demons try to nibble at the edges of my equilibrium, and sometimes succeed.  Often a walk or a session with my online Essentrics Classical Stretch class will break the ennui, and I feel more like myself again.

On the Art Front, "Art in the Park" opened yesterday in Revelstoke, B.C.  It's at the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre, and will be there through April 2.  Earlier this week I received a series of photos from Meghan Porath, the Director at the Centre, showing how they'd hung my pieces -- from the ceiling!!  This took me quite by surprise and gave me a real thrill:

(L) to (R) suspended in the centre:
"Rails & Ruins", "Pretty Poison", "Meadow Impressions"
and "Fallen Log"

Because of the perspective in the photo, the "Meadow" piece looks a great deal smaller than it is -- but that's only because it's hung farther back!  Similarly, "Pretty Poison" appears larger, but that's just the angle at which it's hung.  The pillars under each piece carry my labels about each one in turn, plus the front one has my Artist's Statement about my Residency Experience (I think!)

Once my pieces were shipped to B.C., I turned my attention to what needs to be done to prepare for the first in-person Encore! Lacombe Art Show & Sale since 2019.  I've submitted all my info to the coordinator, Christina, including an outline of my Artist's Talk, which will take place at 2 p.m. on each afternoon of the show -- April 14 and 15.  I've examined my pieces, finished making hanging sleeves for the newer ones, and now have some hand-sewing on those to do.  I also will need a few dowels for hanging and will pick those up at the hardware store in the next couple of weeks, along with some more eye hooks.  

Yesterday I had a phone interview with Mark Weber of the Lacombe Express weekly newspaper; I expect the article will come out next week.  One of the first questions he asked me was why I make art (a common question, as y'all probably know!)  My main reason is this: it gets me out of my head!  

That is, it helps me express myself: what's on my mind and in my heart.  It could be through a landscape piece; it could be through an abstract one.  I don't make a great many political or social statements in my work, but sometimes the message is hidden, as it is in "Back to the Garden" from 2013, which was inspired by lyrics from Joni Mitchell's song, "Woodstock": 

Back to the Garden (c) 2013
15" x 15"
Hand-dyed whole cloth, machine quilted,
hand embroidered and beaded

One of my newer pieces (made in 2020 during the COVID pandemic shut-down) is "Order Out of Chaos (or Chaos Can Be Colourful)": 

Order Out of Chaos (aka Chaos
Can be Beautiful) (c) 2020-2021
Assorted commercial and self-dyed
cottons, machine pieced and quilted

This one will be at the Lacombe Show next month, along with some others that aren't statement-oriented.

And I've an idea floating around in my brain right now that may present as a landscape, but still make a statement.  These ideas often take a very long time to come out into the world, so stay tuned!

In addition, of course, I'm still working on comfort quilts.  The "Keep it Out of the Landfill Project" continues apace!

Some weeks ago now I used up all but the few charm squares I own by putting them into a crib quilt:

Pattern: "Chandelier"
a PDF from Vanessa Goertzen

I've had the pattern for a while -- I'm pretty sure it's a freebie, but it was originally published in Ms. Goertzen's book Charm School: 18 Quilts from 5" Squares.  The version I made is considerably smaller than the suggested 60" x 60" size; it's 37" by 57" and that's largely due to the borders!  I had 4" squares, and only a certain number of them went together well enough to produce anything.  In the end, I discovered that, given the horizontal layout of my design wall, I'd laid the blocks out so the "chandlier drops" look more like crystals hanging from an old-fashioned lamp (maybe something from Tiffany) than long droplets hanging from a ceiling-mounted chandelier! Ah well; whatever baby ends up with it won't mind, I'm sure! 😆

In my last post I mentioned that I'd started Bonnie Hunter's "Triple Treat" to use up my 1 1/2" squares and other scraps.  Each block is a 6 1/2" unit, and you need four units to make a full quilt block (12" finished).  I now have over 40 units made -- but there are more to come, as 40 units makes only 10 blocks, and that's not going to get me a throw-sized quilt.

I've laid finished units out on a recycled Styrofoam tray, with the dominant (dark) corners stacked according to their print.  

More often than not there are neutral squared from corner to corner in the centre, but not always.  I went through all the 1 1/2" squares I had, and have cut more from bits and bobs, along with the squares and rectangles needed for the "L"-shaped corner sections.  I decided as I went along, that these all have to have contrasting corners in browns, so that there will be some unity.  On another tray, I've started to collect a different palette -- reds/blues/purples with white or off-white as neutrals.  

And still the scraps keep piling up!  I have bags of "bricks" in light and darker fabrics, 1 1/2" x 2 1/2", using Bonnie's Scrap User's System, and have been longing to find a way to use such small pieces.  Enter Bonnie to save the day!  I found a "Butter Churn" block she's designed in the current (!) March/April issue of "Quiltmaker" magazine.  Ta-DA!  That one will be come a leader-ender project for "Triple Treat", which I used as a leader-ender-project while working on "Rhododendron Trail"...and so it goes!

At the same time, I've returned to assembling units for a postage stamp top which I think I want to make in sections to fit windows as curtains, in the style of Kate Jackson of the Last Homely House, to whit:

I've measured the windows that I want to cover, and well recognize that I've a long way to go before I get there..."many miles before I sleep", as Robert Frost said long ago.

No matter.  It's an easy project, fun to do, and eventually the blocks will add up into larger pieces.  And yes -- keep the fabric out of the landfill -- at least for now!

It seems to be all about "stash-busting" this year in the Knitting World too.  Certainly, I've been very aware of it, and feeling a bit guilty that my knitting mojo has been a bit low.  The baby socks, of course, have gone to their destination -- and now I've been commissioned by a good friend to make her 2 pair of socks, just like ones I made for her a decade ago that are finally wearing out.  I started the first pair about 3 weeks ago and am well down the foot of the second sock.  Here's what the first looks like, made from yarn in stash in a colour that my friend happens to favour:

Pattern: "Simplicity"
Designer: Janel Laidman
Yarn: a "One Shot" from Gathering Yarn,
superwash wool and nylon.

The second pair will be in Paton's North America's "Cotton Stretch Socks" so they can be worn even in warmer weather, if desired.

And inspired by a newly-arranged casual MAL (Make-Along) set up by Selma of the Little Big Knits Podcast -- under the title of "Scrappy Stashy MAL" on Ravelry (and also on Instagram, I think, but I never go there!), I'm dipping back into my other knitting WIPs that fit the bill -- like the hats I've been making, and the Sock Knitter's Sweater...and now, after far too long despairing of my sad and sorry dishcloth collection, I've dug out the cotton yarn in my stash and am making a new batch of Grandma Black's Dishcloths!  The only modification I'm making to the pattern is to knit to 49 stitches before I decrease, as I like my cloths a bit larger than suggested in the pattern.  I work on these when I'm in bed, reading (with an audio book or a book on my bookstand), as they are mindless and soothing projects!

And yes, there is still stitching!  I've taken to working on a red sampler on Thursdays -- in the manner of Sarah from Sarah's Stitch Spot flosstube -- and so am closing in on a finish with my "Ruth Gibb" sampler, started almost a year ago on Mother's Day, to honour my mother Ruth and her mother, Margaret Gibb.

My Sunday Stitch is now the "Keziah Campbell" sampler that my friends Mary D. and Sha gave me for my birthday last year.  I'm still on the border, but I'm almost finished with it.  It's on 40-count linen, so a bit slower going than other counts.  It's a Scottish-style sampler, and I'm going to personalize it -- i.e., use initials from my family -- when I finally get to the alphabets and motifs!

I've finished a Lizzie Kate design for a friend who's having a birthday soon -- but I need to fully finish it...

And I'm making good progress on the "Dragons" piece for my son's June birthday:

Pattern: "Here Be Dragons"
Designer: Modern Folk Embroidery
Fabric: 28-count white Lugana from stash
Floss: "Gomez" from Roxy Floss Co.

Since that photo was taken earlier this week, I've finished that top wide border and begun to go down the side -- about 3" of that done now.

And on that note...it's time to return to any and all of the above -- before the day gets away from me completely!

It's been snowing lightly all day thus far, and it's forecast to continue on and off through tomorrow, so I've got no excuse to waste the wonderful indoor hours I've been given.  It's time to return to colour and creativity in the Art of Utility...practicing the Utility that is Art.

I'll leave you -- as I regularly do! -- with a link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  This week she's talking about 'bad sewing habits'.  Do you have any?  I know I do, but I'm not ready to 'fess up just yet! LOL! 😆

Have a great weekend -- safe, dry, cozy, cool, with those you love, doing what you love.

'Til next time...XXXOOO

Life is Good

Indeed!  And moving right along these days.  It's been a full and rich time around here for the last couple of weeks -- on all fronts!

The baby socks are *all* finished.  I played "yarn chicken" with the Patons stretch from the first pair -- managed a 3rd sock but not a fourth, so will send along the extra one "in case one gets lost".  With that, I cast on a second full pair out of a cotton-wool-nylon blend (no 'stretch' feature), and finished those today. 

Pattern: "Baby Socks"
Designer: Kate Atherly
Free pattern on Ravelry
Yarn: Meilenweit "Cotton Fondo"
Colour #6507

Pattern: Baby Socks
Designer: Kate Atherly
Yarn: Patons Stretch 
in the "Kelp" colour-way

Both pair need to be washed, and then will go into the mail on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday here in Alberta).  And yes, the ends have been sewn in on both pair now! 

The Art in the Park 2022 pieces have all been shipped to the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre in B.C.  Canada Post Tracking says a Notice was left -- for pick up (2 boxes) on Feb. 14 -- so I can only hope they've been picked up and are safely at their destination!  (If you want to see what the pieces look like, check my post from January 28. 😊)

Or...you could just check out the "Up-coming Exhibits" page from the Gallery itself...where you'll find THIS!!!

"Meadow Impressions" is in the upper left corner!!!

As if that weren't enough...I had a phone meeting with Christina, who's in charge of the Lacombe Art Show & Sale this year.  All is in readiness, as I sent her several photos for publicity, as well as an outline of my Artist's Talk for the Show.  She's been under the weather (hence the phone meeting instead of in person) but we hope to meet soon to do a short publicity video too.

All of this activity had me thinking that maybe I really am an artist -- still -- so I bit the bullet and took out a 1-year 'Basic Membership' in Artists in Canada -- you can see my slot HERE.

As for more utilitarian quilting...I finished the comfort quilt for my neighbour in hospital:

And I finally finished the flimsy of "Rhododendron Trail" -- Bonnie Hunter's 2021 Mystery quilt.  I made it 3/4 size (or so) and it's still a twin-sized 70" x 85"!  

For the outer border, I made a decision: I was not going to use a template in the centre of each border, to allow the "geese" to change direction.  That was okay but...I ran out of geese -- so the decision became irrelevant! LOL!  I got the long sides done -- but on the shorter top and bottom I had to "cope" and add orphan blocks from who-knows-where -- just ones that had suitable colours.  It's okay.  It looks fine and I'm happy with it, and that's all that matters!  It'll go to my local favourite long-armer later this spring, when I find enough backing fabric and $$ to pay for her work!

With one finished bed quilt top, it's time to clear out more stash with another -- so I'm working on Bonnie's "Triple Treat" -- the "leaders and enders" project for 2022-23.  Each 'block' is made up of 4 smaller blocks, so I made test blocks this week (the dark brown in the corners is all the same fabric; it's the photo that's wonky):

I've lots of 4-patch supplies; it's finding fabrics for the larger sections in the corners that is a bit of a challenge -- but I'm working on it!  Each group of 4 smaller units makes a 12" finished block, so I should be able to make a throw-sized quilt without too much problem,     quilting it myself...and it will be to give away.

In stitchy news...not a lot I can show.  I'm working on another birthday gift for a friend; it's tiny, so I'm almost half-finished.  I decided to follow Sarah of 'Sarah's Stitchy Spot' on FlossTube, and designated Thursdays as 'red sampler' days, so I can finish "Ruth Gibb" and move on to others I want to do.  And this week, the chart and Roxy Floss Co. floss arrived from Evertote.ca so that I can start a new piece for my son's 38th birthday in June:

Pattern: "Here Be Dragons"
Designer: Jakob DeGraaf of Modern Folk Embroidery

My son's a long-time dragon afficionado (even has a tattoo of one on one arm) so...I'm hoping he'll like this!  The fabric is from my stash -- a 28-count white Lugana.  I got enough floss to do 2-over-2, but will change to 1-over-2 if I don't like the look.  It's a pretty good-sized stitch...so I'm starting now!

That's all the news that's fit to print -- for now.  I'll leave you with wishes for a happy, cozy, stitchy, quilty, knitty, artsy weekend -- and with the usual link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday where, this week, she has multiple projects on the go too!  Proof positive that creative action keeps us young, imaginative, and vital!

Blessings, everyone -- all for now!

It's All Over But the Paper-work!

 A couple of days ago, in my new series (Existential Examen...day by day), I expressed gratitude for creativity, and my particular propensity for expressing it with fabric, fibre and floss.

When not navel-gazing, I have indeed been...creating: finishing up the four pieces I'm sending off to the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre within the next 10 days.  These were pieces inspired by the Artists' Residency of which I was a part in July 2022, up at Rogers Pass in the Canadian Rockies -- specifically, at the Illecillewaet Trailhead.  The exhibit will begin at the Arts Centre in March and travel throughout B.C. until December 2024!

I continue to be blown away by the fact that the nine artists on exhibit include me, a photographer -- and seven (count 'em) painters!  Touring for over 18 months!!

Today I finished the last of the pieces, and took photos.  This week I have to figure out how to put them into a special Google Drive folder, where I'll also find all sorts of paper-work that needs completing.

Please pray for me; I've never used Google Drive!  I'm thankful that there's a director at the Arts Centre who might just be able to hold my hand through the process if I need it!

That said, here are the pieces...in no particular order, along with the inspirational photos, for those of you, especially, who won't be able to travel to B.C. to see them:

Portion of the meadow near the start
of the Trailhead.  I was in awe of the trees and flowers.

Meadow Impressions (c) 2023
24.5" W x 17.75" L
Commercial cottons, self-dyed cottons.
Improv piecing; machine quilted.

False hellebore -- amazing leaves,
pretty flowars -- and poisonous

Pretty Poison (c) 2023
8" W x 19" L
Cotton batik, silk ribbon, cording.
Trapunto, silk ribbon embroidery,
machine quilting; 3-D leaves.

A close-up of a fallen log 
on the Trailhead.  I was fascinated
by the textures of the lichen, leaves
and aged bark.

Fallen Log (c) 2023
13" W x 18.25" L
Commercial cotton, recycled synthetic
backing; distressed painted used dryer 
sheets, painted cotton batting,
silk ribbon, yarn, cotton floss, beads.
Machine quilted, hand-embellished.

These photos are just a few of the ones I took at the ruined hotel near the start of the Trail-head.  There are bits of old wall, some sort of over-grown overpass, and the remains of an old boiler, down in what would have been part of the basement.

The history of the Glacier Hotel and its eventual dismantling, along with the original rail tracks that ran by it -- before a safer route through the area was found, brought to my mind Gordon' Lightfoot's iconic Canadian Railroad Trilogy.  

I just knew I had to create a piece that reflected the mix of class issues -- railway navvies, rail road 'barons', and wealthy hotel guests -- as well as the impact the project, now long gone, had on the landscape and the environment of the area.

And so...this came about:

Rails & Ruins (c) 2023
32 1/2" W x 31 1/2" L
Distressed vintage linen tea cloth, rusted linen
scraps, thread sketching, machine quilted.

Tomorrow will be a day of rest before the Google Drive Challenge begins.  I'm going to focus on cross-stitch, and perhaps a bit of knitting.  Right now I'm making two pair of teeny baby socks for a pair of twins -- new grandbabies for a cyber-friend in Ontario.  Making these is a definite palate cleanser after all that art work!  😉 

The first sock of the first pair is finished:

Pattern: "Baby Socks"
Designer: Kate Atherley
Free on Ravelry
Yarn: Patons Stretch Socks in "Kelp"
Size 0-3 months

So with that bit of cuteness I'll leave you...with a link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday, where this week she's busy building colourful cabins...out of fabric, of course!  

Wherever you are, stay safe, stay cool -- or cozy -- and stay creative!

Where To in 2023?

It's been another challenging year.  At least, that's the sense I get from reading the blog and Facebook posts of others, and from the YouTube broadcasts I've been watching -- and that's not just the newscasts, either.

The globe as a whole is still trying to come to grips with Covid variants, other respiratory viruses, war (especially sourced by Russia, but rumbling between Croatia and Serbia), persecution (Iran, Russia), climate change, and the continued rise of far-right, often downright fascist, leadership in politics.  Sheesh!

I continue to take refuge in working with my hands.  The Christmas gifts for friends and family were a hit, as far as I can tell, though I've not heard from a couple of the recipients (I'm not holding my breath on that front, either).  

I recently sent off a cute little thing, just for fun, to a friend whose birthday is this weekend.  She might even get it today if Canada Post is working properly!  It's a "small" that reflects our mutual interests -- at least in part!

Free Pattern from Helen D -- East Coast Crafter
Front
 

Back

I stuffed it with some wool batting, torn into pieces to make it fluffier, and backed it with appropriately-themed fabric from my stash.  

I finally did up the December mini-bouquet -- the last of Jeannette Douglas' free patterns that were published on her website monthly, starting in January.  They'll be there till tomorrow (end of day, December 31)...so if you've missed 'em and want 'em...go HERE ASAP!

Here's what the last one looks like -- so pretty!

I still have the outside border to finish, but the inner, horizontal borders are all in place between the rows of motifs.  It's been fun to stitch these -- little rays of sunshine each month!

On Christmas Eve I started a new sampler, in memory of my cousin Margo Davison de Martinez of Seville, who died last month at age 80.  I saw her last when my family visited hers in 1992, and have very fond memories of that time.  She'd moved to Spain almost 30 years before that when she married a Spaniard -- a dear man who died a couple of years ago.  We're 10 years apart in age, so my visit to Spain when she was 50 and I was turning 40, was the first time we really communicated as adults (I was 12 when she married and moved away).  I have very special memories of that visit.

This is a Spanish sampler entitled Bernarda Bellon 1838, reproduced by Birgit of The Wishing Thorn.  It's done on 36-count Antique White Edinburgh from Zweigart, and I'm using the called-for DMC cotton floss, 1 strand over 2:

Note: progress as of Wednesday, Dec. 18;
I've done more than that as of this writing!

As you can see, it's very pastel, and will be pretty and delicate when finished.  I'll be sending it east to Margo's younger sister in Montreal, who's expressed a desire to have it.  

The cross-stitch community seems to be forever coming up with ways to celebrate seasons and occasions (to whit: my Christmas Eve start), and New Year's Eve will be no different!  There are a couple of young women who've come up with a "12 x 12" project -- twelve starts in 12 hours on December 31, from 12 noon to 12 midnight.  One of the originators is Kea Bee, a stitcher and quilter, who has a FlossTube broadcast and is on Instagram.  She explains the process on her FlossTube here.  It's evolved into two streams: 12 starts or 12 new starts, and there will be a series of live visits on Instagram.  

I'm not active on Instagram, but have decided to follow along in spirit -- mainly working on WIPS.  I don't have 12, but I can work on the ones I do have on a rotating basis.  One will be that border on the mini-bouquet, one will be "Bernarda Bellon 1838", one will be "Ruth Gibb 1882" that's about 1/2-finished.  I also have a couple of Blackbird designs in process, and my "Ann Turtle" sampler that I started for Sampler September.  

I do have one new start I want to make: a four-seasons kit -- "Everchanging Seasons" by Elsa Williams, which I bought in another life! LOL!  It's now only available on the secondary market, as far as I can tell, but it's very pretty.  I came across it in my stash earlier this year and decided to wait until winter so I could start it on the left-side of the fabric: 

The kit comes with 14-count aida fabric in white, which I'm going to use, as well as all the floss, numbered, in a floss organizer.  I've prepped the fabric (zig-zagged the edges) and am ready to go!

Now that the Christmas knitting is past for this year, I've turned again to sweaters that I started some time back.  Yesterday I finished my Tulip II -- and will post a photo before too long.  I'm wearing it, and don't do "selfies" that are of any quality, so, patience, my friends!

I'm also working on a tweedy over-sized pullover and the Sock Knitter's Pullover (also oversized)...and pondering.

Pondering?  Yes!  

You see, Santa spent Christmas Day sending me into paroxysms of laughter by dropping off packages of yarn -- they just showed up like magic, all day long!  So despite my diligent efforts to reduce my stash, it has now been increased by these items:

First, 100% wool from Condon's Yarns, late of PEI (closed in 1989)

2-ply Medium -- ie., light worsted weight
-- two 113-gram skeins

2-ply Medium -- two 113 gm skeins

2-ply Fine (like a DK weight)
 -- three 113 gram skeins

And then...there's this unlabelled mystery yarn.  The photos show just a single skein of each of two colours, but read the captions...😆

A 3-ply worsted weight -- 18 skeins or part-skeins;
some are about 100 grams

;

Ditto -- 16 skeins or part-skeins

What the heck is it made of?  It's a very crisp, rustic yarn.  I took a match to one end -- twice -- and got a brief flame which self-extinguished, producing a bit of ash and a tiny, hard end -- but not the typical 'bead' you get when burning 100% acrylic.

I knit a swatch of the khaki-heathered colour (top photo):

I cast on 20 stitches on 4.5 mm needles and knit 26 rows -- including cast-on and cast-off. At this point (before washing/blocking), it measured 5" W x 4" L, or about 5 stitches and 5 rows per inch.

I washed it by hand with a hair conditioner rinse, and it softened up somewhat.  It didn't really change much in size.

Then I decided to throw it in the laundry with my socks, in a net bag, using eco-friendly detergent in a top-loading washer, on a warm wash with a cold rinse.  When it came out -- still damp -- it measured 4.75" W x 4.75" L, but hadn't softened up much more.

Throwing caution to the wind, I threw it in the dryer on my 'Permanent Press/Easy Care' cycle.  It curled up, and appeared to have felted ever so slightly.  It still had the same 'hand' (softer than when knit but unchanged from the hand-wash), and still had beautiful stitch definition.  It now measured 4.5" x 4.625" (i.e., almost square).  

I'm guessing it's some sort of acrylic-wool blend -- based on the ash when burned and the very slight felt-like halo after the dryer experience.  It's definitely for outer wear, so will probably become a cabled pullover or cardigan.

As for the Condon's wool, it's much softer and will make up nicely into a hap (shawl).  I have a skein of cream in the 2-ply Fine weight, plus some Briggs & Little Regal and Heritage that might complement all those browns and that pumpkin colour.  Time will tell!

On the quilting front...I've finished the Thimbleberries "Sunset" top that I mentioned in my mid-December post.  It measures about 60" square before quilting, and is just about the largest size I can manage to machine quilt on my own.  Sandwiching and quilting will likely start next week.

Now...something for the artists!

Just before Xmas I got word from the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre that the Art in the Park exhibit would begin in March instead of the end of January -- so I breathed a sigh of relief!  The extra time means I don't have to stress about getting my pieces finished in the next 2 weeks.  I have four now, all nearing completion.  It's all come down to the hand-work.

The fourth one I quilted up just before Christmas -- amazing myself at my thread-sketching over traced images from photos I'd taken at the Illecillewaet Trailhead in July, as well as an adaptation of a historical photo I found online:

Rails and Ruins (c) 2022
32" W x 31" L
Distressed vintage tea cloth, rusted linen scraps
Machine quilted.

The quilted vignettes were inspired by what I saw at the Trailhead, by the history I found there, and by the lyrics of Gordon Lightfoot's Canadian Railroad Trilogy:

"Once Upon a Time"
-- a ruined wall from the old Glacier Hotel

"Lay Down the Tracks"
 -- distant view of a rail overpass, now
grass-covered

                                                                                        

"Tear Up the Trails"
-- ruin of a boiler in what was
a basement level of the old hotel

"An Iron Road from Sea to Sea"
(Navvies -- workers who built the railroads) 

"Too Silent to be Real"
-- ruins of the hotel, with long grass in the
foreground and forest in the background

I've managed to turn under the edges of the backing so that they don't show; I wanted to allow the cutwork embroidery on the vintage tea cloth to add to the sense of history: the posh CPR hotel for the wealthy, that was abandoned and dismantled when the railroad was re-routed to a safer route and the hotels in Banff and Lake Louise became the more popular places for city folks to stay, skiing and hiking in the surrounding mountains.

I wanted the rusted linen strips to evoke the rails; the quilting of the background is of straight lines, intersecting like tracks.

I think of the four pieces I've created for this project, this one is my favourite.

And so it goes.  

A year or so ago I chose "perspective" as my 'Word of the Year' for 2022; it's been tough trying to keep a steady, stable perspective for these last 12 months.  I'm not sure 2023 will be any easier.

Sunday Letters
Deanne Fitzpatrick

But dear friends bought me a beautiful textile art and prose   book for Christmas.  I've taken to savouring it a wee bit each   morning in my pondering/journalling/prayer time.  I've   decided to let the author's words on creativity and life wash   over me daily, and not single out a particular word or phrase   for 2023.  

I'm just going to let it be.

And on that note, Gentle Readers, I'm going to leave you with, as usual, a connection to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday -- wherein she has a Big Idea for 2023, inspiring us all once again to leap into creativity and have fun.

Best wishes to all of you for a Happy New Year -- bonne annee a tous!