More Fun with Dye and Paint...and Other Things

 We're not under "Heat Dome" any more (apparently) but this has been the hottest summer I can remember while living Out West.  I grew up in SW Quebec, where summers were hot and humid; out here, since my first summer in 1977?  Not so much!

I'll admit that it has made the "Summer of Slow and Quiet" easier to do!  No one can move quickly in this heat, and blessedly none of my neighbours have conspired to be noisy.   No late, tipsy evenings around a fire pit, for example.  It's just been too darned hot!

So...what have I been up to?

Early mornings are given over to knitting (even with cotton it's too hot later in the day), and taking a good walk -- unless I'm mowing the grass.

I began some weeks ago to mow 'selectively' on the east side of my property, as I'm trying to encourage clovers (red, Dutch white and sweet white), alfalfa and some wildflowers to propate.  Here's most of the current selection:

Meadow Salsify

Meadow Salsify at seed

"False Dandelion"  (looks a bit like one but isn't)

White Sweet Clover (there's a yellow one too)

Alfalfa

I also have a few daisies here and there, and have transplanted in some Brown/Black-eyed Susans and catnip.  So far the catnip has been completely ignored -- not only by Miss Pookie but also by any and all cats in the neighbourhood.  I suppose that for this I should be thankful! 😉

There has been harvesting too -- 

Broccoli -- the first of three planted

Zucchini -- just a sample!

Raspberries -- the second picking so far, 
with at least 1 more to go!

And my flowers continue to suprise and delight.  Years ago a former neighbour gave me some agapanthus transplants.  To date, they've always given orange coloured blossoms.  This year, too -- but then they also offered these...

Agapanthus Day lilies in yellow -- first blooms

I'm told by a florist friend that these aren't 
"agapanthus" as I first thought -- they're 
day lilies!  Who knew? 😉

Then there's the bush I fondly call my "Old Lady Rose", given me by that same former neighbour (they'd been planted by his mother decades ago)...She's blossoming in bunches this year, despite the heat and drought!

Getting away from the gardening...

I've been doing some painting.  Some of this has been 'work' -- my kitchen cupboard doors and drawers -- and some, play.  I'll spare you the B, S & T (Blood, sweat & tears) of the former and share the latter, which I'm sure you'll enjoy more!

Between January and March this year I took part (loosely) in an online class by the talented Susan Purney Mark.  I admire her work and have been blessed to take a short workshop in person with her at a SAQA Regional retreat (Western Canada) a few years back.  This class was titled "Cloth to Codex" -- and it turned out to be more about mark-making and book/scroll assembly than interests me, but I continued to observe, and to mark time till I had the space in which to "get messy" (out on my back stoop) and play with some of what she taught us.

I was most intrigued by the fabric painting and "dipping" processes, and have experimented with some of these.

I began with some 'dip-dyeing' of assorted fabric -- mostly linen embroidery scraps, but also a piece of closely-woven cotton...

Fabrics folded, dipped and drying 
on recycled Styrofoam trays

Dip-dyed linens, unfolded and dry

My favourite dip-dyed piece!

This one absorbed colour all over --
but especially in the folds

I also played with painting fabrics.  I did so by placing them on pieces of 140-lb water-colour paper, so that the paint would go through:

Painted organic cotton slub 1

Painted organic cotton slub 2

Painted recycled pillow cover fabric

Painted synthetic sheer fabric

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with any of that fabric yet -- but pieces from two of the watercolour paper underlays have been turned into these...

Accidental Landscape - "Marsh Mist"
-- matted to 8" x 10"

Accidental Landscape -- "Summer Slough"
-- matted to 5" x 7"

They make me happy! 😊

While I was looking for fabric to paint (above), I came across a scrap of fabric that had 'blotches' of colour on it.  I think it was simply a 'blotter' from an earlier fabric painting episode, now long gone from memory.  That said, it reminded me of a butterfly on flowers, so I sandwiched it up, stitched it and here it is!

"Garden Fantasy" - matted to 7" x 9"

"Garden Fantasy" - close up

I eventually found the fabric for which I was looking, and -- inspired by a painting of an autumn scene done by an artist in one of my FB groups -- I created a single piece that, in the end, looked better sliced in half and stitched.  Today I mounted the pieces -- each is 4" W x 8 1/2" L -- mounted side by side on painted stretched canvas, and eventually I'll take it to be framed:

Autumn Reflections (2021)
on 12" square painted canvas

Close up - left

Close up - right

Yes, there has been knitting, and some hand-stitch...but that will have to wait until another day.  This is enough for now.  I have some charity quilting to do and have three (count 'em!) library books to enjoy, which will carry me through the next few days, all of which are expected to be extremely hot.

Till next time, friends, may you be well, be safe, and be creative!  I'm linking this up with Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday and wishing you blessings for the rest of the weekend.  😊

A Bit More of Everything

 I'm still working on Everything All at Once -- but never fear, Gentle Readers -- I am pacing myself!  😃  And of course, what comprises "everything" is evolving over time.  

First, what's finished?!

"Frolic!", that's what!  Yes...I've finished the top for the Bonnie Hunter Mystery from 2019.  It's double-bed size -- 86" square -- and I'll have it quilted by my long-arm friend, Sylvia Sawyer at Windwood Long-arm Quilting just up the highway.  I found the perfect location from which to photograph it on Monday this week, in the February sunshine:

I'm rather non-plussed that it turned out so well, but then again, Bonnie's patterns always make my shoddy piecing look fabulous.  One goof: I applied the borders with the blue side of the arrowheads next to the top itself, rather than the pink.  It made positioning the corner-stones a challenge, but...I just went with what pleased me, and in the end, it'll all work out!

What continues?  

Well..."Grassy Creek", Bonnie Hunter's 2020 Mystery -- but now I have 9 blocks finished and 1 nearly there.  That's more than 1/2 the number needed for the size I'm making.  

And..."Traffic Jam", that scrappy free pattern from Pat Sloan  that my friend A. shared with me.  It now has enough 6-patch units for borders on two sides!

Shown here: centre block plus layout for border on right side.

It takes 11 of these units to go down each side, and each unit has six 2 1/2" squares.  Then there'll be the top and bottom borders -- each of which will take 11 units PLUS "corner-stones", which are really 9-patch units...so that's a lot of scraps!  Of course, because of how they breed, I'm not really noticing much difference in the sewdio...Sigh.

Sock knitting continues too.  I'm well on my way down the foot of the second sock for the February Socks from Stash challenge, but I Must Knit Faster to ensure I finish by Sunday evening!!

And what's new?

In the Knitting Department, I've cast on a Comfort Wrap for a friend who's recently been diagnosed with cancer....

Pattern: Simple Comfort Wrap
Designer: Lisa Santoni Cromar
Yarn: Diamond Luxury Collection "Tafi"
-- 60% alpaca, 40% silk
Colour-way: 7594 - "Mesa" (red on red)

It's a simple enough pattern repeat, but somehow, every once in a while I drop a YO (Yarn Over) here and there; I've already had to TINK (KNIT backwards) at least twice to get it right!   I really must slow down so I can finish this faster... 😉

In the Art Department...this week there's a new "finish" and a second piece underway.

For several weeks I've been 'auditing' a class in mark-making on paper and fabric, taught online by Canadian textile artist Susan Purney Mark.  I've met Susan and took a short session with her in person at a SAQA Western Canada Regional Retreat a few years ago.  Before that, when I was a Co-Rep for our region, she taught a workshop for us in Calgary. I enjoy her work and have one of her small pieces  in my home.  

Her workshop,"Cloth to Codex" (usually taught in person but not this year!) has been an interesting program.  Even though I am not fond of working on paper or making books, and not an enthusiastic 'mark maker' either, the substrate of the work is inspiring.  One of Susan's practices is asemic writing which I really like -- but I like *actual* cursive writing even more and so...

On Tuesday I dug out a stretched linen "canvas", and made this:

The Thing with Wings II
8" x 10" (unframed)
Pitt Pen, machine thread-painting

I reprised my piece for the SAQA Benefit Auction in 2020, entited The Thing with Wings, inspired by the poem on hope, written by Emily Dickenson.  First, I wrote the poem out on the "canvas".  Next, I sketched the tree on the back of the 'canvas' and outlined it in free-motion thread painting. That took some doing, because in order to get the stretched piece under my needle I had to remove the foot and the needle from the machine -- and put it all back together in order to stitch!  

I cut a piece of mat board and inserted it in the back of the stretcher bars to support the linen, and will have the piece put in one of my favourite 'floater frames.  I like it very much, and have hopes it will show and sell at the Lacombe Art Show and Sale this year, which is booked for the last weekend in May.

Then yesterday (Thursday) I started another new piece.  It's inspired by a photo taken by my talented daughter, Gina, which she included for the month of February, in a 2021 calendar she gave me comprised of her photography.  A few years back she purchased a glass 'ball' that she uses in her work, and she used it to take a photo of a tree in the vicinity of the High Level Bridge in Edmonton, Alberta, where she lives.

I took inspiration from that round image, blue on blue, and from some thoughts I've been pondering in recent weeks, about the 'little blue planet' on which we live.  The tree in her photo inspired my creation of a similar 'Tree of Life' image, and the circular image, my creation of a kind of globe.  The working title is "And She Saw That It was Good".

Here is my first draft:

I looked at it, let it sit for a bit, and decided it required a bit of tweaking.  Here's my second draft.  

Can you tell what I did?

Self-dyed and commercial cottons
Fused applique
Approx. 15" x 23" before quilting

Here's a close-up of the motif...

There's still quite a bit to do to finish it, but I'm letting it 'percolate' now.  Eventually it will be finished with a facing as a soft piece with a sleeve-and-dowel hanging system.

It was so warm earlier this week that I found myself outside on my back stoop, stitching in the sunshine!  I put a cushion on the little chair I keep out there, and wore my Harris Tweed cape over a couple of layers, and was fine.  My hands didn't even get cold!  

I spent most of that time stitching down the facing on the back of "On the Straight and Narrow".  Now all it needs is a sleeve!

Today, however, we're right back into February weather, with snow flurries and gusty winds.  It'll be a good day for assembling those 6-patches into a border and attaching them to "Traffic Jam"!  

Later on, I'll curl up with some of my knitting, and -- oh yeah!  -- do the suggested reading for an online Lenten Retreat I'm taking online at 2 p.m. tomorrow, and for the following 2 Saturdays.  Whether you're registered for a spiritual retreat or one that will find you exploring new artwork, as Nina Marie is this weekend, it pays to be prepared!  I'll leave you with a link to her Off the Wall Friday -- and wish you all a weekend filled with creative blessings.  😊

MORE from the Sewdio

The 20th Annual Lacombe Art Show and Sale is less than 2 weeks away now.  With the Bursary applications I was working on (see my last post) completed, packed up and sent back to the Educational Foundation last Monday, I was able to get back to show prep...and other things (READ: yard work).

It's about time -- as the wind howls outside and the rain comes down in fits and starts -- that I shared with you more of what I've been doing to get ready for this show, and other studio news.

Before the Crowds (C) 2019

In my last "studio post", I'd finished "Before the Crowds" and submitted it for consideration by the Grand National jury.  The deadline for entries was yesterday...so now I wait.  It needs its sleeve nonetheless, and that will happen this week, because if it isn't accepted at GN, it will go with me to the Lacombe Art Show/Sale.

Since then...several pieces have been finished -- mainly mounted on canvas -- and most have been framed.  I have three that are being framed now, and that will be the end of it for the time being. 

So let me start from the top!

The problem is, it's a bit of a blur!  I've just been making and making...

A couple of Sundays ago I got a chance for my favourite walk around Cranna Lake in Lacombe, and shot some tree photos, like these:

Yes, this one's been cropped!  😉

I just love these "March Trees" with their bits of berries and detritus, and all the layering, so I decided to do a series.

The top photo served as inspiration for mono-printing:

NOTE: the front piece wasn't mono-printed, but if you look closely you can see trees drawn on the surface.  It becomes something else, so read on! 

I ended up with two pieces, one of which became a new "mini", mono-printed and beaded:

March Trees II (C) 2019

Another one became a piece that was faced and beaded and mounted on painted stretched canvas...and is now in for framing (stay tuned for a photo sometime after Easter).

And then there's that photo of a myriad of trees over-looking the lake (scroll up).  This one is now finished and at the framer's...but here are some of the steps I took to creating it:

1. Quilted the sky; 2. needle-felted the grey "trees on the far
shore"; 3. layered those "trees" with "grass" on the shore:
4. attached both to the background.

Auditioning the evergreen branches on the tree trunks.

Auditioning and positioning deciduous tree trunks
over and around the evergreens.

Message from my Pfaff Performance 2.0:
"Take a break, would ya? I'm working too hard!!" 😄

Sorry; you'll have to wait for the final photo -- this is one piece that's over at the framer's and might not be finished till a couple of days before the show!  It's mounted on 12" square stretched canvas...just to let you know the size.  Title: March Trees I.  

And yes, there is a "March Trees III", resembling the mini (above) but larger and mounted on painted stretched canvas (it's also 12" x 12").  It too is in for framing.  Stay tuned!

Continuing in the 'tree' theme, in the process of making sleeves for a couple of soft pieces (In the Bleak Mid-winter and Content of Our Waiting, now finished), I came across a piece of fabric on which I'd made marks in a short workshop with Susan Purney Mark at the SAQA Western Canada Regional Retreat a couple of years ago.  I hadn't filed it with my 'samples' because I knew that eventually I'd want to make it into something, and this week it became another new 'mini':

Night Woods (C) 2019

And remember that piece of sky and foreground with trees drawn on the surface (scroll up)?  Well...it became a mini too...

Rear Guard (C) 2019

Yes, that mat is not my "usual".  It was one I got on sale from a shop that's now closed. It has a "faux suede" surface and I've been waiting a good 3 years till I found a piece it suited!  This piece is based on a memory I have of a trio of grain bins set against a tree line that I drove past on my way to work in late winter/early spring this year.  Slices of blue in the sky amid the clouds, and snow still on the ground.  I had to hold on to the memory until I could sketch it out in my sketch book as I had no camera handy and I was driving!

The New Directions series has continued.  This is New Directions 2, mounted on canvas but of a size that it won't be framed -- just wired for hanging.

New Directions 4 and 5 have been framed but -- sorry, no photos as of this writing.  Clearly they got lost in the shuffle!  😉

Remember "Blue Pot"?  It was a piece I made for an Alberta Society of Artists fundraiser last fall.  Well...I've followed it with the smaller "Red Pot", based on a photo of lobelia I've managed to over-winter in my sunny back room...

Inspirational photo

Before framing - mounted on painted artist's panel

Red Pot (C) 2019 - 8" x 8", framed

Red Pot - detail

I certainly hope some of these sell at the Lacombe Art Show/Sale, because pieces are starting to pile up!

Blessedly I was able to take six (count 'em!) older pieces -- in a 'rural' theme -- over to sell on consignment at a new shop that opens next week at the nearby Village of Alix.  I went over there on Friday morning to mount them, with Carrie, the owner's, help.  Her laser level is amazing!

Here they are, on two different walls:

Left to right: One Step Ahead of the Gulls, Rural Rhythms

Clockwise from top: The Old Corral, Uphill to Mirror,
Canola, Waiting for the Train

This second one is on a narrow hallway without a way to take a really good photo, but you get the idea.  Carrie loves them and is sure they'll be a hit.  She's a bit more optimistic than I am here in Bed Quilt Central! -- but at least I've got them out and into the world, so I need to remain hopeful.  I certainly appreciate her support!

And now, my friends...that's it.  You're all caught up except for a few photos!  The knitting and spinning continue, as I'm determined to spin up roving that's been around for far too long.  I'm determined to finish a shawl and a wrap before I begin my "Summer of Socks".  And there's a bedroom wall to paint and an old trunk to refurbish as a planter this summer...so...

Onward and upward!  Linking this to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Friday", and thinking perhaps a retreat like the one she just enjoyed wouldn't be a bad idea!  😉

Have a great week, everyone!