Still in Search of Sanity!

Since my last regular blog post we've managed to move from autumnal weather into -- heat wave!  Along with that, we're getting wild fire smoke across the mountains from B.C., some from Saskatchewan to the east (!) and perhaps a bit of our own from up north.  Try as we might, we can't seem to get it to travel south... 😉

But between the heat and smoke, work in the yard and garden has been a challenge, and I've not been able to use my Outdoor Studio as much as I'd hoped.  

That said, given all the rain we got in June and earlier this month, everything's growing like Topsy!  The peonies were glorious -- as you can see from the above photo -- and the roses, daisies and yarrow, profuse!  

I've had 2 salads with my own leaf lettuce and snips of dill; my green beans are flowering; my cherry tomatoes are cherry-ing and I've 3 zucchini plants gearing up to flower.

Even the rhubarb I transplanted into one of the raised beds last fall, saving it from being buried by the raspberries, has given me a couple of cups, diced, and is promising at least two more.

And speaking of raspberries -- my canes are loaded again this year.  This morning, before the heat and smoke set in, I picked my first large collander full:

From which I made this:

Seven cups of fresh rasberry jam!

And I have a few cups left over to enjoy fresh.  And there's more on the canes yet to ripen.

Don't worry, Gentle Readers -- my crafting is still in the spotlight, because it is the key to finding daily peace and sanity, as the World Order continues be most disorderly indeed!

In the cool of the mornings I tend to take up my knitting, with what little bit of news I can handle, several knitting podcasts and at least two cups of good, black coffee!  

I mentioned socks in my last post, and indeed, I'm working on the second of this pair of "Cock-a-hoop Socks" from Canadian Nancy Wheeler of New Brunswick.  The photo doesn't do the pattern justice, but I think the yarn I dug out from my stash is capturing what Nancy was getting at when she designed them.  Here's what the first sock looks like:

Yarn: Subculture Yarn SW
Merino Bamboo Rayon Nylon Fingering
Colour-way: "Unicorn Farts"! 🤣 

I've set aside the socks, sweaters and blanket projects though, in favour of small items to go in my "Warm Things Box", which I'll take to my parish church in November for distribution to those in need.  I'm working on hats and mittens, alternating projects in turn, and have finished two hats and a pair of mittens, and am on the second mitten of my second pair of those.  Here's the line-up so far:

First, another LOSY (Left Over Sock Yarn) Hat, the fourth I've made...

LOSY Hat - Left Over Sock Yarn

Next, I tried out a pair of colour-work mittens.  I liked the pattern and would probably knit these again -- but would crib the thumb from "The World's Simplest Mittens" pattern. I'm not alone there, as others on Ravelry had doubts about the thumbs in this pattern. Anyway, here they are, knit as written:

Pattern: Kuura Mittens
Designer: Helena Joronen
Yarns: Blue - Cascaed 220 - worsted
Colour: #9487 - Puget Sound
White/Cream: Unknown worsted-weight wool

Third -- a hat, of course -- to stay in rotation!  This was a new to me pattern that I found when listening to this podcast: Cathy W. Yarn with Heart (a Canadian but I'm not sure from which part of the country). It's the "Look Out! Winter Hat"  designed by Roberta Rich, and it's free on Ravelry. The pattern is size-inclusive, is knit partly flat and partly in the round -- but can be knit entirely flat if you choose. It can be knit in 2 colours but I chose to knit my first one in Berroco Vintage, a worsted-weight (#4 in US yarn numbering) wool-acrylic blend, in "Black Cherry":

It's mostly garter stitch, and has an applied i-cord edge along the bottom.  It takes a bit more time and thought than the LOSY or other more "basic" hats, but I think I'd make another if I have the right yarn (or yarns) in stash.  I'd like to try a two-colour one!

And now...I'm on the second of yet-another-pair of my very favourite mitten patterns. I'm sure, Gentle Readers Who Knit Mitts, you know and likely appreciate this pattern too -- 'The World's Simplest Mittens' from Tin Can Knits.  This go 'round I'm using two yarns: an acrylic solid for the cuffs and a wool/nylon blend for the main part. I remain undecided as to the thumbs, depending on how close I come to playing "Yarn Chicken" in the end!

Red yarn: Mary Maxim Parisienne
DK - 100% acrylic - colour #104;
Self-patterning yarn: ONline Supersocke
6 fach, wool/nylon - Arizona - Color #1970

While I've been knitting every day (it's my go-to Sanity Saver), I've been working a bit with...

Quilting: 

1. The binding is fully sewn on 2 sides of the "Lupines & Laughter" quilt (Bonnie Hunter's Mystery 2025-26) and machine-sewn on the other two, pinned for hand-stitching when it gets cool enough to put a quilt in my lap, or the weekend of August 1 -- whichever comes first!  The reason? This is a birthday gift for my son's partner -- her "almost 40" quilt (she turns 39 later in August this year) and we're having a family gathering on August 3rd, which is a holiday in most Canadian provinces/territories!  So I need to get a move on!
2. No new scraps have been cut into usable squares/bricks -- too hot!  And out on the back stoop?  Too windy! And...
3. I've printed the July block from "A Quilting Life" but...that's as far as I've got.  Too hot in the south-facing studio (no ceiling fan).

Rug-hooking:

Working in fits-and-starts here, but am eager to finish my current project by the end of this month if I can.  For my part in the "10-Minutes-a-Day Challenge" at Deanne Fitzpatrick Studios, I'm working on the pattern/kit I won at the end of March as a member of her "March is for Makers" program -- now continuing as the "Makers' Meet-up".  

The kit is a variation of one used for the "Kit of the Month" a while back, and it's lovely.  That said, of course I'm playing with the suggested colours and colour placement!  That's the whole idea, isn't it?! 😉

"Singing to the Choir" -- on the frame
Designed by Deanne Fitzpatrich Studio

All I have left to do on this piece is the sky...and my plan? To bind it and give it to the friend with whom I sung at church for over a decade -- first as a trio (we called ourselves "The Quartet" -- see why, below!) and then as a duo.  Precious memories:

"The Quartet": 2 vocalists, 2 guitarists 😉

And then there's cross-stitch. Those of you that do these crafts probably know well the commonality they share: hands working together, often hand-over-hand.  It's that quality that plays a key part in the search for sanity.

I really didn't have much to show you in my last post, so I'm making up for that now.

July, for me, is the month I focus on Canadian designers.  In July of 2024 I began a lovely sampler reproduced by a talent American -- Kathleen Littleton of Cross-stitch Antiques, and I've continued to work on it again this month.  It was stitched originally by Emeline Hotchkiss, a Canadian girl living in or around Lacolle, Quebec, in the 1800s -- hence the Canadian connection.

Here's where I last left it almost a year ago (July 31, 2025):

And here's my progress as of yesterday -- July 23, 2026:

Emeline Hotchkiss, Lacolle, 1846
reproduced by Kathleen Littleton,
Cross-stitch Antiques.

I know it doesn't look like much but I'm turning the upper right corner of the border to go down that third side. Once that's done, I'll be moving to the bottom section, closing in on a finish. 

I'm working it with 1 strand of floss over 2 fabric threads on 40-count "Vellum" from Picture This Plus, using DMC floss -- called for the odd close-colour substitute from stash.  

To celebrate Canada Day (July 1) I started this tiny piece at the end of June and finished it at the end of the first week of July: Canadian Flag from Erin Elizabeth Designs.

I stitched it on 36-count Antique White linen from Zweigart, using DMC #327, one strand over 2 fabric threads.  I've a red mat and an inexpensive black frame from Michael's, and plan to frame it up and park it on the indoor sill of my front window, just 'cause.

Last but not least, I've gone back to Jacob's 2026 SAL, "Little Acorns", for a meditative monochromatic stitch. I'm not following the suggested sections very strictly, so I've really no idea of my progress compared to others doing this Stitch-ALong, but I enjoy it.

While I've worked on it on and off, this is the progress I recorded in May (!)

And this is my progress as of July 22:

Yes! I'm nearly finished this latest section!  I'm working with 1 strand of Roxy Floss hand-dyed floss in the "Pippy" colour-way, over 2 strands of Roxy Floss linen, 40-count, in "Platinum".  

Long. Slow. Distance.  That's what these pieces remind me of.

You see, in my younger years (mid-late twenties to early thirties) I took up running.  Long. Slow. Distance.  My purpose?  To manage my weight (I'm built like a box!) and to have Time To Myself.  I would run at least 1/2 hour a day, and longer (up to 2 hours or more) on weekends. I entered 6 marathons and finished 5 (one I quit at 10 miles due to the heat).  So I understand the rhythm.

The rhythm of the feet and legs moving in time. Steady pace; steady breathing.  Managing hills -- up and down.  Navigating around icy patches. Dressing for all sorts of wind and weather.  All to find Sanity, Peace of Mind, in the pace. Long. Slow. Distance.

Nowadays it's Long. Slow. Stitches.  Whether knitting loops or hooking them. Whether crossing stitches, or hem-stitching bindings on quilts. Whether drafting a bit of wool roving and spinning it, or plying singles to make a yarn.

Quiet, rhythmic and meditative -- yet productive.  Creating beauty every day that can be both savoured and shared with others -- with those in need or those "just because".  Beauty, comfort, the quiet expression and sharing of the work of our hands.

I have to believe that if we keep on keeping on, there will always be Light in the Making.  This belief is what gets me up in the morning and keeps me going all day.  Perhaps it works the same magic for you.

I'll leave you with that to ponder.  Nina-Marie is off elsewhere this week so...until next time, Gentle Readers, a bientot!***

***She's BACK! So I'm linking belatedly to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  Have a great day!

Turning Over the Page

Once again the month is speeding by -- and it was August when I last wrote a "proper" blog post -- one with news of Making Things, Growing Things and More.  

The leaves in these parts are beginning to turn.  Nights are colder, daylight hours are shorter, the furnace runs more often, the garden is waning, and more of my making takes place indoors.

Like so many do, I look upon September as a "second New Year" month -- when school starts up again (not that I've been part of that recently!)  And it's my Birthday Month.  Those of you who paused to read my short Birthday Reflections post will have noticed I was really feeling my age.  It's been a tough year -- replete with health challenges (resolved now, thank heavens!), the death of two friends in swift succession, and the falling apart of several items, costing varied amounts to repair or replace: a slow cooker, a microwave, the kitchen taps, my automatic garage door opener, my back-up sewing machine and most recently, the hard drive on my laptop which, the repair fellow told me, was so worn out (after 3 1/2 years of use) that he couldn't even extract the files in the usual fashion, and it would cost -- at minimum -- $1,800 to do it with special equipment. (I opted NOT to do that, and simply have the machine repaired, with a new battery added to the mix to give it extra oomf!)

What's a body to do?

Give her head a shake, that's what!

And that's precisely what I've been doing for the last couple of weeks: Serious Soul-Searching.  Counting My Blessings. And Creating Beauty Every Day with my blessedly still able and arthritis free hands.

Let's begin with the knitting, shall we?

It's decidedly "Sweatah Weathah" but I'm not working on any of those -- for myself, that is.  That's because it's also Knitting for Holiday Gifts (Christmas, in my case).  The first of these began to be knit in the spring, because it's the "Presto Vesto" for my daughter, a Christmas-Birthday gift because she was born 3 weeks after Xmas, so sometimes that's the way the gifts are given 'round here.  

This Vesto pattern is anything but "Presto"!  I last mentioned it and posted a photo of it in June.  Since then, I've completed the back, with the shoulder and neck shaping, and cast on the right-side front.  The ribbing is done and the complex cable pattern started -- to the point where I've now split for the inset pocket.

Knitter's Note: I've been knitting for about 64 years -- and this is the first time I've ever created an inset pocket in a garment!!  It took me about an hour of reading and re-reading the instructions in the pattern, of Google searching the technique and of trying to visualize the darned thing -- but once I began, stepping out in trust that the pattern really did make sense, well, now!  Off to the races!  I've got another 2 dozen or so rows of pattern to knit before I join the parts back together, but here's what it looked like as of yesterday, when I put it down:

Ta DA!

Yes, I'm pleased as punch with it!

The second Xmas gift is a newer cast on for a friend.  It's a relatively mindless garter-stitch shawlette/scarf that's asymmetrical.  The pattern caught my attention when Karen of the Recreational Knitting YouTube podcast showed the one she was working on.  "Just the ticket!", thought I, and I had just the right yarn in my stash with which to make it, too! 

I mentioned this project -- the "Back Bay Boomerang" -- in my end-of-August post, and while I've made great progress on it since then -- whittling the ball of yarn to almost 1/2 its size but alas, I've no new photo of it! Next time, perhaps.

I also began to knit a series of "Christmas Cowls" for my son and his family, using the "Simple Gift Cowl" pattern designed by Amy Curletto of Alligator Knits (free pattern on Ravelry). The pattern calls for worsted-weight yarn, but I used a DK-weight and simply made a larger size.  Started on September 9 -- and finished (not blocked) on September 13!

"Simple Gift Cowl"
Designer: Amy Curletto
Yarn: Schoeller & Stahl
Limbo Mexiko Color in Color #2583 

The colour name is "Green-white" but it comes across -- even in person -- as so dark a green that it's almost black.  It'll be just right for one of the two fellows in the household!

My carry-around knitting is, as usual, socks -- and I'm almost finished the 2nd of the pair of Long-Legged, Long-Footed socks for the dear gal who lost the first ones I made her in a housefire.  I've finally turned the heel and am past the gusset, moving down the foot!  Not a holiday gift, so I'm working on them a bit each day to get 'em done before month-end!

Pattern: Simple Ribbed Socks
A free pattern from Angela Law on Ravelry
Yarn: elann.com 'Sock-it-to-Me' Harlequin
From stash - Colour #80 - "Blue Stonewash"

My daughter assures me that the recipient will like them -- the colours go with her jeans!

Now, then...on to a bit of spinning.  I failed miserably at the Ravelry "Tour de Fleece" this year -- it was just too darned hot to spin (or knit or do pretty much anything hands-on with wool!)  BUT when the weather moderated a bit in August, I managed to get more spinning done (I love to do it outside), and so managed to turn the marl I showed you in my last post while it was still on the bobbins -- into a skein. 

My online spinning compatriots at Two Ewes Fiber Adventures (on Ravelry) suggested I turn the 85 grams of fingering-like yarn into mittens -- and I think that's exactly what I'll do!

Meanwhile, I've begun spinning singles from a hand-dyed merino batt I bought at the Rose City Fibre Festival (Camrose, Alberta) in 2023.  It's a bit challenging, given the softness of it (compared to Falklands roving and alpaca/wool blend), so it'll be a learning experience for the next while.  Stay tuned!

Moving from fibre to fabric...Quilting!  In my end-of-August post, I showed the start of the assembly of the Celtic Knot Quilt blocks.  Since that post, I've put all five of the blocks of one colour-combo and all four of the blocks of a second colour-combo together.  Here they are, stacked side-by-side on my design surface:

Left: "A" Blocks
Right: "B" Blocks

Yes, I know they look alike, but look closely. There is a subtle difference in the fabrics!  Now you know why I have to tread carefully here and pay close attention to assembly and layout!  There are currently 9 blocks made -- but to arrive at the desired size for this particular quilt, I need to create 7 more: 3 "A" Blocks (bringing the total to 8) and 4 "B" blocks (bringing the total to 8).  This will happen over the course of the winter, so by spring, the top will be assembled, with borders, and be ready for quilting so it can be bound and delivered to the designated recipients a year from now for their Special Occasion.  

Indeed, 2025 will be a Significant Year in my corner of the world.  It marks 50 years since I was married (and 19 of those as a widow).  Two other couples -- now with only 1 surviving partner -- will accompany me in that.  Fond memories, yes, but no sparkly celebrations there!  

But it marks 55 years since my younger sister graduated from our high school, and my son will turn 40 (he's the youngest of my two kids!).  So I've decided to make him a quilt, as it's been a long time.

For this one, my stash is calling -- and my choice is batiks.  I have a selection of dark blue and dark blue-green ones that have yet to be used.  At the Central Alberta Quilt Show last spring I bought several metres -- about eight on a 'skinny bolt' from a shop whose owner was retiring.  And I dug out this book:  Batik Beauties: 18 Stunning Quilts by Laurie Shifrin, which I bought eons ago. 

I've chosen a star pattern -- not the one on the cover! --  with the lighter fabric (from the skinny bolt) as the background.  Here's what I've cut for the block units so far:

The left-hand stack is actually a dozen squares -- each different -- for the centre of the stars.  The right-hand stack is background fabric but in this case, it's cut to go in the 4 corners of each star block.  I've got a lot of cutting of units to do before a block is assembled, so stay tuned!

Aside from the 'special' quilts I'm constructing, I continue to make scrappy quilts to give away.  One of them comes from the 'bonus triangles' created when I was doing one of Bonnie Hunter's mysteries (don't ask me which one).  I've managed to turn those into HSTs (Half-Square-Triangles), and from there into small-ish (5" finished) four-patches, thus -- as shown on the right-hand side of this photo:

On the left-hand side there's another trio of blocks -- part of the scrappy collection I'm gathering for another "Easy Breezy" (Leader-and-ender Challenge) quilt from Bonnie.  I have almost 50 of these made, but they're tiny (4" finished) so have a good 80 or more to go before I can turn them into something.  The centre 4-patches are all made up, and clipped in batches of 10, but the remaining 'borders' for each block have to be cut and attached!

Yep.  I'm just stacking 'em up -- both of these types of units.   Eventually, they'll become tops for comforting someone.  A local fella and his partner are expecting their first baby -- a girl -- close to Christmas this year.  I don't know her, but his mother died a couple of years ago and his dad is never mentioned -- neither are his siblings (if any). So that pink pinwheel quilt might be just right thing for a baby gift (with a pair of hand-knit baby socks attached!)

Meanwhile, the "A Quilting Life" 2024 Block of the Month continues to test my piecing skills! As you might recall, Gentle Readers, I'm aiming to make two of the smaller (8" finished) blocks per month, using my Thimbleberry fabric stash from years ago.  I gotta confess, a bit fiddly though they are, as the pieces get *very* tiny, I really enjoy making these up.  Here are my September blocks:

I ran out of greens so I'm making blocks with more blues and browns/golds.  So be it!  Scrappy all the way!

Now...what about hooked art?

In my end-of-August post I showed you the beginnings of my work in the online class form Deanne Fitzpatrick entitled, "Simple Shading".  My purpose in taking that class was to explore the technique of shading with yarn and fabric strips insead of with cotton fabric.  Also, I'm more of a landscape artist (or I was, before Covid had me trying to make order out of chaos) -- so I'd not really done anything in the way of still life work.  This project encompassed both techniques...and while it was a challenge, I learned a lot (including that I'm not fond of creating still life work!) -- and made, in the end, a pretty and comfy small pillow, and learned about shading with hooked fibre.  Here it is, finished but not fully finished:

And now, fully finished, on the bench in my Outdoor Studio -- including a close-up shot:

Yes, that cute l'il thing is all of 9" x 12" and now lives on a chair in my living room!

This week I finally set up a new piece -- this time, an original design -- on my standing frame.  It's 6" square and will likely be mounted on stretched canvas.  If I'm accepted, it'll go into the annual Under $100 Art Market in Lacombe, Alberta at the end of November.  It's a landscape, tentatively entitled "Turning", and here's my tiny start:

I hope to create 3 pieces that size. Anything not sold at that show will go to Curiosity Art & Framing in Red Deer, with high hopes to be sold there!

The Under $100 Art Market is not only an opportunity for the community to see and purchase all kinds of art and fine craft for less than $100 a piece, but also a fundraiser for the organizers -- the Lacombe Performing Arts Centre (aka LPAC).  In an area where sports -- especially HOCKEY -- are paramount, the Arts (visual and performing) have struggled to maintain a foothold in the minds of the populace.  I'm happy to play my part to keep the Arts alive in these parts!!

In the interests of adding to my "hooking" yarn supply, I happily went to the Prairie Fibre Festival in Lacombe on September 14*.  And I wasn't disappointed!  I came home with a variety of yarn and fibre suitable for my hooked-art pieces.

First, this trio of yarns from Brine Dyeworks of Calgary, Alberta -- 100% Finn wool, all light worsted weight:  

Left to right: "Canopy"; Rym"; and "Galactica"
All are classed as "DK/worsted" 

Next, a skein of single-ply "super bulky" hand-dyed yarn from That Yarn Habit of Grande Prairie, Alberta, in the colour "Thunder Cloud":

Third, a skein of Peruvian Highland Wool, aran weight and hand-dyed, from All Wound Up Kntting (Facebook link) of Castor, Alberta.

Finally, some curly locks for texture: Cotswold locks from Saskatchewan in the "Oprah" (!) colour-way (i.e. natural) from Imagine Yarn of Biggar, SK:

Such a quantity of fibre goodness with which to create new landscapes and skyscapes!

 *NOTE: Since earlier this year, Olds College permanently cancelled it's famous, decades-old "Fibre Week", the Alberta fibre community has been stepping up!  To that end, the Prairie Fibre Festival last weekend hosted MORE vendors and MORE classes than ever before -- AND have booked in for TWO events in 2025:  

1. June 14, 2025 -- in Olds -- put that in your pipe and smoke it, Olds College!; and
2. September 13, 2025 -- in Lacombe, Alberta.

Get on the e-mail list for news and updates, eh?

Of course, being a woolly wool fan, I couldn't pass up a chance to buy a bit of Black Welsh Mountain fingering being sold by Melanie Rudy, the gal from whom I and friends Anne and Sha took the 'Shetland Lace Knitting' workshop on the Saturday afternoon of the Festival.  I got it to go into a Shetland Hap...some day in the not-too-distant future.  Soooo beautiful!

I should note that the day was made rich not only by the finding of glorious yarn I can use, or by taking an interesting class, but also by the friends I had with me for part of the day: Barbara from Calgary, Mary and Sha from south of Calgary, and Anne from Gull Lake.  I/we shared the joy with Shauna from Westaskiwin, Erin from near Blackfalds, and Gail and Sharon from Lacombe.  I missed Lori (she showed up later when I was in class) but no matter.  It was all good.

Last but not least, what about stitching?  Well...it's Sampler September!

In my late-August post, I mentioned my plans, and as this month slides by, trying to hustle me along with it, I've pretty much stuck to those plans.

I began the month working on Jeanette Douglas' reproduction of Ann Perrin 1841.  I worked on it for the better part of the first week, and ended that time with two pattern pages completed - working top left to right:

I then moved on to my "birthday sampler" (begun last year) from Hands Across the Sea designs: "Memories of the Past".  Here's where I left it on September 18th -- again, with two pages finished, but this time on the left side only:

And as of yesterday (the 19th) I've resumed work on Emeline Hotchkiss 1846, making progress here too.  I've moved from the first page (top left) to the second (bottom left) and have started my very first 'berry bowl' motif!

Last but not least (and yet to be worked on this month) is the wee new start I made on 56-count -- "Frances Lawson 1848" from Sampler & Antique Needlework: a Year in Stitches, published in 1994 and given me by a friend.   Here's what the start looks like at the moment -- just a bit of the border from the top left corner:

I'm loving each and every one of these pieces -- for their history, their back story, their connections to my Quebec home, their colours, their expressed sentiments.  Sometimes we work pieces for only one of these reasons; sometimes, for more than one; sometimes for all of them.

And for reasons we don't fully understand, the work brings us comfort and peace.

Like any of us who are makers -- working 'hand-over-hand' as Deanne Fitzpatrick says -- knitters, spinners and weavers form community as do quilters, rug-hookers, and stitchers.  Many of us overlap our interests and so belong to more than one of these.  We take our passion for making, and our art, and use it for comfort, for teaching, for sharing and giving -- for developing harmony and the meditative peace that comes from these humble skills.  We create beauty every time we sit down at the loom or the wheel; every time we pick up needles or hooks; every time we stir a dye pot or share a pattern or gather around a frame or a table.

How are you creating beauty, community, harmony and peace every day in your tiny space in the world?  Never forget that every time you pick up a hook, a needle, a pin, some yarn, or fabric, some fibre or floss; every time you click a camera's shutter; every time you fashion clay or turn wood on a lathe; every time you put a pen or pencil or oil pastel or chalk or paint to paper or canvas; every time you warp a loom or move a shuttle or spin on a wheel or spindle -- every time you make with your heart, mind, hands and soul, you are making your tiny corner of the world a better place.

On that note, I'll leave you for the moment, Gentle Readers, with my usual link to Nna-Marie's Off the Wall Friday, and with wishes and blssings for good days ahead.

A bientot!

Why Make?

This is question that never really leaves my mind.  Why make?  Why make art?  Why make anything at all?

Because the artist cannot help herself.  The artist must make art.  And in the same way, the maker of anything -- assuming the maker is a living being, that is -- must make that thing, those things.

Deanne Fitzpatrick makes hooked rugs for the floor and the wall, but that's simply her method, her medium.  In reality, she writes in her Sunday Letters (and says on her podcasts), she is making comfort, peace, thoughtful expression -- and beauty.

Judy Martin makes hand-stitched, hand quilted pieces for the wall and elsewhere.  But again, that's simply her method, her medium.  In reality, she writes in her blogs, she is making comfort, peace, thoughtful expression -- and beauty.

Why do I make?

I make pieces with textiles: cotton and/or linen fabrics (and sometimes polyester or a bit of silk); with threads: cotton or silk (and sometimes polyester or a bit of wool); and with yarn: 99.99% of the time, wool.  Sometimes I make pictures, sometimes abstractions, and sometimes I use OPI (Other People's Instructions).  But these are simply my methods, my media.  In reality, I too am making comfort, peace, thoughtful expression -- and beauty.

As Judy wrote in her recent Journal post, as a whole, since the 1800s, people -- at least in our Western culture filled with reason and commerce and conspicuous consumption -- have divided the creation of something -- the making of things -- into whether what is produced can considered 'useful' and 'practical' -- or not.  And if its not seen as utilitarian, then it's less highly valued. She wrote, that when we make "usefulness" the most important criterion for making something, those of us who produce art simply for art's sake, begin to doubt our worth. 

I don't know any artist who hasn't had those same doubts.  I know I have -- especially when I stopped producing art for sale.  Yes, I have art for sale -- in independent shows I choose to enter, and in the collections at Andrea Hatch's Curiosity Art and Framing gallery in Red Deer, Alberta.

But I never started to make art for money.  It piles up in my small house, and so I put it on show and out for sale because...why not?  If it doesn't sell, it doesn't sell.  It's still  out there for the viewing and the enjoyment of others -- and for that, for the deep support Andrea's given me for almost 20 years now -- I am grateful.

Here's some of what I've been making lately:

I took on Deanne Fitzpatrick's "10-minutes-a-day" rug hooking Challenge for 2024.  I started it in the last week of June, when the kit I ordered for it arrived -- and finished it July 1st!  It's 6" x 17", an odd size as far as mounting it on a canvas goes, so  I'm pondering ordering one of the frames her Studio makes for just this size.  Here's "Little Yellow Flowers", designed by Deanne using the kit, on burlap -- and placing the colours just the way I wanted:

Once that was done, I decided I wanted to play with hooking letters on a plain background, to make a cushion just for me.  I chose the words based on one of Deanne's Sunday Letters -- the essay entitled "Searching for Perfect":

"As we all come to terms with the new normal we have experienced with Covid, there is a bit of a reckoning.  We all realize that things are different now.  Still sometimes we are suddenly taken aback by it all.  We have all been shocked into those new normals around us.  Those sullen moments where you think that it is just so different, are not yours alone.  

I have those moments too.  And in them I turn to my rug hooking and my writing.  I turn to creativity and joy and love and prayer and I try to deepen my relationships with those things.  Because those things are still there.  They are unchanging in the midst of great change.  We need their constancy more than ever...Because making feels right and it brings me back to myself, the self that believes in hope and joy and wonder and love..."   -- Deanne Fitzpatrick, Sunday Letters, Deanne Fitzapatrick Rug Hooking Studio, Amherst, NS, Canada, (c) 2022 - p. 52 (emphasis mine)

I call this little piece, "What Lasts" -- and here is my progress as of yesterday:

 

 I'm learning a lot making this, and the process itself soothes my soul and eases my mind.

It's been very hot in these parts for over two weeks now, so spinning has taken a bit of a back seat.  I love to do it outside, and the early morning is the only time it's been cool enough -- but any sort of yard work I want to do has often claimed priority (useful, right? Sigh...)  Still, I managed to fill a bobbin with the purple-to-pink-to-peach section of the Falklands braid (roving) I won last year in the Two Ewes Summer Spin in:

It's the finest I've ever spun, I think.  My plan is to ply it with a single from black alpaca I still have from a large assortment I was given a year or more ago -- but first I have to spin that up...soon, I hope, now that most of the yardwork I needed to do is done.

On the knitting front, I traded knitting woolly things -- like the vest for my daughter and the pullover for me -- for something in cotton.  I've had the pattern for a summer tee top -- the Vincas tee, from Berocco -- for a long time, and the cotton yarn even longer.  at last the two paired up, and earlier this week I finished the back, and cast on the front!

Photo taken just before back was finished!
Pattern: Vincas
Designer: Berocco Design Team
Yarn: Estelle "Young Touch Cotton DK"

If I plug away, I might have it finished before fall! 😆

As for cross stitch, I declared July to be "Canada Month" and have been working on reproductions of samplers originally stitched by young Canadian girls.  The first one is "Julia Amelia Hounslow (1848)", which was reproduced by The Essamplaire, out of Red Deer, Alberta.  I bought it last year for a Canada Day start -- and after that, set it aside, but this year I finished it!

It's a wee thing, only about 6 1/2" x 7 1/2" on 25-count.  I stitched it on 36-count "Cream and Sugar" by Fiber on a Whim, so it's even smaller.  And I used DMC and a bit of Soie d'Alger from my stash:

I'll make it into a little pillow for my bowl.

Julia Amelia is believed to have stitched her sampler in or around Sweetsburg in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

My next sampler was reproduced by Kathleen Littleton of Cross-stitch Antiques, and was originally created by another Quebecer: Emeline Hotchkiss (1846).  She was from the area of Lacolle, Quebec, which is a community of about 1,000, and a major border crossing from Quebec to northern NY State.  I grew up near there, and my step-father worked at that crossing (and 2 others) as an officer for Canada Immigration back in the day (he retired in 1978 and with my mother moved west to the Okanagan of B.C.)  

This week I began that sampler, and was intrigued.  I wondered if some folks on FB -- in the public group, Chateauguay Valley Photos and Memories -- would know anything about a Hotchkiss family in Lacolle area over 100 years ago.  I posted an inquiry on the page, and wasn't disappointed!  In the comments, they sent me these treasures:

First, a newspaper item believed to be the death notice of a Mrs. Hotchkiss who very well could have been Emeline's mother:

Next, an Ancestry.com record that could show a connection to other relations, including those in the US.:

And finally, the piece de resistance -- a photo of dear Emeline's headstone.  She died at age fourteen...😢

I decided to try to contact Ms. Littleton, who reproduced the sampler, and she was delighted to have this additional information.  It's a special blessing, indeed, when something so serendipitous happens; this was a highlight of my week.

So I am diligently stitching away on the border of her sampler.  Here's my progress as of last evening:

I'm working it on 40-count Vellum from Picture This Plus, using some called-for DMC and some alternates from my stash that are close to those called for -- ones that weren't available at the LNS/art/craft shop near me.

In addition to "Julia Amelia", I had another finish this month -- a Fully Finished object, that is!  "Cake Tier" became a flat mount applied to the cover of a spiral-bound recipe journal and was mailed off to my friend P. in Westmount (a city within the city of Montreal!) for a belated birthday gift.  My eternal gratitude to Helen D of floss-tube fame (aka East Coast Crafter), whose tutorial on flat mounts was instrumental in how good it looks!

Yes, there's a bit of quilting going on too -- early-ish in the day, when my south-facing studio is still fairly cool.  I'm working on a Very Special Quilt -- which my daughter has commissioned me to make -- a gift for some good friends of hers who have a special anniversary next year.  We chose the pattern and the fabric online (Hamel's Fabrics) almost 2 years ago, because it was the pattern and colours she felt would be most suitable.  

It's the Celtic Knots Quilt kitted through Halcyon Fabrics, using their lovely blues/aquas/cream fabrics (this link to Hamel's info on it is dated June 2022 -- I told you it was a couple of years old!)

It's one of the more complex patterns I've pieced, and of course it had to be 'up-sized' from 90" x 90" to 104" x 104" for a king-sized bed...!  (It's the notion that "Mom can do anything" kicking in again! LOL!)

Anyway, I washed all the fabric (as is my habit), ironed it and labelled it with the colour number as recommended.  This is turning out to be very important, as messing up the colour order would mess up the pattern.  Here's my stack of prepped fabric:

And an example of how I labelled each fabric in the line:

Next I cut the fabrics into strips, rectangles and squares.  The strips were used for strip sets, cross cut to make pairs of squares.  I then assembled 144 (count 'em!) units composed of rectangles and those strip-set units:

Each day for the last three now I've been assembling larger units -- 10 1/2" unfinished -- in groups of five, which will go together to make the final large blocks:

Block set #1

Block set #2

Block set #3

I still have a number of sets of five to assemble, and then some sets of four blocks.  After that...I'm assuming they'll all come together with sashing to make a beautiful whole.

That's all well and good -- but the units I've cut were only for 9 large blocks of 22" (finished) each -- and I need 16 to make the size of quilt desired. So...the process will begin again with the remaining fabric (yes, Hamel's Fabrics owner and staff figured out how much extra we had to buy!) to make the remaining 7 blocks.

Once that's done, there will be an inner border, a narrow 'zinger' and a wider outer border.

Onward!

The last bit of beauty being made around here has been in my garden, which continues to delight me, even as I dead-head dandelions and other spent blossoms, prune deadwood from shrubs and aging ornamental trees, and try to keep the young cats from digging in every bare patch of dirt where seeds were once sown!

Here's just a taste...

Just some of the peonies I brought inside.

This is the first blossom for my youngest peony!

Brown-eyed Susans watching every move
in the meadow!

Poppies competing with daisies under
the big twin willow

Sweet William in pink in the east bed

Nearby, Sweet William in white

And in the aged ornamental on the front lawn,
which I pruned mightily over 2 days, a belated
bouquet of blooms!

And so, my friends, I'll close this l-o-o-o-o-ng post for now, with my usual link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  As I understand it, she has a new job and is working long hours -- meaning that while she might be solving problems creatively, she's definitely been in the "utilitarian" zone.  I hope she has some time to wind down and refocus for a bit...

Stay safe, Gentle Readers, in spite of extreme heat, flooding and/or tornados. May you find beauty every day.

A bientot!