monkey hands

wings from a broken heart

I just noticed, while playing with scraps and shapes, that a broken heart can become wings to fly

some kantha stitching for ground under their feet, and to help hold the cloth together

both with a nod to Jude Hill at Spirit Cloth 

Friends

 

big beast meets little winged turtle

 

 

three year old Nellie (lab) and 14 year old Peanut are good buddies

 

 

Sandy Relief Quilts #4 and 5, back from Phyllis at Quilter's Pantry and ready for me to bind them

 

 

Longarm quilting (and this photo) by Phyllis Dewey at Quilter's Pantry

 

Flying Turtles, Rainbow Quilt, Leaving Soon

flying across the moon

Stitching continues on my Diary Cloth  (one of  Jude Hill's inspiring online course at Spirit Cloth). It's a relaxing way to begin to process change and transition. 

part of the diary cloth

I think flying turtle is leading the way home!

rainbow quilt for, and designed by, a very special niece

The top is finished, and just in time to pack and thento pass along to Phyllis Dewey, longarm quilter at Quilter's Pantry, when I get back.

stuff accumulated over the past two years

workers from Roundabout picking up donations for migrant workers and their families

Roundabout Organization is an NGO in Beijing. They run a store similar to Salvation Army or Goodwill in the U.S., and also donate goods to people in need, which includes the 14 million migrant workers living and working in Beijing.  

The so-called "migrant workers" are Chinese, but don't have a hukou (offical government papers allowing them to live in a city other than their rural hometown).

Migrant workers have few rights and often little access to public schools, healthcare, or other social services. These guys were great sports who pick up our air filters, my post-surgery-for-the-broken-foot gear, household goods, and so on. 

Diary Cloth, More From Mongolia

As part of my ongoing stitching in Jude Hill's online class at Spirit Cloth, I had planned to make wings (a large flying beastie-bird?) for my connected hand-foot creation. As I stitched late at night in Ulaanbaatar, the handfoot (I had surgery on both this year, so they are embedded with personal significance) morphed into a sailboat and that just felt right. Also, I was happy to discover that I had taken my little treasure pack of moons made by Glennis Dolce aka the talented, creative Shibori Girl , here with me back to Beijing, so I've added this sweet linen gem to the mix. The "whale" (see a couple posts ago) lost out for now, but probably not forever.  Maybe too literal at the moment?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

A few more pictures from my visit north to work with the women at Mongolian Quilters: 

These two tables are basically standard 30" by 72" tables, and during the day six women work at each table while others work on the floor, on a small side table, at a square ironing table, and even in the shop if necessary. I hope to help with some fundraising for expansion next year. 

I went to the center straight from Ghengis Kahn airport with my suitcase full of bird-making materials as well as an electric sewing machine and converter to donate, some rotary cutters, and fabric.  Taking a test drive--trying out various stitches and tension as I show how to work the "controls." This is a hard-working basic machine that will be put to good use.

Hand Work for Mongolia

As the storm rages along the U.S. east coast, I am leaving for the airport to head to Ulaanbaatar. My thoughts are with my family, and yours, and everyone affected. I'm glad I have a serious distraction to keep me busy now, though of course my children and other family members will be in my constant thoughts.

After cutting boiled wool birds to take to Ulaanbaatar for the workshop this week, I noticed the scraps were fish-shaped.

and perfect for the over-the-ocean-back-to-China phase of the diary cloth I'm making as part of Jude Hill's Spirit Diary Cloth online course at Spirit Cloth. Jude's an inspiring teacher, and her classes and the communities that develop are nurturing as well as challenging. I'n not sure if big fish will make it onto the cloth--looks more like a whale to me, but maybe that's okay. Once I get stitching, the needle seems to take over and guide the way. The moon in the corner is a "Glennis moon," indigo dyed by the famous Shibori Girl herself. 

I've been adding some kantha style stitching to the cacti and wings--it was hard to leave family and that incredible sunny big Southwest sky.

Plodding Toward China

I've slowly been making minor progress. Turtle now has claws to cling more firmly to the freshly seeded (stitched) ground, and also newly embellished wings for soaring.

my view from a Tucson coffee shop

Meanwhile, I've been working my way back to Beijing via some family time in Oakland, Ca, Tucson, and now San Francisco for a night before taking off for China tomorrow morning.

cacti in post office parking lot

Next steps may be a cactus behind Turtle, and an ocean in front...ongoing work as part of Jude Hill's inspiring Spirit Cloth Diaries class at Spirit Cloth.

 

Covered Buttons and Flying Turtles

My friend Terri Lipman gave me this great fabric she'd dyed. I was inspired to use it for a couple things (in process) and to cover these buttons:

And then, 

Just before my hand surgery, I pulled together some scraps from this big scrap box (origins, unknown/remembered) for possible stitching. 

Most the scraps were 1.5 inch to 2 inch strips, and I picked a few that felt turtle-ish to me.

My first post-surgery sewing, inspired by a class I'm taking online with Jude Hill at  Spirit Cloth.