monkey hands

Sashiko Patchwork

Vintage Japanese fabric (1960s-70s) and sashiko on indigo. 19" square, lined in navy cotton. 

Some of you may recall the sashiko squares used in this little nine-patch wrapping cloth (which could also be used as a table topper or wall-hanging) from this post ( nearly a year ago to the day). 

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After sashiko-style quilting several blocks, I'm retiring this project for a while. It's just too heavy and warm to work with now. It will be a cozy comforter while I finish the quilting next winter.

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Personal Note: I'm heading to the hospital tomorrow for sugery--bone graft and plate/screws--to repair my broken foot, so I probably won't be sewing much or posting for a few days. I'll be back at it soon, and I'm taking my Magic Diary Cloth along for the ride in case I feel like stitching!

 

Wool Faces Quilt

The seams in this medium-weight wool needed to be firmly pressed and also stitched to stay flat, so I've been hand-stitching away. It's rather mindless, meditative sewing--quite relaxing at the end of the day when I want to keep my hands busy, and when my brain wants to slow down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next step is to add a border or to start quilting without a border in order to make the size and weight more manageable. If I proceed with the second option, I will quilt the "body" and then add front and back borders. 

It's not quite this wonky--pinning it on the design wall has distorted and started to stretch the wool. I didn't leave it there long! The colors in the photos aren't true (they're richer, deeper), but I'm not sure how to remedy that problem. I seem to get either over or underexposed images no matter what I do.

Spring temperatures are here, with highs in the low forties now, but the air quality has been quite bad. Click on the U.S. Embassy's AQI image, below, to read the warning for this "Hazardous" level of pollutants. When it gets like this, as it often does, visability is so poor that flights are delayed or cancelled and highways closed. School children stay inside during recess and phys ed, as does everyone else who can possibly manage to avoid the air. Many people, millions here in Beijing alone, especially the so-called "migrant workers" -- Chinese citizens born in other areas of China who lack official relocation papers from the government--must work outside all day, six or seven days a week, in spite of poor air quality and serious health consequences.

 

Becoming

something?

Three patches for a nine-patch, perhaps?

Embroidery (sewing thread) on peach linen, orange wool, and white linen.

A foot in process--thanks for the idea goes to Grace of Wind Thread!

Nellie

Leaving my two dogs and two cats in New Hampshire was/is one of the hardest things about living in China. I'm longing for the comfort of those furry, kind-hearted creatures at my feet and in my lap.

Nellie will be three in March. She's a love. The hedgehog she's holding is her "baby."  She's had it since early puppyhood. Sometimes she takes it outside and gets distracted, coming back without it. "Nellie, where's your baby?" I ask, and she's off to find the hedgehog and bring it back.

I have been stitching bits and pieces here and there as time allows with company and work, but I haven't taken many photos.  I will soon. Meanwhile, the sun is growing, and it's now larger than the little woven moon.

The moon appears to be glowing in this image. I'm not sure why.

 

What the Heart Sees

I began stitching this morning with the intention of making a simple open (or broken, as the case may be) heart. When I reached the left side and started a spiral inward, I realised I had sewn a window or eye into this heart. I continued to be inspired and encouraged by Jude Hill of Spirit Cloth.

Wool Sun, Cotton Moon; Wool Faces Quilt

The little blue cotton cloth-weaving became a moon, and scraps of the wool I've been using for another project are becoming a sun and also the background cloth, inspired by the "Wispering Sun, Moon, and Stars" online course and the "Cloth-to-Cloth" video series I'm taking from (although it feels like with) Jude Hill of Spirit Cloth.  U-tube videos are blocked by government censors here in China, so I haven't seen the videos in "Cloth-to-Cloth" yet, but Jude's pictures and clear instructions, also included as PDF files, are plenty for now.  (I'm looking forward to watching the videos the next time I travel out of China.)

I'm connecting the faces (stitched in New York City, Shimla and Delhi, and Beijing) to other washed wool blocks to make a warm wool throw about 50" x 70" (or so-once I attach a border). This will be a project I can continue working on when I travel; I'm planning to use a combination of traditional hand-quilting methods with sashiko and embroidery to quilt this small blanket.

This is not the final arrangement--I'm still playing with placement.

Aubergine Wool Face

I used to call this color "eggplant," but I like the way "aubergine"feels and sounds when I say it--so lush, earthy, and sensuous.  ~ aubergine ~    

Wool Face--Last Block Made on India Trip

This face was inspired by faces on the statues in Shimla roadside gardens. Photos taken with a borrowed I-phone; the shadow looks (to me) as if I'm waving good-bye. I'll miss the smells, sounds, and tastes of India.

This is a state tax collection booth between Himachal Pradesh and Punjab:The advertising slogan written on the side of the building, "Don't kill the personality of your child," is promoting holistic-type education at a chain of independent schools. Seems like a sound philosophy to me.

Faces and Places

This new wool square is a bit of a departure from the previous squares. It's inspired by Jude Hill's online course, Sun, Moon, Stars (see Spirit Cloth link), and the faces I'm seeing on people, statues, and relief images in this amazing place.

Town square in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. As some of you may remember, as much as I am inspired by people wherever I go, I am adverse to voyeuristically taking pictures. I snapped this scene because it seemed to show the vibrant community spirit of this gathering place without revealing many identifiable faces. 

New Year, New Face in India

This is my first new wool face of the new year. I started it in the car on the way from Delhi to Shimla in Himachal Pradesh. Two days later, I'm not sure it's finished, but here it is.

View of the Himalayan mountains from Shimla's main street

Garden statue, carrying heavy load. Gardens are built along the streets -- into the sides of the mountains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Detail of an old fresco on the side of a city street. Interesting faces everywhere.