Friday, December 16, 2011

waiting for the man standing in the snow...


the holidays have been creeping around the corners of my awareness. these years past they have been a time of great sorrow and heartfelt pain. so, usually, like a sleeping lion, i allow them to sleep whenever possible. but, for some reason, they will not sleep this year. little piles of old cloth would congregate. and whisper. the din grew so great that i simply had to begin needle chanting them into existence. and so, this small cloth has begun manifesting beneath my busy fingers. there are miles to go before he has whispered his story into my ears. but he seems content with this start. a beard. a 'stache. a nose and crinkly eyes i think are next. perhaps a potted tree in his mittened hands will follow. from there, it would be any body's guess what he will require of me!

meanwhile...


i managed to pull out the "better camera" for those of you requesting more detailed pictures of the tiny nine patches that have been manifesting during my daily needle chanting sessions to clear my mind and kick start my creative energy.  it has been a struggle, attempting to stitch so large! 24+ stitches to the inch is just ginormous when compared to what i'm used to hand stitching lo these many years ago of miniature bearmaking and heirloom sewing. there are a host of inner muses screeching at me for allowing...no, intending...the stitches to show. for choosing variegated threads to heighten the effect. to not-so-blind stitch the seams, allowing the little dots to blatantly reside along either side of them. for allowing one of jude hill's magic fringes to grace the edge of one of the tiny squares. you'd almost swear the muses were harpies indeed! but i have stopped my ears with cotton wool to their cries and continued on... i am quite enjoying the added texture and visual interest created thereby! a little math scratched on a scrap of paper has informed me that i will need 480 of these little nine patches to create the queen sized bedcloth they aspire to be. which turns out to be 4,320 little squares of recycled and repurposed cloth! best not to think of it these terms, joe, lest you become quite overwhelmed and abandon all hope!

namaste'

9 comments:

  1. nice to see you stitching again.....

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  2. thank you, jude. it's nice to be stitching again. . .and is, by and large, due to your inspiration, for which my heartfelt gratitude goes out to you once again.

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  3. Joe, your stitching is beautiful. I love the man standing in the snow. It says so much already. The patches. Wow! The fabrics are gorgeous and I know how overwhelming the big picture can be. One stitch, one square at a time.

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  4. The stitching on the patches is beautiful and inspiring to me!
    (I have been too busy work, etc. to really sit and enjoy some serious
    stitching sigh!)
    The man is the snow is a perfect winter celebration/ceremony cloth
    : )

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  5. I meant "the man IN the snow"....

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  6. thank you, jeannie! and, yes, one stitch at a time... that is a project that will most likely take years to complete...

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  7. i grab a few minutes here and there, marie. mostly in the middle of the night when i should be sleeping... ha!

    looking forward to seeing the man's face emerge...

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  8. Hi Joe, Blogger is finally letting me comment on your blog!
    Lovely work. I am glad that Christmas may be joy filled this year for you.
    Happy, Happy Holidays!
    xoxo

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  9. thanks, annie! blogger has been acting up lately again...they must be upgrading something.

    i hope the holidays are filled with joy for you, as well!

    namaste'

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