magic diary cloth update

it would seem that attempting to ply a rigid schedule to my organic living style is not working. no big surprise there. it was an experiment that harvested expected results. in light of this, i will continue posting magic diary cloth updates, except i will allow them to unfold and reveal themselves in a more natural order. that is to say, as they present themselves to me.

this has begun as a very interesting exercise in discovery. of the nature of this particular cloth. and of my artistic working style. . .which may appear to the outside viewer as chaotic. random. perhaps this may be, as well. . .but whatever the format, it is how i work. create. experience.

i am only just getting started on the first letter of my magic diary cloth. there are hours of needle chanting to perform before its whispers will quiet down enough to allow the patient b to speak up and begin its story-speaking. this particular letter is formed by couching twisted blue scraps with hand-dyed red cotton threads. i have only just begun to explore other surface embellishments...

behind all of this is another chant, quietly whispering in the background of mind. more about which will be the topic of another posting. . .

namaste'

somewhere a tree grows...

got to work on the midwinter cloth some more today, in between and after the many errands and preparatory chores that had to be accomplished before closing my eyes.  who knew there was so much to do to get ready to journey to boise to spend the holidays with my parents for the first time in nine years? amidst all this frenetic activity, my mind turned to a quieter scene...  my morning meditation practice is one way i find peace in the middle of all this chaos. a deep, enduring peace that i take with me into the journeys and interactions of the ensuing day.

as i gazed at the midwinter cloth, it seemed that a moon was required in the night sky.  upon reflection, i realized this was a gratitude moon...in particular, in gratitude to jude hill for being the first to introduce me to this particular forest of ideas and in memory of all the beautiful and blessing moons that grace her cloths.  it will still need an echo of radiating kantha stitches to give it depth and presence.

next, a tree began to grow somewhere in the snowbanks.  it is still growing and whispers of many more branches and a more textured trunk...but the promise of what is to come is already chanting quietly across the snowscape.

the roots have decided that they are not going to hide beneath the snow (though they are not yet couched down) and the sky is already asking for french knot snowflakes.  there is still a lot of kantha stitching to be done in the background as well... and i can hear the quiet chant of something not yet known that promises to put in an appearance before the midwinter cloth is complete.  it seems, too, that the frays of laundry resultant tangles on some of the blues have need of some stitching, too, though they have yet to speak up and tell me in what fashion they want to make their mark...

but for the moment, this cloth is going to sleep for a bit...as i am in need of the warmth of bedquilts, the purring neckwarmer that is cat, and the gentle tug and kick of the saint lost in puppy dreams at the foot of the bed...

namaste'