bunnies and bernards

whenever i find myself sitting idle, i long to grab a fragment and needle chant a while.  i don't always act on those longings these days. sometimes i breathe into the idleness and just sit with it. relaxing and simply being. i know, for me, this can be an escape.  from what, i'm not certain. so i remind myself how fulfilling the needle and thread can be. allow it to become the meditation that it can be.  to that end, i found myself stitching away at my little purple bunny this evening.  

after an enriching bit of of time with cloth fragments and thread, i took bodhi for a ride.  my little teacup saint bernard. or so i keep telling him.  only 16 months and already 150.6 pounds of puppy. he takes up every bit of bench seat in my truck that isn't already occupied by my own butt.  he loves to spend time with his daddy.  the feeling is mutual.

namaste'

the road unseen

it would seem that winter is not going anywhere soon here in the wilds of montana. while it may not look like it, there is a road under all that snow. somewhere. or, at least i think there is. hope there is. since i just drove 3 miles along what i thought to have been a road and not some farmer's field. ha! thank goodness for four wheel drive!

once overcoming the madness that convinced me i needed to be out plowing my way through the additional 6 inches of snow that fell yesterday (following 8 inches a few days before that and 6 inches a few days earlier still), i settled back in by the fire and the purring cat to cover a few more miles of needle chanting with community.  i really ought to finish the background before populating this cloth with its family of beasties...but i may have to give in and allow one or two to emerge on the first row before i get that far along...

namaste'

hungry critters

it's amazing what some critters won't do to get at a shiny apple in your hand!

i've been stitching this week. playing at mixing machine stitching on my new/old featherweight and hand stitching with my vintage straw needles. experimenting with adding vintage buttons and scraps of other paraphernalia. but i haven't managed to get any of it in front of the camera. boo! i know. so y'all will just have to wait another day and enjoy this hungry critter for today...

huh! did y'all notice that we got snow today? ha! it's a great day to stay by the fire and stitch some more.

namaste'

hearing silence

today was a quiet, listening sort of day. it is strange how the quieter we become, the more we are able to hear. after dropping the saint off at doggy day care (to give her some time with other doggy types), i spent the better part of the day just observing and learning from piper. learning about silence. about nurturing oneself. about resting. about seeing what does not appear to be there. it is an exercise i have not partaken of lately. one that i realize i sorely miss and highly recommend!

namaste'

remembering Was...

been spending more time contemplating than stitching lately. more so since hearing the sad news about Was... allowing it to unfold as it will in the quiet depths of my mind...and slowly working on a little sorrow cloth for her...complete with paisley angel wings...

namaste'

thread chanting

in keeping with being gentle, i've been quietly thread chanting this little peacock based on a vintage pattern found in an old sewing box. most of it is kantha stitch, though they did not call it such. my mind has been wandering around other designs and images that could translate nicely into kantha stitch. perhaps this will be a new direction for quiet moments when my fingers are not in the mood to be needle chanting 4,320 inch and a half squares into a bed cloth...

namaste'

it's time to make some new friends

truly great friends

are hard to find,

difficult to leave,

and impossible

to forget.

lucky for some of us, we can make new friends whenever we need or want them! (smile)  this little guy has been waiting for new friends for some time now and his whispers have grown into a mantra that is never far from my ears. so, i imagine it is time to start on some new friends for him!

i wonder who will manifest?

namaste'

say hello to my little friend

meet baxter. a silly little bat who decided it was time to finish becoming. made from a vintage wool mini skirt and a vintage middle eastern shirt. baxter is somewhat shy and still hasn't told me much about himself. but i'll be listening when he's ready...

namaste'