sun day on a friday

Took myself and Ocean Homes to the park for some sun and fresh air today.  Stitching, solitude and a good book on the ipod. There was not a soul there
but me and the geese who were less than interested after I made it
clear that there would be no snacks.

They  seem to think that everyone who sits at that table will be sharing but I had nothing to offer but bits of thread and they milled about and muttered amongst themselves for a while before they lost interest and moved on. This is at Bethesda Park which is a short three minute ride from my house.

Caesura

I'm still in the clutches of a cold and will probably hang on to the cough until sometime in March just like last year.

Although I got up full of piss and vinegar yesterday I made the mistake of tackling a long put off cleaning project.  And this on my day off! "Hoarders" is really getting under my skin.

It's not that bad but I was thinking that months and months of dust piled on stacks of books, CDs, mail and UFOs right next to my bed wasn't helping me get better. Digging it out an doing away with it may have set me back a few days but it's done now and the opposite corner beckons. Maybe Saturday. 

After a spell of rest, I settled into bed with this piece to see if some hand stitching could bring some light. After cross hatching a handful of the white shapes with full ply floss I realized that it was not going to help and picked it all out and fell back on the comfort and ease of crocheting with cotton.

Next for this one, and irrevocably, will come paint but not until I'm feeling more focused. My head is full of echoes and hollow places full of NyQuil fumes...

slogging

I stitched on this one between coughing and sneezing this weekend. I have a world class head cold and should probably sterilize it when it's done.

The Janome continues to puke up when I try to use the Sulky 12wt cotton so the white was very slow going.

I still can't help feeling that I have done these pieces of cloth a disservice using them this way, but I'll see it through to the finish I suppose.








Meanwhile, this one continues to tantalize me over my  shoulder and I am thinking over how I want to build this one before I start the same unsatisfying dance I'm in right now. Back to handwork on something this large? Maybe I have to experiment with a sail maker's needle and full weight embroider floss.

Happy Diwali !!

Never heard of Diwali  before I hit the Bing front page yesterday and since the forecast was for freezing temperature I ran outside and snatched all the open blooms off my potted marigolds. Even if I was a bit hasty (70's predicted all next week) the plants are still covered with buds.

Arlee, should I dry them, freeze them or squash them between the pages of the OED? Right now they are really stinking up the laundry room and I'm about to move them to the trunk of my car. Don't get me wrong, I love that marigold stink but this many in a small room makes the head swim!

I've added a few new thing to the Small Things page and  spent the morning with the intention of making up sets along these color lines but I got swept up in the stacks of colors and textures and came up with these new ones.

home on a Friday...

...with a sore throat and fever. I'm grateful that I don't have to talk to a bunch of crabby asses on the phone this afternoon.  The sun is bright, the air fresh and I'll get some exercise outside later.

    There's nothing like a  good patch of give and take with fellow artists to stir the creative pot. Did some looking around, looking back - and so spotted a light on the path forward.  The card of the day was right. These pieces are stuck up on the design wall now and having a lot to say.

I'll let them perk a while and get back to quilting the one in progress now, refreshed hopefully, for the stitching and what it could bring to the design.

Here's a much better photo of the container that's still evolving.