My Pandemic Secret Weapon- Cary Quilting

 I like many others have exhausted my usual arsenal of coping devices during this pandemic and political season.  The combination of increased work and life stress and limited opportunities to socialize and commiserate in person has been exhausting.  Top that with my long loved husband being a conservative Republican.  Oy Vey!

But this post is one of gratitude for the big and little things that get us through. Like Cary Quilting Company. As my interest in stitching developed, this store was a lovely distraction. In the worst of lockdown, you could order a bag of scraps, fat quarters or whatever and pick it up curbside.  This was such a treat to have a bag of surprises to grab and take home to play with.

Within this happy space is my primary destination.   Just digging through this bin during my lunch hour on a discouraging day at work was my remedy many days.

Scraps are sold by the ounce.  I found when too down or tired to craft, I found satisfaction just washing and ironing them.

This store has been a lifesaver for me. Both visiting and playing with my scrappy treasures.

Thankfully I  have moved beyond just ironing scraps.  The staff at the store helped me pick out fabric. I am making a quilt for Riley's birthday. 

This long ago pieced and forgotten throw has been hand quilted and bound.  Need to work on those mitered corners though.  Thank you Cary Quilting for getting this weaver through a season of despair.

 

We Are Not Okay

 I refuse to write "in these challenging times" and my ability to spoon out an encouraging platitude or two is exhausted.  Things are not fine, may not be fine anytime soon.  As we have been told "it is what it is."  Most of us have questioned our coping abilities but the overall situation we are in has been described as a crisis, extraordinary, unprecedented, historical, a castrophy, a hot mess and a dumpster fire.  If you aren't struggling to find your equilibrium you aren't paying attention.  Those thoughts prompted this.

As you can see, my design process is a rough one.  An idea, a basic plan and rudimentary sketch.  The beauty of wedge weave for me, is the ability to let it develop intuitively on 

the loom.  I love the distortion and the serendipity of not knowing how it will morph when off the loom.

This tapestry is a wool warp with linen and handspun newspaper.   The sett is variable, meaning the newspaper is woven at 8 ends per inch and the linen is woven at 16 ends per inch.  This is really easy to accomplish on the Mirrix Saffron.

I purchased an 18 inch rod at the hardware store to extend the Saffron to 18 inches.  This finished tapestry is 17 inches by 5 inches.

I am so excited to see the profusion of lovely goldenrod on the side of the roads here.  Such beauty and promise.  I dyed a batch last weekend and have a pot bubbling now.

Be well my friends and remember. 

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall -- think of it, ALWAYS."

Gandhi

The Road to Should

The definition of the word should includes the words obligation and duty. It is an active form of self criticism, indicating dissatisfaction with who and where we are.   That alone should eliminate it from any of my tapestry thoughts.  But...

I should weave upstairs in my studio, surrounded by my yarns and tools.

I should listen to classical music while I weave.

I should drink green tea from a hand thrown pottery mug while weaving. 

I should maintain an open, generous, karmic mindset while I weave.
  
 Or perhaps I could set up my Mirrix Zeus into a corner of the bedroom, listen to old Law and Order episodes,  sip on a McDonald's  diet coke, swear like a sailor and weave some tapestry.  It ain't elegant but it is my life.

Beautiful hand dyed greens and some close to home inspiration. 

A little encouragement from a tapestry mentor and I am back at the loom.
I have a sign in my office that says "Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful."  These days our lives are all about embracing the unexpected and grabbing moments of joy whenever possible.  

Thank you for reminding me, you know who you are!

Purposeful Play

 Dyeing is such a serendipitous activity.  I do not approach it scientifically and precisely therefore the outcomes can be wildly variable.  Indigo is a favorite and I have always great results.  Until the last vat a few weeks ago.  Not sure why but I did not get the nice swampy green and purple flower.

In an effort to revive it, I heated it to 170 degrees for 30 minutes, stirred gently and added more reducing agent, thiox.

It worked!  I combined some rust dyed linen with this revived indigo and played all Saturday afternoon.   I continue to be inspired by https://spiritcloth.typepad.com/  I followed a link on her blog and made some moons.

Lots of choices for stitching projects.  I continue to think about the role of making in my life.  How to maintain a thoughtful slow approach and not think in terms of "making art."

These hand dyed fabrics and naturally dyed threads make me happy.  As does this finished small piece below.

And enjoyed a breakfast picnic and cookie baking with my favorite turtle wrangler.

Stitching On

Sunday night... not sure I am ready to head back to work tomorrow but duty calls.  The Lifesaver Quilt top is pieced and ready to quilt.  I used scraps and no pattern.  It is a wonky log cabin of sorts.  I love the scrap bin at the Cary Quilting Company.  I also love my forty year old Pfaff sewing machine.

Along with the scraps, I included some indigo dyed peices.  It was fun and you have to feel hopeful while sewing a baby blanket.  I decided to assemble this on the machine so it will stand up to some serious laundering.  I do plan to handquilt it though.

I also finished July's slow stitching.  Pretty happy with the end result and enjoyed the work.  I hope everyone has a good week .  Stitch on.

The Quilt that Saved My Life

Ouiser Boudreaux: I’m not crazy, I’ve just been a very bad mood for the last 40 years!

• Steel Magnolia

Another blog post so soon, yes!  I had an epiphany today.  If you have been following along (bless your heart)  you know I have struggling.  It feels like I've been in a bad mood for forty years or going crazy.  None of my crafting efforts were sparking joy.  Knitting, spinning, weaving and dyeing were not doing it for me.  I dove into the world of slow cloth and gratefully gobbled up blogposts new and old from Jude Hill.

This is my third slow stitch monthly journal.  I am enjoying cataloging the bright spots each month.  I already have April and May on the wall in the studio.  I am working on July now.  There were bright spots this month, fresh tomatoes from Wendy's garden, a family dinner and a long phone call with my bff.  But work is still overwhelming and news of the outside world dismal.

I want to make something beautiful, unique and meaningful.  Baby quilt, make a baby quilt a little voice inside whispered.  A blue, scrappy quilt with lots of love and hope for the future stitched in.

There is no baby needing warmth and comfort on the horizon in my life.   I will send this out into the world for a little one needing a welcome.  Thank you, Jude Hill for all the care and love you have sent out into the world.

Ragged Edges

It was not... that she was unaware of the frayed and ragged edges of life. She would merely iron them out with a firm hand and neatly hem them down.     P.D. James

Work continues to be overwhelming, the virus casts a cloud of uncertainty over every facet of our lives.  The news continues to frighten me.  Not the unrest but our government's response to it.  My natural tendency is to pull in, a turtle safely esconced in it's shell when feeling in jeopardy.   I am going to resist the pulling inward and move forward gently with myself and everyone else. 

 

The two small tapestries above were woven on the Saffron loom.  My big Mirrix is warped and ready but there is no weaving mojo to be had.  I have faith it will return.  For now, I am doing some dyeing with indigo, rust and brazilwood and exploring slow stitch.

Indigo and Rust

 

Brazilwood on linen

Indigo and Rust

I am toying with the idea of embroidery on this...

What a tool!