knots and dew drops

Green coneflower leaves this morning...

and a new way of working out the fringe on things. The stitching thread goes on as a part of it all to the ends. Still in progress...

Maple Summer Sunshine

I never intended to be away from this blog all summer. We have been quite busy spending lots of time getting to know this little lady, Maple. She has been with us two months now.

Keeping up with her puppy energy and love for outside has made for a wonderful summer. We are crazy about her.

We have had hot dry weather and hot hot sunshine all summer and so it brought me back around to the paint printing again. Hot sun makes a sharp print. I had been thinking on ways to do things differently - pushing all my favorite elements to coexist. Working towards the many threads of ideas here and there all coming together. I have worked on softening some of the colors.

 

Stitch had begun on a small scale - to try some new construction and work a few things out. 

Everything is shifting here very soon. School will start and I am grateful to have a little pup to keep me company. Thanks to all who are still listening and looking.

two little things...

found in the grass this past weekend. This deer little one - found by my husband. The grass had grown so tall at the pond place a mama thought this (15 ft or so from the house) a great place to hide him for awhile. Love those spots and spots that make stripes. His spots were the same as the seed heads on the grass. Amazing.

and this feather also found by my husband and given to me - a cross between Grace's Magic baby goat and Jude's magic feather? Possibly a pileated woodpecker feather?

And I am still so busy with everything else. I am loving making clothes - from scratch - with Jude and classmates. More soon. Thanks so much for those who continue to check in here.

please pardon

Please pardon my absence here for awhile. 

My boys are wrapping up the school year with many fun activities, 

the garden needs planting and in all extra moments I am thoroughly 

enjoying Jude's Contemporary Boro online workshop.

Be back as soon as I can...

relationship

My son made this wonderful ceramic dish in art class at school. It has a rough bottom so he helped me design a little quilt for it to sit on. 

It has me thinking that I like the idea of stitching a cloth to compliment another specific handmade object - creating a relationship between the two. 

un square

I go back and forth about how to treat the edges of things. For things that will be put to use and need to be washed I want a finished edge - but when it's done I find it often seems too harsh. I experimented on this one with finished edges but I didn't square things up and I think it helped soften it a bit - and then even more with the fringe. There's lots of room to explore in the area of not so square edges and I am thinking on that.

It has made it through the first washing and the crinkle! I think the crinkle makes it a quilt.

Fringe

I made fringe with a scrap of osnaburg fabric and I am so pleased. I hope it will last through a washing. I thought this little cloth needed a softer edge. Now I need to make another strip of it for the other end. I am trying to finish a few small things before I start something new.

and I may be moving things around on the blog for a few days. It will all

settle out soon.

The ocean, Indiana and dandelions

Two and a half weeks ago my boys and I were sitting by the ocean - it was the boys' first time laying eyes on it. We made the trip with good friends and it was so much fun. I am still missing the sunsets. I find it very comforting the way the ocean makes all else so small.

I took some things to stitch on but never touched them. We spent a lot of time just looking.

We are back in Indiana with small shell treasure. Many of the shells have perfect little holes in them (cause by predatory snails!?) and a few have ended up on a string. I have a few ideas of what to do with them when I get a chance.

There has been lots to do outside since our return. I have been pulling lots of weeds and dividing plants and moving things around. I have managed to do a tiny bit of stitching on this little strip of blue. With a little more work I think it may become a new header for this blog. Reminiscent of the ocean it is - but what is Indiana was also once under an ocean - and so there are the fossils that I love. There is a thread of connection there.

So right now I am stitching in my head as I pull weeds and admire weeds and dig in the dirt. The dandelions are pulled from our flower beds but there are still an abundance of them in our yard. The boys love them and I admit there are lots of beautiful things about them.

I had to include this artwork by my youngest. I love the simplicity of it. 

Happy spring! More stitching soon...