A Little of Everything

Exploring raising the surface with silk and felt... The grey dots are made by the coloured fabric drying over pebbles.

I made a diamond stamp and used it to make a diamond shape.

Shibori diamonds on silk coloured with our local Garry Oak tree leaves.

Diamonds, Bits and Pieces

Over time, I've noticed how I'm drawn to the diamond shape and I've been keeping a book of diamonds - with photos of diamonds I see, a collage of a diamond, etc. This is the cover I made for it - the weaving was on a card I bought: Tomorrow I start a course about pattern at the Victoria College of Art with Lesley Turner. I plan to use a personal symbol I developed in the past which includes the diamond shape. I have basted together the piece below, which I began in Jude Hill's Spiritcloth online class last year. It's a story about my creative process and there's much stitch and embellishing left to do on it.

I have completed the chicken's head:

And some peonies left this colour on some silk:

Drum Roll

I dropped into Knotty By Nature a few days ago, where I had fun learning to use their drum carder and I combined some merino, bamboo and silk fibres into a batt ready for further play. Watching those colours blend is intoxicating! I also picked up more thread, needles and two new feet for my Pfaff - which I haven't tried, yet. In this zigzag stitch sample, I discovered what you may already know but is new to me - that I can make diamonds by returning in the opposite direction. Diamonds are a favourite shape of mine.

I did try out all of my Pfaff's stitches - except the buttonholes, the alphabets and combining sequences of different stitches. Having this record has already come in handy.

There is such variety and every stitch has yet more because their shape can be altered in length and width - not to mention colour and types of thread I might use. The animals brought up the end of the sampler, with the butterflies in last place at 195 - now it's up to me to take take flight!

Studies

I decided to weave with a uniform small size and try out a variety of values, number of strips, orientations and fabrics, including lace. I am very interested in taking my diamond or 'x' shaped weaving further, as that is a shape that I especially like and used as part of a personal symbol I once developed for a former business. Cloth to Cloth is lively - Jude gives us a little of what she does and everyone responds with their own creating and what's really great is that she is going to develop the information she gives us in response to where we are heading - a very alive approach that I think is ideal! She is what-iffing right along with the class.