I hope to blog more regularly in 2024

Instead of resolutions for the new year, because they don’t work, I made a list of things that I hope for in 2024. Regular blogging was one of them.

And the unwritten part of that was to re-engage with all you wonderful bloggy people, because that’s fallen away over the last few months too. I love knowing what is happening in your worlds and I have missed that.

So….

I am starting to find my way in this new world I am living in. I am consciously going to more things and making sure I catch up with people I care about.

And I am doing some creative work. I am not sure if I have mentioned my embroidery series of wetlands. I have worked on them over the last year, maybe longer, and no surprise to know they are free form embroideries of wetlands and ponds.

One of the delights in doing them is working different stitches to re-create the plants. The one below is the latest one and I discovered a stitch that is fun and makes good bushes. It’s the lighter green.

It’s made by twisting a length of yarn against its natural twist. You come up through the backing material then twist and twist and twist and keep going until it tangles itself up to make a bundle of twists, and then you go back down through the material and tie it off. (Wool works way better than embroidery thread.) Other stitches (if that one I just described could be called a stitch) used in this one are velvet, French knots, seed and the one that makes little grub shapes whose name escapes me for the moment. Bullion stitch? Maybe.

I have set up another one that I hope to be a companion to the middle work. Instead of wetlands/ponds, I am trying to recreate the banks of the river near me, the Maribyrnong River. I am letting my mind play around with thoughts for creating a bigger version of the same sort of thing ~ stitching the Maribyrnong.

I’ve shown you these three in particular because I have submitted them to Uppercase Magazine. It’s an inspiring magazine, with the tagline “for the creative and curious” and I subscribe; it may be one that you enjoy too. It is funded by subscriptions, and it is ad free. Each issue I always find something to inspire me.

Every issue has pages of reader submissions, showcasing their work. The theme of the next issue is “landscapes”. So how could I miss the opportunity to submit my work? Fingers crossed that at least one of my little embroidered landscapes makes the cut. I’ll let you know.

Now, to my walking. Do you remember that I have joined Dementia Australia’s Memory Walk in May, in memory of my Terry? I have to walk 6kms by then. My aim for January was the build up to an easy 3kms. I am sorry to say that my attempts have been patchy this month, due to some health issues. However today I walked over 3km…..in two 1.5km lots as I had a coffee break with friends in between! This coming week I will do a walk at Princes Park, where the May walk will be, and see how far I can get. I will let you know, as you are helping to keep me accountable and on track.

I have been astounded and touched by the generosity of people donating to my page. A big thank you to Alys, who left the most beautiful message with her donation. Follow this link if you would like to make a donation to this most worthy cause, or find out more….absolutely no pressure to do so, though.

And we now have 4 members on Team Terry!

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I respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land on which I live and walk – the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung People of the Kulin Nation, their spirits, ancestors, elders and community members past and present. The land always was, and always will be, Aboriginal land.

Let’s catch up

Yes, it has been a while (aside from a couple of days ago 😉 ). It would have been easy to let blogging slide, but I don’t want that. I love writing. Equally I love all of you, my online tribe, and I miss chatting to you.

When I last wrote I had grand plans for sewing each day and blogging each week, which I managed for a couple of weeks. The last couple of months have been rather strange, with some challenges I have had to work my way through. I am content with where I am now, and hope to be a regular writer….but we will see.

What’s helped me gat back on track?

Maybe it’s getting the right medication at the right doses. It has taken a while to get the dosage right for the Fella’s heart issues. It seems to be at the right level now. I have been changing and adjusting the medication I take for my polymyalgia rheumatica. Like many autoimmune conditions, one of the debilitating effects is fatigue. There was a period where I just couldn’t be bothered. Now I am full of beans and want to be active.

Maybe it’s trying to be more mindful, more in the present. When things are challenging it is so easy to slip into a mindset that looks for dangers, to anticipate what might go wrong, to imagine about worst case scenarios.

A little of that helps me see problems that might arise and to make plans. Too much makes me hyper-vigilant. I am trying to do the things that are good for me ~ taking time to be in the present, where nothing needs to be done, just be; to breath deeply; to engage my brain and notice things; to walk; drink more water; eat more vegetables. To create. To blog and connect with friends.

Maybe it is having had Covid, which happened a few weeks ago. I was lucky, only having a mild illness. I caught it from my mother, who also came through it okay. Amazingly the Fella didn’t get it, despite also being with my mother and then not being able to isolate from each other at home. I know the pandemic is not over; I know that I can get it again and that the Fella can get it; I know that it may be worse next time. However I also know that I can cope. It’s time to emerge, sensibly.

Maybe it is the improvement in the weather. Today is a beautiful day. The sort of day where everyone you meet says “I hope you can get to enjoy some of this beautiful sunshine today.” You can feel Spring on its way.

Maybe it is that my AFL team, Collingwood, is doing remarkably well. 11 wins in a row and 2nd on the ladder. (I am a very fair-weather supporter, and only get up and about when they are doing well!)

And maybe it is all these things coming together. The challenges are not over, but I have learnt that I have all I need within me to meet them. That’s a powerful feeling.

Now on to my creative work….

I finished the map of the Maribyrnong River that I was working on last time we met.

I am still thinking of stitching maps, and last week worked on this one of the wetlands near me. The first photo is when I thought it was finished, the second when it was actually finished. It needed to have more density around the edges, more reedy, soggy vegetation.

The tangled, tufty stitch is velvet stitch, which I learnt from my stitching wheel sampler. I like the 3D effect it gives to the work. And a close up:

I am going to do a companion to this one, and maybe more ~ I do like working a series. It’s finding the time to set it up, because caring for someone is very time consuming and what time is left is easy to fritter away. At least now I can be bothered.

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I respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land on which I live – the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung People of the Kulin Nation, their spirits, ancestors, elders and community members past and present. The land I show in these embroidered maps was, and always will be Aboriginal land.

On the other side of the hedge

The world is in a difficult place at the moment. The people of Ukraine are at the forefront of our minds. In Australia many are suffering devastating losses due of the recent floods. The pandemic still rampages about. Behind all our anxiety is climate change.

I wonder about sitting sewing, about writing about my art work. Is there something more profound I should be doing?

Charlotte Wood’s words in “The luminous solution” came at the right time.

To create is to defy emptiness. It is generous, it affirms. To make is to add to the world, not subtract from it. It enlarges, not diminishes.

So, here I am.

Last time I mentioned my work I was still deep in the masterclass with Donna Watson. This last month or so has been a great time of exploration for me. I thank Donna for helping me understand that the deeper you go into your self the more reflective your art is. While the outer world has been shit, my inner world is bright and shiny!

And I am definitely on the other side of the hedge.

I have been exploring lace work. My house, like many others in inner Melbourne, has cast iron lacework on the verandah. It has become a little bit of an obsession, my own “wormhole of fascination” to quote Woods again.

These are houses in Carlton, an inner suburb of Melbourne

I have been playing with ideas, which started with paper and paint. Doing these collages made me realise that I have trouble with backgrounds, an area that I now know has always been weak for me. Textile works seemed to be a way to dodge the issue, not to solve the problem!

This was the first. Two similar ones followed.

The motif in the middle is an element on my lacework. I cut it out from paper, painted it and sewed (laced) it down.

After more pondering I realised that rather than being three separate art works, there was really one, some sort of quilt. (I know there are some of you now thinking “I knew Anne would come to quilting”! Yes Kate, I’m looking at you!)

More pondering and playing to work out what the other panels would be like.

I crocheted for a few hours until my fingers and brain finally worked together to get a shape that I liked. Unfortunately it didn’t quite work with the other bits. I tried odds and ends of lace, different materials and embroidery.

Then, as I was looking for ribbon to tie up the lace bundles, I found twine that florists use to tie up bouquets. I could tear it and twist it and it would hold its form. Perfect! What I was trying to do was make seed heads of the parsley that grows abundantly in the garden. To me these seed heads are also lacy, and bring the garden element into the work.

There’s a little more embroidery to do on this, but it fits with one of the other block like this.

I am hoping that the finished work will look something like this….only less rumpled and more precise!

One of the things I have loved about this is letting the work take its own time. Rather than rushing through, moving quickly to the next thing that catches my attention, I am allowing each element to evolve.

I am gradually accepting that making art is not about sales and exhibitions, although both are wonderful. It is about the process, not the product. It’s about finding the right way to express my ideas, which means refining those ideas. To think deeply and precisely, rather than being slapdash.

Danny Gregory speaks about how art is seen as a commodity in our society, to be bought and sold. We can be made to feel that our work only has validity through outside measures ~ sales, reviews, opinions etc. As though that’s what makes it a legitimate endeavour. But he goes on to say

Making art is mainly about the making. It’s a process, a game, a state of being. Society may insist on evaluating only the result.

But that’s not your problem.

And that’s what I am learning.

SAL

Having finished my stitching wheel I was at a loss for what to do next. I knew I wanted to do something that used some of the stitches I had learnt. At the same time the Soul Craft Festival* began. We were offered the chance to embroider a bag.

The suggestion was to embroider plants that had special healing powers, and special memories, like lavender, thyme, echinacea. That would have been lovely, but my thoughts put the two things together. I began a square using different types of yarns.

It’s finished, but there will be more.

One of the delightful things about the Soul Craft Festival (and I describe it more below), is that Felicia and the presenters encourage me to think about my making process.

I am thinking about my need to have a finished object. I often get stuck on the questions of “What will I make it into? What will I do with it when I have finished?” The answer (“I don’t know”) often stops me from beginning. Not just sewing, but also with other art work. It’s obvious that knitting a jumper or making a dress is an end product, embroidering a square of material doesn’t. Neither does the stitching wheel.

So I am quietening that little voice that keeps asking “What will you do with this?” with a few answers. Maybe it will become a square on a tote bag, maybe it will join up with the others I am going to make. But the most satisfactory answer is “I don’t know, I am just playing, and practising stitches, and finding out which ones I like.”

Changing my thinking has also changed how I have gone about it. I did the panel in the middle with a Jacobean couching stitch (not sure if that is the right name), which ended up just too loose. (An embroidery hoop would help, but I can’t find mine, and I can’t go out and buy one.)

Out it came and I worked it in sections. It’s not fabulous, but it taught me a lot ~ and that’s the point for me at the moment.

I do like the outside edges.

I have done coral knot stitch in various threads. I have become quite a wiz at this stitch! The twisted novelty yarn is secured with couching. The wider blue band is double herringbone stitch. I like the contrast of the lighter blue, which I think works better than using the same teal colour.

This Stitch-A-Long is for embroiders to carry out their own passion projects. Each of us is doing something quite different and all are wonderful to see each three weeks. Follow the links below to find out what we are up to.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Renee, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen

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* The Soul Craft Festival is a wonderful, comforting month of talks and discussions that delve further into how making nourishes our souls.

As the organiser, Felicia, says:

It’s a festival of ideas, stories and conversations about how making elevates our lives;
how making supports us, connects us and ultimately changes us, our communities, and our cultures.

It is running over October and while it has been going for 2 weeks, the programme will be available for the next 6 months. I am assuming it is not too late to join up.

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I respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land on which I live – the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung People of the Kulin Nation, their spirits, ancestors, elders and community members past and emerging.

I’m late!

……for my Stitch-A-Long post that should have been posted yesterday.

So let’s get right to it.

I have been working on a stitching sampler from Cathy Reavy. Each stitch is well described on videos. I am enjoying them, but moving slowly. Thoughts are swirling somewhere about how I will use some of the stitches in my informal work.

There are two stitches completed on the outer ring.

The stitches in this outer ring will be ones that can be used for edges and boundaries.

1. Raised Stem Band ~ this will be an interesting one to create tree trunks and branches.
2. Stem stitch and outline stitch ~ These are very similar stitches, the only difference is whether the thread lies to the top or the bottom. Cathy has put these two together, with the stem stitch creating the pod on the left and the outline stitch on the right pod.

I have finished my jumper, so I am hopeful that I will be able to power along with this sampler at night.

This SAL is for our personal embroidery. The members of this group do wonderful and interesting work. Follow the links to be inspired!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Renee, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, AJ, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

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I respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land on which I live – the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung People of the Kulin Nation, their spirits, ancestors, elders and community members past and emerging.

SAL

Here we are again, marvelling that another three weeks have flown past, and that it’s time for the next Stitch-a-long.

I am working my way through the rings of Cathy Reavy’s Stitch Wheel Sampler. The third ring is finished, and as you can see I have begun the next ring. More of that next time. If you would like to begin, or find out more, go to Cathy’s Youtube channel.

As you can tell the stitches in this third ring are ways to create leaves. Some, like the closed fly stitch, were fun to do, and I will try to add them into my toolbox of stitches. However, I do find that some create the same effect, with only slight differences. Each stitch has a link to Cathy’s Youtube channel if you are interested in using them in your own work.

1. Lazy daisy stitch

2. Closed fly stitch

3. Cretan Stitch

4. Raised Fishbone

5. Raised close herringbone

6. Open fly stitch

7. Wheatear stitch

8. Vandyke stitch

To be honest, I may have mixed numbers 7 and 8, as they both seem rather similar.

This Stitch-a-long is a group of very talented people. Click on the links below to see what magic they create with a needle, some threads and a backing material.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Mary Margaret, Renee, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

SAL

Before I show you the work done over the last three weeks, I just want to say how much I appreciate the comments you leave. Of course I get warm fuzzies when you tell me how you like what I do, but perhaps even more I appreciate the comments you leave about what you see in my work, what they remind you of, how they make you feel. That there is something in my stitching that you respond is a good feeling.

I am proud to be part of such a warm and supportive community.

So, to this time….

….another postcard. The torn up work was a watercolour tree. I tried to make the pieces more horizontal, but somehow it still has quite strong verticals!

I am working on the cross stitching, but seem to have stalled over the last week or so. I think it needs some colours that I don’t have in my thread stash. Of course, that could just be an excuse to buy some more but now that shops are open and our restrictions have eased I feel the yarns and threads are calling to me!

This Stitch-A-Long post is organised by Avis. We are a group of stitchers who post every three weeks to show what personal stitching we have done. The variety of works is amazing, and the quality is always top notch. Use the links below to see their work.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Deborah, Mary Margaret, Renee, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

SAL

I have finished another similar work, so these SAL posts are more about the series of them, rather than an individual piece. I seem to be able to finish them within the three weeks of SALs.

When a name for the series popped into my head it struck me that these works are becoming a serious series. So, they are part of the series…..

Postcards from Liminal Time.

(Curious about liminal time? I wrote my thoughts about it in an earlier post.)

This latest one is the same size as the others ~ 12 x 17 cm ~ a little bigger than a postcard. It also follows the same ideas of being uncertain about the future, that my art is changing without a clear idea of where I will be. There is also the theme of emerging/disappearing, covered/uncovered and impermanence.

You can see that I have torn up a watercolour of my favourite melaleuca trees. When I painted it I was experimenting with creating forests. This was one of the early attempts, that didn’t quite work.

I worked quite hard on this embroidery. For some reason it didn’t flow, especially the top part, the red couched threads. I think it got there in the end. I am not really happy with the the tree on the right ~ or more specifically the band of rust/yellow stitching that runs across it. It is too dense for the paper, too definite. I couldn’t unpick it, because of course the needle holes would still be there. The best I could do was distract the eye with more stitching, without making the same mistake of the stitching being too dense.

What I do like, and this was unplanned, is the notion that the top part is a little like the tree canopy and the bottom grasses and undergrowth.

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Details

I am part of a group of stitchers who share their personal stitching work every three weeks. Go and have a look at the wonderful work that is being done all around the world. Everyone is doing something very different, but always interesting.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Deborah, Mary Margaret, Renee, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

SAL

Well, the Forest Regenerates is finished! Yay! I am not sure I am doing a happy dance, more a relieved dance. I found I had to push myself to sew the last parts at the top . In fact, if it wasn’t for the deadline of this Stitch-a-long, the work would still be sitting in its box of threads.

The other thing that got me over the line were all the very positive comments you have posted over the life of this stitching. Thank you for telling me that you enjoy the texture, the movement and colours.

I have ideas about my next project, so I hope to have something to show you next time. Fingers crossed!

This stitch-a-long is for personal stitching. There are many delightful projects going on, so click on the links to see what the others are up to. (Remember that due to time zones some posts may not be up yet.) Thanks to Avis for wrangling us each three weeks!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Deborah, Mary Margaret, Renee, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

SAL ~ The forest regenerates ~ update

Running a little late with this post, but I do have progress to report 😇

Last time I was here, musing about how to finish off the work.

Now that section is finished! Yay!

And a close up…..

So, that last little section to go, and a bit to tidy up around the top. Almost there.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley,Megan, Deborah, Mary Margaret, Renee, Carmela, Jocelyn, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny,Laura, Cathie, Linda, Sherrie, Helen

These talented embroiderers are all working on their personal sewing projects. Do go and have a look at what they have been sewing. (Welcome back Helen!)

I hope you are still well. Restrictions are being lifted in many countries but remember that the virus spreads very quickly and it is important that we maintain our good hygiene habits and social distancing. Stay safe everyone.