I wanted to say hello before the week slipped away -- do you realize that Daylight Savings Time is this Sunday?

I've been busier than usual these last few days, but I always find a little time to relax with needle and thread.

This shabby flower was inspired by Julie Arkell. There's something about her flowers and brooches that really appeals to me. And what better way to use up scraps of old quilts.

So in the spirit of "spring forward" this Sunday.....

 Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

I do love to stitch on a winter's night....

 ...and a work in progress

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

 So, the doglet is now living in her new condo at Davisville, on Merton. After delivering her to her beloved keeper, I stopped at a grocery store where I discovered Persian ice cream: saffron and pistachio. All I can say is that I need to stay away from it because it is addictive!

Meanwhile, I want to thank the weather for all the sunshine.

And the dress is finished.

 Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

 This is not original. I saw it somewhere a while ago, I forget where, and while tidying up some supplies, I found some doll parts and click! I remembered the one I'd seen and made one for myself. A refreshing change from using these on jewelry and assemblage, no?

PIN KEEP

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

 Odd bods

I'm trying to use my scraps in different ways. I was thinking birds, but the one below looks a little fishy.

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

Last night's stitching: appliqué with silk on lovely vintage French linen.

 Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

Finished.

 And the daily tag

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

 Work in progress, almost there.

 And a little painting, using my carved rubber stamp (available at Stampington & Company).

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

 Work in progress, continued.
So much more stitching to be done, and more appliqué...

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

Work in Progress. A good occupation for a cloudy, sometimes rainy, Saturday.
I cut the pieces of old linen before I dyed them because I wanted the edges to get some colour, too. Then I stitched them down on a heavy background fabric, another old piece of very fine Japanese wool fabric, so fine that it feels almost like cotton. There's a LOT of stitching to be done and some embroidery and applique.

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

Work in progress, making it up as I go along. It must be the warm weather that's dictating the theme...

 Before I go to bed at night, I make something. It's a habit. Lately I seem to be channelling Tina Berning in my own clumsy way.

GOUACHE ON PAPER

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

 I am thoroughly seduced by antique Japanese boro textiles. A humble cloth, mended, stitched, patched and mended again, down through the generations, they are such a source of inspiration for me. I made this small piece using my French linens, but also scraps of an old Japanese kimono.

Available in my Etsy shop.

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

When I was a schoolgirl, I saw a painting at Versailles (on a day trip) that grabbed my imagination and never let go. It may be the reason I love minimalism. It was a painting by David of the young Napoleon Bonaparte, sitting, unfinished, on an easel. I thought it was perfect; in my eyes it was "finished".

Unfinished is the theme of this stitchery. Most of us have unfinished business in our lives, I think. We can finish it,  tie up loose ends, but not when other party involved doesn't want to. So those strings are left dangling, and we move forward because the only power we have is over ourselves.




Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

More details.
Fabric collage with a little paper.

 Arranging colours and patterns to create something pleasing to the eye. My kind of patchwork.


Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

Midweek and more quilting and stamping.
The bow is not just for Christmas. Change the colours and the month and you have something completely different.

The little girl is French, so she would say Bonjour.

 And more bows stitched on a quilt.

 Happy Wednesday!

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

I finished this piece yesterday. Odd for a die-hard coffee drinker to make so many tea images, but I find the idea comforting...

Time for Tea, detail -- available in my Etsy shop.

Have a happy week.

Do not break your shin on a stool that is not in your way.-- Irish proverb

Necessity is the mother of invention. I ran out of vintage gloves, so...........

Words by Tennyson.

I took a change and drew the glove with a very fine-point pen on some of my precious old linen from France. This is not ink that will disappear or wash out. I do the same with the writing, but that part is easy. I know there's a disappearing pen for this kind of thing, but I was home and it was raining and there was no way I was going to put off making this.

Do not break your shin on a stool that is not in your way.-- Irish proverb

Friday's child

[Some] objects of my affection, made by me, more's the satisfaction.
Stitched words
Image transfers
A plaster-cast dolly

Ná bris do loigrín ar stól nach bhfuil i do shlí. (Do not break your shin on a stool that is not in your way.)

I'm officially enamoured of hand-stitching words.
Today, I experimented with very thin twine and heavy brown paper.

I was expecting one of my oldest and closest friends who is in town from Santa Barbara, so I stopped there, and we went out for brunch and other fun things, to say nothing of catching up -- although we talk on the phone regularly.

After we said our goodbyes (she returns to California tomorrow morning), I came home and eventually finished the stitching.

Coup de coeur. Translation:  favorite/things I love

Ná bris do loigrín ar stól nach bhfuil i do shlí. (Do not break your shin on a stool that is not in your way.)

Friday's child

My next thing: embroidering words (by hand, of course). This kind of stitching is the easiest, I find, and it it has a nice, clean look, too. I attached cotton fabric to a piece of thick handmade paper, applied white acrylic paint with a palette knife, and stitched.

I like this style of stitching a lot, but I also find it more difficult than the one above... so I'm practising...

"The only way to keep ourselves from wounding others, doing harm with words, is to become aware of them. Ultimately, this is compassion, and wisdom is the understanding that when you hurt someone else, you drop poison into the whole world, and you are an intimate part of that world" --  the Dalai Grandma