Stitching is the perfect winter occupation. There are snowflakes falling outside, but nothing serious. Just an excuse to curl up with needle and thread. I started with this blank piece of linen hand-loomed in Nova Scotia (the maker's label was on it and I included it as part of the markings), and started improvising.

Yesterday I added a few colours to my stash. I'm partial to Van Gogh tube watercolours right now. I wanted to experiment with pink. I got a permanent rose (Cotman's because that's the only pink I  could find) that I mixed with titanium white -- I prefer pale pinks, the paler the better -- and added some azo yellow, and ultramarine, also mixed with white.

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

After a long sleep that I sorely needed, I woke up to a lovely cool day. Cool weather gives me energy and I went about my day feeling happy.

I seem to be in a bird painting phase. I love this olive watercolor, made by Van Gogh, that I used straight out of the tube.The indigo gouache is too blue, so I mixed with a little black.

And a little stitching.

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

 Started last night

 Finished today

 The quotation is a line from Dante's Inferno, Canto II. I studied Dante at University and this line is one of my favourites. It translates as: Love moved me, and makes me speak.


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

The weather doesn't recognize this extra February day; it thinks it's March 1, and is coming in like a lion. That means it will go out like a lamb. One can only hope.
Meanwhile, It means I'm housebound until the winds settle down a bit. Housebound isn't bad -- I'm working on a couple of projects that have deadlines.

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

Friday's child

Where do ideas come from? Where did this come from?

 It started with a piece of linen from my vintage French stash. I tea-dyed it. Then I arranged various pieces on it but nothing gelled. Last night, I looked at it again. There was this small undyed rectangle; I placed it at the top. The words "pillow talk" floated through my brain as well as "and you can stuff it with fiberfill for a pillow effect".

And this was the result.


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

There is one area in which I have a lot of patience -- I say this because patience isn't my strong suit -- and that is when I leave a piece of cloth alone until the right time. This 35-inch-long table topper has been draped on the back of a chair for a long time. I knew I wanted to embroider it with words, but the words didn't show themselves until yesterday.

I mounted it à la Sibella Court -- with masking tape. Ideally it would be pinned in place.

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

Details.
It's all in the details.
And how those details are placed.
God is in the details or the devil is in the details: It's your choice.

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

Decisions, decisions

Do I vacuum and do the laundry, or do I go out to the west end and get some supplies from the Paper Shop? The trek to the Paper Shop is a long and tiring one, otherwise I could do all of it. The laundry could wait, I suppose. But then so can the supplies.

I'm told that this kind of thinking is typical for those, like myself, born under the sign of Libra. Well, at least we weigh the pros and cons before going into action. I'm also told this can lead to dithering, but I'm happy to report that I am not a ditherer.

Meanwhile, I stitched this saying (I have no idea who said it) on a lovely piece fabric that I purchased from KINGxACE on Etsy. The finish is impeccable, which saves me the trouble.

It's very true, when you think about it.

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