a little progress ..

Fledged..

There is intense bereavement. Numbness…

This week solace began through some slow stitch. A calming ryhthm again – if heard so quietly, less than a whisper.. but a felt sensation

These little birds are nesting in the eaves under the roof again.

The frame is the winding thread that wraps the tibetan incense we burn, the fracture where the thread does not quite meet barely glimpsed but highlighted here.

 

Winter Solstice 2015

Winter Solstice – precious daylight and an honoured long night… A time to think of peace and connection, the rhythm of our world, and wishes and hopes and the strength of togetherness …

Solace – a project by India Knight

Have a look at this post by India Knight

Is it fluttering there still, my pennant – together entwined with others from around the world and gently moving in the breeze? I look out across the sky tonight …

(..thin cloth from an almost exhausted indigo dye bath embroidered with a single word in french knots – a stitch which for me which is about my language to represent prayers / thoughts)

rose petal prayer flag…

Working on a prayer flag at Walcot Chapel. Torn strips of turmeric and tea dyed silk organza hand stitched with french knots

In my stitch language french knots are thoughts – like a prayer bead felt between the fingers.

The flags – and there are now almost 100 including the blue woad ones – are stitched onto withies – so pliable and supple dancing in the breeze

We were brought a beautiful bunch of flowers including roses which filled the air with scent – what a gift to bring! And so – as the petals gently drifted onto the tablecloth I gathered them to stitch.

A handful of petals..

Drifting in the breeze – https://vimeo.com/131747643

rose petal prayer flag from Susi Bancroft on Vimeo.

 

 

This week a little flag in a posy with roses and rosemary – remembrance

Dialogues…

I just mentioned this image on the Brunel Broderers blog

Rich dialogue as usual between us whilst working – this was what I was stitching

Kay mentions our meeting on her own blog – here

One of the topics was about artist’s pre-occupations, fascinations – when did these begin, was it in childhood or beyond, and what connections do we make and notice?

I have been sorting out my studio and delving into collections, sketchbooks, samples and found a photo I took a few years ago which reminded me of my recent kantha work…

a love of small stitches making rippling patterns…

Small stitches holding together and forming a new cloth – thin fine soft layers and scraps become one..

..watching the ripples forming as the patterns of stitch grow…

‘love is in the air’ – french knots lightly giving enough to read the text at a second look

So busy absorbed in making these that I forgot to take pictures! The sun shone so warm and brightly on the rich pinks and reds that interestingly the rippling patterns are clearer than the stitches and threads!

 

 

Strength and fragility…

I searched back through for this post about a beautiful quilt I have – patched and pieced

It lies nowadays draped over my making table with the creamy white backing face upwards, and I often glance down and rest my eyes on the hand stitching and think

The sun shone through it’s fragile layers this week – areas are disintegrating and revealing the inside and the softness and melting colours were so restful

It could stay folded quietly away, but I love it’s ageing qualities – out of sight would I really be caring for it more?! I prefer to keep it with me, alongside me..

The white thread patterns texture the surface – stitches as strong as ever – the even rhythm of their work is quietly astonishing to me and connects me to so many stitching hands – I linger as I Iook, wondering about it’s making

It had an outing this last summer when family children were all camping in a yurt nearby and I thought why not?! I wonder if they will remember it in years to come…It came back smelling faintly of woodsmoke from the wood burner..

Queen bee quilt…

I love seeing these seams – the joining that holds it all together and the light shining through in the early morning as I watched it move in the breeze from the window where I left it overnight so I could look at it as I woke…

Pinning, stitching, pressing in a relaxed rhythm – growing the quilt

No set pattern for size apart from the same width for the strips, pieced with continual reflection – strips joining to search for balance – I prefer to work this way, to stop and look – to try out and think why some choices work..

Running stitch – beautiful, peaceful rhythm texturing the layers of cloth – the quilt lying warm and comforting across my body as I work – welcome as the mornings grow chilly with Autumn..

Why Queen Bee? Because this is the year I spent more time watching the bees, thinking more about their ways, hearing them, tracing their flight in drawings… I think the quilt holds some of this in its choice of cloth, its feel as I worked on it outdoors in the sun whilst watching the bees..

 

the sanity of making…

These tiny hexagons fill a tin – they measure 1cm face – 2cm diameter

A gift from a special person in my extended family – offered generously and lightly but with astute consideration

They created a miniature scene at Bees Knees

Last week a visiting artist friend exclaimed the making at such a scale would drive her insane… However interestingly they were offered to me with a narrative explanation that the making of these tiny precious pieces – the repetition, the need for precision and concentration, the careful piecing and selection of strings of pattern – all this and more about the nature of handwork were made in order to keep sanity, to stay sane at a particular time in her life…

 

 

 

 

A bag in my bag!

I carry a bag in my bag when out and about… Small enough to hold scissors thread needle and a little piece to work… Even a few moments reconnects me like watching the breath…