a star and a spirit ....

Today I met with my patchwork friends (first Monday each month).  We've been meeting for over 20 years ....quite often lately there's a lot more chat than stitching! 
I follow Jude Hills blog and have been doing the Magic Diaries workshop.  I've been a bit quiet on the stitching front for a while,  so I thought today was a good chance to pick up my cloth again and get a bit of stitching done.

I have always admired Jude's wonderful story cloths and the non traditional way she often approaches her quilt making.  I have always loved patchwork stars,  so I began with a primitive style eight point star..just eyeballed the points and then invisibly basted (all as per Jude).  I was happy with this relaxed version of the eight point star.  Still lots of stitching to be done....that can come later and at this point I have quite a few patches completed. Maybe I need to start thinking about the size and placement of these patches?  

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When I was visiting my son in Switzerland last year I started this piece.... my sunflower spirit.  Often my husband and I walked through the amazing woods near my sons home...there must be spirits live in those woods,  they were so magical.  After one such walk my little spirit was born.  Still a bit of stitching to be done on her.

I think she will fit in well with my cloth.  I am sure there will be more spirits and beasts to join her soon.

LIVE IN THE SUNSHINE,

SWIM IN THE SEA,

DRINK THE WILD AIR.

-EMERSON-

Jacky  xox

Settling stitch ......

Things have been a bit hectic and out of sorts for the past month or so....very little stitching and art being done.  I decided I just needed to do a little stitching to settle myself, ease back into my cloth for the Magic Diaries workshop with Jude Hill.

It worked well.... I ripped some fabric, cut out my little version of a harvest moon and began stitching.  So thereapeutic, it slowed me down,  gave me time to think. Teeny little stitches, fraying edges.... I love to stitch. 

This weekend my friend Dot and I had offered to 'babysit' our friend Patsy's exhibition.  Such a vibrant and happy exhibition.  It was a dreary winters day outside, cold and windy and quite a bit of rain....eveyone who popped in to see the exhibition was warmed by Patsy's beautiful artwork.  Beautiful array of paintings, art quilts, handmade bags and journals.  Very inspiring...I am itching to paint again.

I'm wondering what has happened to the glorious spring weather we've been experiencing lately.  The last few days have been bitterly cold and wet....I woke to more rain and coldness this morning...stoked the fire as I had to go out for the morning.  By this afternoon though we had glorious sunshine again.  I bought these beautiful Waratah's (I plan to do a painting of them) to brighten the lounge room.  So beautiful.... I smile each time I catch a glimpse of them. Click on the above link if you want to know more about these beautiful flowers, the floral emblem of New South Wales in Australia.

Have a great week, nature is wreaking havoc all over the world, so I hope you all stay safe.

THE tiniest STORY IN YOUR LIFE CAN DEEPLY TOUCH ANOTHER.

YOU CANNOT KNOW THE EFFECT YOUR STORY MIGHT HAVE.

-SARK-

JACKY  XOX

Friends & Felting Fun ......

I received the most beautiful surprise in the mail last week.  Leanne Pizio  (Paintergirl) had sent me a package with some gorgeous japanese fabrics and hidden amongst them a box with this treasure below inside....one of her ceramic lotus pods.  I was blown away by her generosity...for years I have visited her blog  admiring her wonderful ceramics (especially with bird and owl images) and paintings.  I still cant believe I now have some of her art in my home...it is even more beautiful in real life.  Heartfelt thank you Leanne for this lovely gift.

 Ceramic lotus pod with beautiful turqoise glaze inside.

And another lovely friend Dot gifted me some beautiful kimono silks and thread to add to my stash for my Magic Diaries cloth.....yummy.  These will fit in very nicely thank you Dot.

 Dots birthday tomorrow,  and we usually organise a creative day or workshop to celebrate our birthdays.  This year Dot invited myself and our friend Nat along to a felting day at Elizabeth Armstrongs studio.  Elizabeths studio is an Aladdins Cave of colour and texture...my creative mind goes into overdrive when I enter her studio.  Below is the scarf I made on the day.

Nat took the photo below (on her trusty iphone) of me and my scarf in progress on the day.  Pop over to Nats blog to see the amazing scarf she made on the day and some more photos of Elizabeths studio.

Today I have been doing more linocuts .... working on a special project and this week I will be doing more on my Magic Diaries Cloth....incorporating my new fabrics, playing around with a little 'beast'.

NEVER  FORGET

EVERYTHING  AND

EVERY  PERSON

THAT  HAS  A  PLACE

WITHIN  YOUR  HEART

-SARK-

Have a creative and happy week.

Jacky xox

Tearing and stitching .......

I have been enjoying tearing fabrics and stitching this week....enjoying the relaxed pace of the Magic Diaries workshop I am doing with Jude Hill.  The pace is relaxed, the stitching gentle and the interaction with Jude and other cloth mates is just lovely.

I am enjoying working with the earthy tones below...very Australian colours (fabrics...one is a vintage japanese kimono fabric and the other a hand dyed fabric from my recent trip to Thailand).



my stitching this week



The torn strips were for my fabric weaving and I have added the stitched moon.  At the moment this block is just basted down,  but more stitching will appear as this cloth evolves.  I dont want to add too much stitching/embellishing as yet as I'm not sure where this is going and will add more once it has grown a bit and I can see the story more clearly.



I have noticed that quite a few of the cloth mates have incorporated their own symbol for this quilt....something personal to them.  I have decided to make the above heart (without Jude's feather) my personal symbol for this quilt.  This stylised heart shape is one that I found  I use repeatedly in my journal, so I thought that as this quilt will also be a type of journal I will stitch a version for this quilt and repeat it throughout.  



I do love fabric weaving and the torn edges give such an organic look to cloth.  Again I have used the old kimono fabric and the hand dye from Thailand.  I enjoyed stitching the ragged cross stitches in my moon, reminds me of the stitch used in boro cloths to strengthen a cloth.

sweet bird song

While I was stitching away yesterday I could hear the most beautiful bird song outside (click for a closer view).  This fellow was serenading me outside my kitchen windown...having a wonderful time!  It was nice to stand and watch his antics for a while....I think he is quite the extovert warbling away, loving having an audience.  I might have to sketch him later.

Off to work again tomorrow....I count down those three days until I am home again and stitching/painting.

Jude has been talking about edges these past couple of weeks,  so I thought this quote from Sark fitting...

DANCE

ON 

THE  EDGES

OF NEW

BEGINNINGS

-SARK-

Jacky xox

Winter Sunshine......

The 'beginning' .... my first block stitched for my Magic Diaries with Jude.  For weeks I have been procrastinating, drawing up ideas, selecting fabric stashes, but I hadnt put needle to thread.  I am happy with this little nine patch, loving the way stitches show through to the front, the fabrics...the grey and the centre patch are fabric from Thailand and the other a natural linen.  Now I have started, I am itching to do more!

The 'beginning'

Reverse side of 9 patch  taken in the dappled morning sunlight.

Someone else was enjoying the winter sunshine this morning....this is Minnie.  We havent seen a lot of sunshine lately so she was making the most of it.

 Being winter I am enjoying crocheting some scarves....I visited the Tarrawarra Gallery at Healesville on the weekend to see the Archibald Winners Exhibition.  Wonderful portrait paintings...awesome in fact.   The winning portrait this year was of one of Australia's most well known painters, Margaret Olley.  Sadly she passed away last week,  so it was especially poignant to see this exhibition and remember this beautiful, talented lady.
After the exhibition my sister and I did some wandering around Healesville and I bought these lovely wools .  The Charcoal is for my sister and the two variegated (arent the colours yummy!!!) wools for my friends twin girls who will turn 9 at the end of the month.

 I am keen to stitch more on my latest quilt,  so in my travels this weekend (this time I was over in Geelong seeing an exhibition by local printmakers)  I found these vintage fabrics in a little shop.   A couple of kimono's and old scarves.  These will come in very handy and may find themselves in a dye pot soon.

I bought a new long line vest today .....I only noticed the sunshine heart when I got home.....so I'm sending you some sunshine....

Enjoy your week....I plan to stitch .....

MOST  OF  ALL,

LOVE  YOUR  SELF.

-SARK-

Jacky  xox

Indigo Moon in nature....

It's been a chilly week down here.....it must be snowing somewhere close by!    I popped outside the other night to get some wood for the fire and noticed this beautiful indigo moon...what gorgeous deep black/blue sky colours and that softly, glowing moon. 

I love seeing the trees all naked,  seeing their intricate branch patterns.  The picture below is a view of the farm in winter,  through the crazy willow.

Meg is back from her trip to Greece (and feeling the cold back home after three months of warmth).  It is lovely to have her home and to be back in her studio with the other girls drawing/painting/chatting/sipping tea/eating lemonade scones.  I have missed those Friday mornings while Meg has been away.

Today we did some little pen drawings (15cm x 15cm) using pattern as our background.  This is my little work in progress.  I love drawing with pen and ink...very relaxing.  I really enjoy making all the little patterns and designs ....filling the page with dots and dashes. click for a closer look.

While I was in Thailand I bought this beautiful silk runner / wrap.  Click on the photo to see all of the beautiful kantha stitch and the lovely little fringe.  This piece is approximately 2m long x 75cm wide and double sided. Imagine all of that stitching!!!!   I am going to use this piece as a table runner for special occasions. 

This is the reverse of the cloth.... they use quite contrasting (and vibrant) colours on each piece.  I loved the beautiful muted colours on the front of the cloth...and I am getting used to the brighter turquoise/purple on the back.
I got this cloth out this week to inspire me as I have been thinking of stitching and fabric quite a lot as I am taking part in the Magic Diaries with Jude Hill.  I have been getting pieces of fabric together,  threads, fragments from older work.  I have been writing down, and drawing up,  lots of ideas.  I am enjoying the process.
This workshop takes place over the next six months.  I love the longer class format, the feeling that there is no rush,  just letting things happen as they will.

BE STILL

AND LET THE BEAUTY COME

-SARK-

Jacky xox

Winter wattle .......

It's one of my favourite times of year....the wattle is starting to bloom down here in Australia.....brightening up some dreary winter days.  Once the wattle begins to come out,  I know that the days are getting longer, the weather is beginning to become milder....spring is on it's way.



bunch of winter wattle to brighten the lounge room


Our exhibition has been and gone....such a wonderful time.  It was amazing to see you art hanging, to have such positive comments.  It was so lovely to be part of this exhibition with these four lovely (and talented) women.  L to R  Julia Dean, Patsy Worledge, Dot Christian, myself and Ro Bruhn.  The photo's below are thank you to Ro's lovely husband Steve who took photos for us all over the weekend.  I have borrowed these from Ro's blog....pop over to visit her and see more.



Julia, Patsy, Dot, me and Ro.



view of the room  with our art hanging.

Melbourne turned on a beautiful, clear winters weekend for us.  Below are some photos taken on our walk to and from the exhibition over the weekend.




Flinders Street Railway Station and one of Melbournes iconic trams.




Dot in Hosiers Lane.  We loved to walk through the lane on the way to St. Michaels and take in the street art.




Part of the "Forum" building.  What gorgeous architecture!




Melbourne in Winter.

And what have I been up to since the exhibition????  Art wise,  not much at all.  I seem to have needed a little break.  A bit of journalling,  but not much else.   I have had visitors though.  My MIL Norma came down for the opening of the exhibition and stayed for a while afterwards.  Today my some arrived home from the USA for a weeks holiday with us....love having my boys at home!

I am taking part in Jude Hills latest online workshop.... The Magic Diaries.....so there will be some fabric being stitched soon.  I am also going to do a bit more linocut printmaking.  I love that process and want to do more of it.
My friend Meg, whom I paint with most Fridays is still away on her holiday in Greece (3 months....lucky girl).  But,  she will be back soon and I will get back into my painting again.

OUR LIVES ARE FILLED WITH GORGEOUS MOMENTS
THE SMELL OF CLOTHES DRIED IN THE SUN
 IS ONE OF THOSE.RELAX, AND LET MOMENTS LIKE THESE SEEP INTO YOUR SOUL.


-SARK-

Have a wonderful week.

Jacky xox