Stitching a Story

I believe that there are subtle messages that are being sent to us all of the time. From where or whom, I know not.

But I do know, that if we are listening...if we are open and receiving the signals...then we just might receive a little cosmic push that sends us down a new path...down a road less traveled that we may not have otherwise taken.

Well, this morning I felt a cosmic "push". I was sitting at the lab waiting to have my blood drawn for a routine test and was reading the latest issue of Inspirations magazine.

And in the latest issue there is an entire article on the beauty of Kantha embroidery. I couldn't believe the coincidence.


At the end of the article there are stitch guides for the stitches used in kantha embroidery -- many of them variations of the running stitch -- new stitches to me like the chatai stitch, kaitya stitch and the kantha stitch...providing more substance to my exploration of kantha embroidery.

Stitches that, just days ago, I had searched for on the internet trying to find stitch guides to help me better understand the methods of the kantha stitched by the Bangladeshi women that I posted about the other day in telling Surayia's story. And here it was, all laid out before me this morning in black and white.


And this is the same embroidery that just happens to be on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art where I can easily make a day trip and go see the many nakshi kantha up-close-and-personal. There's no doubt in my mind now that I have to go.

And, all of this information landed in my lap within one week. What to make of it?

I have always been attracted to needlework that tells a story. Participating in the Bead Journal Project taught me the power of combining my love for embroidery with my love for my own life.
Each one, individually, is beautiful in and of itself...but put together, the combined result is an art form that speaks to...and from...my very soul.

Surayia said "Life tells the Story." And I think perhaps that is my message this week.

Where will I go next with telling my story in my needlework. I have decided that I cannot participate formally in the bead journal project this year because I cannot meet the monthly deadline...the schedule. But I will take what I learned from that journey and apply it to what I make in the future.

Interestingly enough, I picked up this book at the Quilt store this past Saturday. It is chock full of quilts that tell the stories of the makers...whether it be an event or a person or a feeling. It's journaling with textiles...just like the kantha...and it encourages the reader to tell their own stories with cloth. If you can find it...it's worth a look over with a cuppa just for the gallery pictures alone...dozens and dozens of quilts that tell stories...

Today, I have to finish Cate's jean jacket but all the while I'll be thinking about stories I want to tell with my needle and thread.

And I think that maybe I have become a student of Surayia even though I live hundreds of miles away and we have never met...

Once in a Blue Moon

The moon has been speaking to me...


And I have been trying to understand what it is trying to tell me.

Ever since our Disney cruise, I have noticed the moon in the sky more than usual. And in the beginning of December, I read in Discover magazine how this New Year's eve, we would have a full moon -- and it would be the second full moon in December -- which in modern times is referred to as a blue moon.


A blue moon has come to be known as the second full moon in a calendar month and that only occurs once in every 2.7 years (and it doesn't refer to the color of the moon at all...but you could read about that here) A blue moon on New Year's eve? Well, that only occurs once in every 19 years -- the last one being in 1990 and the next one won't happen again until 2028.

Since I read about it, I haven't been able to shake the feeling that it's significant in some way...I even read somewhere that there's a belief that to bathe in the light of the full moon on New Year's eve is good luck.

Well, I can sink my teeth into that notion -- I like the idea that spending time in the full moon this New Year's will bring me good luck...and I hope it lasts until the next Blue Year's Eve in 2028...(somebody call the TV station...I think I just coined a new term)

So, as I began to think about planning for next year and the years beyond as we all have a tendency to do this time of year...I wanted to mark this rare event in some special way...

And I wanted to make a book wrap to go around the graph-paper, cardboard-covered blank journals I like to write in...


I knew I wanted to use velvet for the moon just like Jude Hill used in this post...I've always admired Jude's moon -- and I mean that in the nicest way...

And I knew I wanted to use the loose-weave, handwoven indigo cloth that I used in Japan when I studied sashiko embroidery.


The fabric is yielding and open to changes, freely accepting and shifting to make way for new threads...new ideas...

But why had the moon led me to make a journal wrap? And why to use my Japanese supplies to do it with?

I wonder what the moon has in store for me this New Year's eve? And I wonder what resolutions I will write in those blank pages?

I think I should be considering long-term ideas in this journal -- a kind of "Where I'd like to be by the next Blue Year's Eve"...


I purposefully left my book wrap unfinished -- no seams -- so that I can continue to stitch and add to it's story...

I went and checked on the symbolism of the moon in Japan -- only to find out that they have over a hundred ways of representing it in art and literature...and it most definitely represents the tides, the ebb and flow of life, the passage of time...

Hmmm....

So what do we do with this blue moon this New Year's Eve?

I like this idea of George Bailey's from It's A Wonderful Life....



I love the idea of moonbeams shooting out of my fingers and toes.

And I love the idea of taking a bath in the moonlight on New Year's eve. Though I'm not sure our weather is going to cooperate...I wonder if it will still count if we go outside anyway?? Sure it will!

So get out there and moonbathe everyone!

May you have a New Year full of fortune and moonbeams shooting out your fingers and toes!

Countdown to a Quilt and a Cure

There are 13 days left to make a donation to help find a cure for breast cancer.


For every $10 you donate, you receive TWO chances in the drawing to win this quilt...

To see MORE pics of the Quilt and it's blocks
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CLICK HERE
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This quilt is appearing in the premiere issue of Art Quilting Studio Magazine...pretty cool.


And, if you happen to not win the quilt, there are over 60 consolation prizes that have been created by artists for a Runners-Up drawing...

To see ALL the Consolation Prizes donated by artists,
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CLICK HERE
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In order to donate via PayPal,
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CLICK HERE
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Or Mail to:
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Monica Magness
PO Box 2206
Madison, AL 35758
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And visit GIRL GONE THREAD WILD (Monica's blog) for more details.

You might remember that I contributed this nest...

And then my friend Carol suggested it be a votive holder...

And it looks lovely that way. Thank you, dear Carol.

I'm thinking of making a votive nest from the materials not used in my Daughter's Valentine...to keep me company while I'm working...and light my way.

Happy Weekend everyone!