Stitching the Goddess

 I have been working on and off on the Summer goddess piece adding bits and pieces here and there while working one other projects as well.

I added some of the bottom pieces last night and this morning shown below. 

For Week 17 of the K3n.clothtales SAL the prompt was Back Story, where the back of the work would be the showcase of the piece.  My Back Story piece is from a well worn favorite hankie of mine. A few days before the prompt while folding laundry I noticed a few places were worn through I thought to myself why wouldn't it be? this hankie served me well for over 40 years mostly in the last 15 when the season of my life changed once again, this hankie wiped away the daily sweat of my brow during my change of season, in earlier years it wiped the grimy sweat while gardening here in Florida, during daily walks and mopped up falling tears after several tragic events over all the seasons of my life so far. I have other hankies I use, some nearly as worn as this one but for now this special treasure will be honored as part of my year of stitching. The back of my piece, the Back Story, looks pretty much like all of my pieces. Though I didn't take out any of the missed tangles or knots

Walking the Wheel of the Year observations in my yard this week is more Lantana has sprung up in the back yard I think with the tree that was removed allowing it to grow or it's self sown thanks to the birds, either way the bees and butterflies love it and the Plumbago is beginning to bloom.

I am also stitching a Moon Gazing Hare piece, I used DMC Etoile for the Moon just to give it a little sparkle. I used a back stitch on the hare and a stem stitch for the foreground.

 

Than I whipped stitched the Hare and added a little spiral, I am still not sure if I like the use of the variegated floss for the hill but I'm leaving it.

I was reading The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis, trying to read it quickly because I can't renew it at the library because someone has requested it. So I returned it because I hate to rush when I read a book. I will have to request it again because lately the urge to stitch has really come over me.

Every few days my fingers need a rest from the stitching so I pick up and book, settle down with a cup of tea and some days when I'm not stitching I'm reading about stitching.

 

A Little Bit of Garden, Some Stitching and a Wonderful Book

 The flowers on the Milkweed are nearly devoured by very hungry caterpillars. I was hoping to get caterpillars this year and I was not disappointed. 

 I finally have the name for the little purple wildflower its a lyre leaf sage.

 The Lantana along the driveway is doing quite well after the rains we had this week. It sprouted out a few weeks ago where the Holly tree used to be. I'm going to cut a piece to see if I can root it and plant some in another area. I would love to have some along the fence. 

I finished week 13 piece for the K3n.clothtales SAL it is a Friendship Star. I was reminded how much I love hand piecing.

I am working on another slow stitched Goddess this one in shades of purple fabrics

She is almost ready to be cut out along her template lines so I can put her on a backing fabric to continue working.

The Spring goddess is waiting for me to decide how I want to continue with the piece.  I'm so glad I ventured into slow stitching in this way. I feel more creative with each piece I make.

The Untamed Thread by Fleur Woods arrived a few days ago while I only had time to browse through the pages I will be taking the time to read over the weekend.  

The full color photos are breathtaking to say the least, the fiber art among the pages are so beautiful I ache to run my hands over them.

If you were thinking of buying a copy and haven't taken the plunge yet do it you will be so glad you did. It's a great addition to your fiber art and needlework library.

If you aren't familiar with Fleur Woods her Instagram and Website links are below

https://www.instagram.com/fleurwoodsart/?hl=en

https://www.fleurwoodsart.com/ 

Spring has Arrived and My Little Spring Nature Bundle Ritual

 Happy Spring Equinox and a Blessed Ostara to All!

Spring arrived with cool dry air and lots of sunshine, after last weeks high 80's it was a pleasant 70 a real spring day here in north central Florida.

My plants are thriving and waiting for me to get them transplanted either into large pots or in the ground.

I'm still unsure but I have to make the decision soon.

The orange Hibiscus continues to bloom with a new flower or 2 daily and she is full of buds just waiting to open.

The little sunflowers, red ruffle azaleas, and milkweed are doing well and the Fuchsia colored azalea is a surprise because I thought it was either white or purple. The Marigolds are doing quite well.  I need to pick up a few bags of potting soil to get them planted in the container I have for them.

My update on the Spring goddess I have been doing in the slow stitch style has progressed to the point where I am either done or will add things as the creative moods moves me.

I enjoyed this process so much not only for the stitching time it gave me but the meditative calm it brought to me as the needle flowed in and out of the fabric.  The spirals were a challenge to stitch because the Cosmo floss I used kept tangling, a problem I have encountered before using that floss.

I stitched the little bird nest with the eggs and then added it to her head as a nod to spring. The dragonfly was cut from fabric and stitched on as were the butterflies.

The little rabbit at the bottom was a piece of floral fabric I just cut in the shape of a bunny and gave it a black French knot for the eye.  All in all I love the piece and will begin working on another this week.

For Week 12 of the K3n.clothtales SAL we are making Bundle Books, where we are wrapping bits of nature into the fabric and burying them in the ground or leaving them somewhere in nature for a few weeks, at the summer solstice we will reveal our work.  It is influenced by the popular quote from way back “If you love something set it free. If it comes back it’s yours. If not, it was never meant to be.”

It's possible that nature can swallow up the piece or that wildlife can carry it off.  I chose to use all natural materials so that if lost it will degrade back into the each as part of the compost.  Here is what I put in this bundle: a spent hibiscus petal and sunflower, a leaf, tiny wildflowers, a spring of Marjoram and bits of lichen.

  I wrapped the entire bundle around the lichen covered twig and buried it beneath the spent sunflower.

During my walking the wheel of the year observations this week I noticed some Lantana made an appearance where the Holly is regrowing when the tree service cut it down in error last year. 

I need to trim back the holly so it remains a shrub and doesn't become an overgrown tree once again.

I have a second bundle of nature bits that I made as part of my Wheel of the Year journey this year. So when the prompt came for week 12 I was over the moon to do another.

My Spring bundle includes a purple Mexican petunia, purple spiderwort and a purple wildflower the name eludes me at this time.  There is more hibiscus petals, a spent marigold, dandelion fluff, the whole puff came apart right as I placed it on the cloth. Some lichen and  Indian hawthorn white flowers and the orange colored leaf.

 All wrapped around a lichen covered twig and tied with strips of muslin fabric I was going to use a stone to pound the flowers onto the fabric but that will be a project for another time.

Then gently placed beneath the soil until the Spring Equinox in 2025. It is marked with a butterfly stake not shown in the photo.

At the Spring Equinox, we are in perfect balance between the light and dark. Everything is in harmony we witness new life return, trees bud, flowers poking up their heads, and new bird song as birds begin to return, you can really start to feel that parallel within yourself. As we see life emerge from the Earth, this energy awakens our own growth, fertility and creation. And so it is a powerful time to be thinking about what we want to create in our lives during this light half of the year where the Sun rules, and active, creation energy is in abundance!

When I buried my Spring bundle I spoke these words: May this bundle of plant life abundantly flourish the flow of blessing through my garden and my life. Continually reminding me to be good a steward of the land. And to keep creating with my hands both in and out of the garden.