Raven and Sparrow

Silver, or rather gold, lining

When my studio flooded last year my expensive bolt of silk/linen was standing in the water. I thought it was well enough wrapped in plastic to protect it, but when I unrolled it I saw that I was wrong. The discoloration goes all the way through. At first I was sad, but now I am intrigued with the possibilities it offers. I am using it for a pillow project and hope it will add some depth to an old design.

I have waxed the pattern of maple leaves onto the 19" square and will dip it in...what? I'm thinking madder, but madder gets through the wax more than any other dye. Maybe I will paint it on and see what happens. In theory this pillow will be a Christmas present, but I don't know if I have time, really. All my processes take a while.

In the meantime, I have been piecing the low contrast checkerboard that called to me from my scrap pile. I started with discreet 2" squares thinking I would add other fabrics in, but when I got into it I just kept on with same two colors. I don't know now if this is just a background for something more interesting or if it would be a good big pillow as it is behind more active smaller pillows. 

I'm finding Christmas to be a little cloud on my horizon right now. I'm not feeling inspired about gifts. I am looking forward to having my boys and girls here to celebrate, so presumably I'll get into the spirit soon.

Seeking a path

With Christmas looming I finally got down to the studio to see if making some presents was feasible. Assessing my raw materials resulted in a pile of scraps all over my previously clean table.  Turning left-overs into pillows has been on my mind for a while, with no actual action resulting. In the past I made some little pillows for gifts pretty quickly and I thought that I could do that again. However, when confronted with the pile I realized that I didn't have any ideas that could use what I had and still be done easily. That threw me back to square one in terms of Christmas, but as I searched out and sorted my scraps I found some various off-whites calling to me. I envisioned a low key checkerboard as a background for....what? I don't know, but I Iike the essential combination well enough to make it and see where it goes. I am still thinking pillows so I took all the similar fabrics up to the house from the studio and dumped them on the couch. After I took the picture the cat  made a nest among them so we have her approval. 

It is hard to work through a semi-new process, which this will be. Making the woven quilt block for Dee's Hearts for Charleston quilt (deemallon.wordpress.com) was easier because it was dictated by her parameters, and maybe weaving a checkerboard as I did for her would be the best way to achieve it, but I am still not sure. I am going to make a nine-patch a la Jude (spiritcloth.typepad.com) and let it go where it wants from there. See how I use my blog friends for inspiration and path-finding?
 

Whitecaps

Our warm, sunny Indian summer came to an end a couple of weeks ago and the rains have returned. After a few gray, misty days we woke this morning to sunshine and brisk winds that stirred the waters of the Salish Sea to action. We took the dog down to the rocks and braced ourselves against the blow. No bats in our belfries now!

See the eagle above the island? They have returned from their late summer vacations and are numerous and active here again. 

The sun is very low on the horizon already and we still have two months to go to the solstice. Down into darkness we go, but mornings like this gladden the heart.