rust shibori – washers
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

What if you really like rust dyed fabric but you want a little more control over it? would shibori techniques work? what about contact with interesting shapes? If the washers won’t rust now, what do I have to do to remove the finish and let it rust? How about letting the girls hammer them?

This looks pretty good, no?

penny, ruby, boo
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

Horses I ride: Penny on the left, the tiny Belinda is hiding behind her shoulder (I don’t ride her, but sometimes Alice does) Ruby with her nose in the hay, and Kaboose, who is Penny’s mom. Check out the dapples on Kaboose. They are starting to get fuzzy for the winter. Their winter coats are good for northern Quebec, when they come in all the way. Pelham is a cakewalk, winter-weatherly speaking.

cut everything
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

Still sorting and filing.

I finally cleared off the top of the chest, and found many treasures. Part way through I realized I had a huge collection of cutting tools. They made a nice pattern, and nice shadows.

I have a lot of x-acto knives. The scissors with black are only for cloth. Two pairs of pinking shears is two more than I ever use, but one is from my grandmother’s sewing collection and it makes me think of her. I have more rotary cutters downstairs so I can cut at a comfortable height on the counter. The knife at the top is from when my family spent 6 months running a charter boat in the West Indies in 1968-69. I was awarded a knife for seamanship, and because my brother got a bigger one for his birthday and every sailor needs a knife. I still love it, and it is still sharp. Although I haven’t cut open many coconuts lately…

beanstalk
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

Regular readers may be asking if I have actually accomplished any sewing lately? And the answer is yes, thank you, but only in spurts.

I finished this after lunch – the white side has bobbin-worked curliques in white on white, and the green side seems to be covered in leaves. The whole winding center looked like a beanstalk to me – sprouting and keeping one side from the other, Mostly it was a series of experiments in filling areas with bobbin work, but I am quite pleased with the over all feel.

I tried using it as a rubbing plate for paint sticks, and the results were mixed. Plus the colors came through the fabric onto the very tips of the white work. So I may wind up rubbing color across the top of the whitework, making it more green. But I thought I’d test that idea on a smaller piece first. As well as the next piece which has a much more riverine feel to it.

IMG_3959
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

Here it the setup on the table – I’m not sure it is possible to convey exactly how pink and gummy the keyboard really is using only photos. But it feels nice to type on, and it rolls up. Of course, once I finish bringing a mouse and rollup keyboard along, the whole plan of tiny-and-portable is just shot.

Excelsior.

message
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

The wind set this precisely in the center of the top step this morning. It felt like a postcard from the universe.

Happy Fall.

ruby under saddle
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

This is Ruby. She looks truculent in this picture but she is generally pretty cheerful.

She’s one of the Canadian horses I ride a couple times a week. She is three years old. She cracks me up – it feels like she is talking to me when I am riding her, her thoughts are so clear. We can walk and trot. I haven’t tried to canter yet, but maybe I’ll get brave when my teeth stop hurting.

The dentist says I need a root canal and it is slated for Monday. I am working hard on distracting myself.

stripey pony
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

Maybe a pony a day?

Probably not.

I embroidered this guy a couple years ago, when I was still getting the hang of free motion stuff with the machine. I think he had some brothers, at least at the sketch stage. I’ll keep digging.

bronze horse
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

I am thinking about horses, and birthdays, and teeth.

Not necessarily all at the same time. The birthday is done, which is a huge relief. I work hard to pretend I don’t care about them, but I do, and I want them to be lovely and/or meaningful. At 48 it has no great significance unless you have an affection for the 12s tables, so I had to rely on lovely. We had a dessert tasting from the local fabulous bakery, and everyone had enough dessert and a taste of everything they were curious about. Plus a lot of laughing, and very fine company. I blew out candles, we discussed science, the vagaries of children when they were young and whether or not fish could recognize a person. We decided the last issue by dunking Bill’s (waterproof to 5 ft) digital video camera into the water pitcher. The consensus was that if they had enough neurons to rub together, they could recognize a particular human.

Teeth because a tooth is hurting and I am waiting to hear back from the dentist to see if he can see me today or I have to wait until tomorrow.

Horses because I want to think about something lovely, and that counts. This one is from an illustrated Beowulf I borrowed from Cathy. We are thinking of making him into a T-shirt.

I think I have to make a flock of fiber horses.

In looking back over last year’s entries, I wasn’t pleased with my work for August/Sept then either. Maybe it is ennui, or the alignment of the stars, or maybe I just have a fall flop and need some time to get juiced up again. Horses might do it.