Playfully stitching

 indigo-dyed cotton

some embroidery thread

a dancer emerging from kantha stitching

My Hearts

a tiny silk heart

ornamental

fashioned form sari silk

embellished

with kantha stitching

find it here today

. . . .of slow cloth

when summer was new ...
i cut a piece of cotton
gathered sewing things in a basket
and set out to make this fabric mine

made millions of tiniest stitches

created
a textural
sensual
surface

and finished stitching tonight

Kantha .... in various stages

One of my summer projects
Millions of tiny running stitches
sewn with miles of coordinating thread

This cloth is nearing completion
Will it be .....
.... a decorative bag?
..... a vessel?
???????
Photos of the completed cloth will follow soon

More and still .....

On this day, Lammas Day, I am working at my kantha stitching project 'tho I feel I should be baking bread in honor of the day. Perhaps I will. Bake bread.

I keep my hand-stitching in a basket with assorted thread, needles, scissors and bits of fabric, some plain and others that have been embellished with stitching and might be used in one of the projects. This I can easily carry to the deck and stitch while I listen to summer's music and watch its magic.

Here are little squares of cotton over bridal veil, then a larger piece of cotton with a base of natural cotton batting to create a surface for the stitching ~~~ although the women of Bengal and Bangladesh did not use batting when using kantha stitching to create new cloth from old.

Straight lines. And circles. Some antique buttons.

This little piece will get a backing dyed with woad that a grew in my garden. Woad has a fascinating history: it was used by the Celts when entering battle: they painted themselves with it. Woad has been called the indigo of northern Europe.

A companionable silence

I am so into ..... slow...... today was slow.

Deliberately intentionally slow.

I took my stitching basket out to the deck this afternoon

surrounded by pansies and petunias

cilantro, shisu, parsley, oregano, & thyme,

purple and green basil

dill and tomato

heliatrope

dahlia

&

even

mint

Sheltered

under the umbrella,

finches twitter and chirp

at the feeder

the occasional wild turkey or two

or three or more wander by

Our house is nestled in the woods

down a private road

unseen by tourists

Its quiet.

I am quiet

and still

Enough

for a hummingbird

to drink while I just sit

and stitch.

We are companionable, we too.

The weather has improved immeasurably along the coast.

We have had sun for four days now

Temps in the mid-to high-80's

A bit humid; it rains nearly every night.

But never mind.

We have the sun

time to sit

in peace

stitching

Patches Buttons Stitching Again

Little patches

hand-dyed fabric

dahlia tansy woad from my garden

cochineal

antique buttons

linked by stitches

kantha stitching again

Kantha stitches

Kantha Embroidery is the most popular form of embroidery practised by the rural women in India. Its history evolved out of necessity to protect against cold. Kantha in Sanskrit means rags and can be called the 'original' recycling art. When silks and muslins became worn-out, women piled them in layers and stitched with running stitches over the entire surface of the cloth thus creating a new life for worn material.

The ancient art of kantha stitching was often used to tell stories of village and family life.

In modern-day India, urban and rural women are re-claiming the ancient craft and using it to become financially self-sufficient.

In both ancient and modern times, the kantha stitch is used to tell powerful stories of the place and role of women in the society.

Glorious

..... just glorious ......and, yes worth the praises!

We finally got summer.

Sunday and Monday arrived after the holiday and brought with them two fabulous New England summer days! The kind of days we dream about all winter long: temps in the high 70s and 80s with the clearest blue sky and bright sun. We made the most of both days with lots of outside activities. Picnic lunch and walks on the beach. Dinner on the deck at home. Larry putzed in the garden assessing the damage wrought by so much rain in June. And Parker, the young boy who cuts our lawn came by to work magic with his machine and bring order to the grass which was getting longer and taller with all the rain and no chance to mow.

Today, I've been playing in the studio. Playing 'what if' with fabric manipulation and kantha embroidery. The combination creates a very textural 'new' fabric that both looks and feels great. I have some ideas about what I might do with the fabric when my manipulations are complete. But nothing is set in stone at this point. And that feels quite all right.

This is the kantha stitching on contemporary printed cotton. The close running stitches creastes the appearance of ridges on the fabric. Kantha stitching is ancient and originated in India. Rural woman would create a 'new' fabric by sewing their worn saris and blankets in this way. They didn't use a batting between the layers of sewing and thus created a soft and flowing fabric. I am using batting between the cotton and a base of linen. I intend to lay a piece of bridal veil over top and continue the kantha stitching in close rows creating a very tight and textural piece.