I have been away from blogging for quite some time. My bounce back from the issues caused by the chemo wasn't as bouncy or as back as I had hoped, and there was quite a slide back in my health, but I am definitely up and going now. Yay!
I spent much of the last year getting back into knitting, as the numbness and pain in my fingers slowly began to recede, and feeling came back. It was such a relief to be able to get back into handcrafts again, especially since it it is not just about hobbying. Being on an Invalid's Benefit (Disability Allowance) means that much of my handcrafting now is very practical and necessary, as I can't afford to buy a lot of things.
Things I managed to complete for myself were a jumper, two pairs of socks, four shawls, a small lace scarf, and a pair of slippers. I also did a pair of socks and pair of slippers for Mum, a shawl for friend, and I have another jumper almost finished.Pictured are the four shawls and two pair of socks I did for myself.
The other major happening over this time was the garden. The garden, of course, got MAJORLY out of hand, with several years of not being able to do anything. And even now, my strength and stamina are not good enough to re-establish a large veggie garden in amongst the jungle that it became. I was afraid I might have to have it all put back into lawn. As a last hope, I contacted a local permaculture group, who kindly came and re-did my garden for me last April. Now it is not just four beds and some tyre gardens, but the whole yard has been put into garden. I have put in a wide variety of fruit trees and bushes, and am so pleased with how it has turned out. The first year in the hugelkulter beds was, of course, not great. They really need a year to settle down and start releasing the nitrogen back into the soil, and we had a very late frost towards the end of spring which hit the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants I had put out. But I did get a good harvest of potatoes, and a lot of self-sown pumpkins came up, which produced nicely.
Winter has now returned, a full year since the revamp, and the winter garden is shaping up nicely. Once things are up and going in full swing - and we get a sunny day - I will do a short tour of the garden for you. And of course when summer comes and the garden is in its full glory, I will do full tour.
Meanwhile, I have started two new projects.Every so often, I want to do a technique study for sewing or embroidery, or sometimes a small sampler, or often just a small project. And then there are the lovely little fabric prints and pretty fabric pieces that I hang onto because I really like them, but don't really know what to do with them.
All these things end up shoved into boxes, the back of a cupboard, etc., ending up moldy, moth eaten, damaged, or lost. So I thought, the answer to that is to make a fabric journal to put all these things in. One that can be constantly added to, as things are done.
The first page I did was an exercise in Slow-Stitching. Several pieces of silk, edges left exposed, boro stitched down. I just adore the feel of this piece. Then I added a couple of antique lace pieces to it, then edged it in antique lace.
The second page was a fabric piece I had, that I really liked, paired with a set of four small fabric strips and three novelty threads that I was given in a swap a few years ago. I added a lovely piece of sheer gold ribbon that I had, some gold metallic embroidery, and a couple of Venetian lace pieces and a Venetian lace edging.
The cover I made all about the lace - 6 different antique laces layered on. In the centre, is my all time favorite fabric print - it is so "me".
The second new project is a Spirit Cloth bed cover. This project is a very ambitious one, which will take many years to complete.
Spirit cloth is a kind of patchwork-y thing, but it uses old clothes and fabric scraps to make - whatever is on hand, rather than buying new stuff. It is about recycling and re-purposing, patching and mending. It general uses natural fibre cloth, and is very utilitarian. But it is also very beautiful.
For several years I got very into Crazy Quilting, but ultimately I found it too "fancy" and impractical for my soul. I love the work I did, and cherish the work I have from others, not to mention all the wonderful people I met in the online communities and round robins, and I will likely still do the odd piece here and there in the fabric journal. But what I really wanted was something more practical, something where I could use the items I produced in everyday living.
Now I am more involved in the Slow-Stitching and Fibre Upcycling/Recycling movements, and I am finding a deep satisfaction, contentment, and peacefulness here.
From what I have been able to find, the originator of the movement, and the one who coined the term Spirit Cloth, is Jude Hill. She has a lovely website https://clothwhispering.com/, which includes a free class -Spirit Cloth 101, as well as other free classes and paid classes.
I have started my first piece, a wholecloth sampler of a study of circles. This will eventually become part of the big bedcover.
So... things to look forward to in future posts:
- a winter tour and a summer tour of my new garden. It is amazing how much food, and variety of food, one can grow in a 10 m x 11 m garden.
- new pages as they are completed and added to the fabric journal.
- updates on my Spirit Cloth bedcover.
Additionally, I am working on a toilet roll pocket book - to find out what that is see LorrieMarie Jenkins' YouTube video on making one. Mine is Teapot themed. And I also hope to start making Junk Journals once winter is over and it warms up a bit. Living in an area that gets cold winters, and not being able to afford heating, means winters tend to be spent huddled under blankets with a hotwater bottle, watching TV and doing hand stitching projects. Anything that requires moving around, or not sitting on the sofa huddled up, has to wait until it gets warmer.
So until the next post, cheers all.
