Full Moon Fiber Art

Maria Wulf Full Moon Fiber Art

“…The Woman I Kept To Myself ” Finding Her Way

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Washing the scraps from Kathy

I knew from the minute I opened the package from Kathy that I’d be using the fabric she send in my new quilt, I Became The Woman I Kept To Myself.

I wasn’t sure how, but this morning I filled the sink with water,  squirted in some Dawn dishsoap and let them soak.  Then I rinsed them and put in them in the washer to spin.   Small pieces of fabric are easier to iron when they are damp.  And they dry quickly.

Unlike a lot of the fabric I get, these  pieces already  had another life.  Each one had a line of glue on the one or both ends.  Some I was able to peel off, but most of it I just cut off before ironing it.

I laid out the strips of fabric in piles according to color and pattern on my work table to see what I would be working with.

Red was the dominant color which worked out just fine.

I took all the reds and a few of the rusty browns and dealt them into seven piles to get a good mix of patterns in each pile.

Then I arranged the fabric around each word that I had stitched on pieces of my drop cloth, on Monday.

When they were all sewn together I laid them out with the patch of old fabric pieces I sewed together last week.

Then I moved them around some more and found the perfect piece of fabric to hold them all together.

I still have to cut the fabric and sew it between all the words.  I was looking for fabric that was vibrant and outspoken, to pull the quilt out of the folksy feeling it was gravitating towards. The African fabric (that Fran sent me)  with vibrants colors and big shapes that move,  was just what I had in mind.

I can’t wait to get to my studio tomorrow and figure out how to cut the fabric and sew it all together.

A Cue From The Molting Hens

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Constance, Asher, KittyAnne, Mean Hen, Lori and Robin

The hens are molting.  Losing  last years feathers and growing a new feather coat for the winter.

They’re less active when they’re molting.

All summer long KittyAnne and Mean Hen were out in the barn yard and pastures, in the front and back yard pecking away at insects and plants.   Always busy, moving great distances, plucking seeds from the tall grasses, running to me every time the saw me, expecting a snack.

When I opened their coop in the morning they could hardly wait to jump out and get to it.

Now they spend most of the their time under the lilacs.   They don’t even try to steal Zip’s food anymore and are in no hurry to leave the coop.

They’re conserving their energy, saving their strength to grow their new feathers which will keep them warm this winter.

I know they spend some time in the pole barn because I see their feathers there.  It’s one of their safe places among the sheep, peacefully chewing their cud after a night of grazing.

I won’t expect anymore eggs until the days start getting longer again in the spring.

I take a cue from the hens, knowing it’s time to start slowing down.

Soon I’ll be coming in the house from my studio at 4pm, when the night and cold come early.  And when I wake up at 6am, it will be even darker than it was this morning.  I’ll walk my morning meditations to stay warm, or will meditate to the pings and clicks of the woods stove heating up after growing cold overnight.

Someone told me that all the goldenrod this year is a sign of an early fall.  Already the sun is making a habit of showing up only in the mornings before the clouds move in.  Like an early November.

I’ll take the sun when I can get it, watch it dance with the shadows of the leaves still on the trees, a burst of life, in sharp contrast before the long sleep.

Get Ready For Suzy’s Fall Shawls…

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It’s almost that time of year again.  Time for Suzy Fatzinger’s shawls.  She doesn’t have as many shawls as she has in past years, but she sent me this picture of one that she is working on.

As always it has Suzy’s unique combination of colors and textures.  All hand knit from her hand spun yarn.

Suzy has two new Angora goats too….

Charlie…

…..and George.

After a little head butting, Suzy’s older girls, Alice, April, Ruth and Lucy, welcomed the boys to their new home.

Charlie and George’s mohair yarn won’t be in this years shawls, but I’m sure they’ll show up in next years.

DawnMarie Brings Her Own Meaning To A Potholder and Postcard

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DawnMarie sent me this photo of one of my Sacred Space Potholders hanging over her stove.  I can see why she chose it, her aesthetic is obvious.

She wrote…

“Potholder is more wondrous in person.  The softer colors are what my Soul has been asking for.  More tenderness, sweetness with my Self…. And the postcard,  exactly what I have been intending for myself as well…to allow myself to be truer to my Soul and act on that.”

A Potholder and postcard, simple everyday things become art.  Which DawnMarie has helped to bring even more meaning too.

My Postcard on DawnMarie’s altar

 

Our New Neighbors

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The shed on our neighbors property across the road

Our neighbors are building on the field across the road from the farm.

Because they are Amish, they bring the lumber  on a long wooden wagon pulled by two draft horses.  Two giant white horses.  They stand in their blinders, tied to the big pine.  So still for hours the only movement is a toss of the head, stomp of a foot or rumple of their skin to flick the flies away.

Two days ago the men brought a wooden shed the size and shape of an outhouse and placed it in the spot where I had seen them working the week before.  It could be a well house, an outhouse or a shed to keep their tools.

Two men of the same height and build, same  blue shirt and pants, same straw hat.  From where I watch I can’t tell them apart, although their families would know, by the stoop of their shoulder or gait of their walk.

We’ve watched our neighbors build before.  First a big metal building, next the barn and few years later the house.

I hope they will still hay the hilly fields, or fence it in for their horses.

If we could have afforded to buy the land we would have.  It’s been a hayfield for years although I heard there was once a trailer on it, in the same spot where our neighbors are building.

We are glad to have them.  So much better than a busy, brightly lit business or a small neighborhood.

The dogs listen for the wagons and watch the activity  from behind the fence.  At first they barked, but already they seem to understand it’s useless.  They won’t be chasing anyone away.

I watch  through  my studio window or from the corner of the back yard.  I listen from the front porch.  I report what I’ve seen back to Jon.  Yesterday a shed today long slabs of lumber, and more on the way.

I’m intrigued by their process, curious about how it will all come together. Some things are almost certain, the house, barn, gardens and animals,  but others unknown. I wonder what they will make and sell and what it will be like to have neighbors so close by.

We’ll try to be good neighbors, maybe bring flowers when the move in.   I don’t doubt they will be good neighbors too.

(I wrote this yesterday but forgot to post it. I took the picture this morning, but already the land looks very different, the big pine cut down and big trucks delivering insulation and other building materials.)

Thanks From Theresa Barzly, Almost There….

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You can see Theresa’s GoFundme Here.

I wrote on my blog yesterday about Theresa’s  GoFundMe.  She is a long time blog reader and is having a difficult time and is asking for some much needed and appreciate help.  This is the message she wrote yesterday….

“I want to thank everybody who is contributing to help me. I am sitting here crying just seem generosity of people who I don’t even know. I cannot believe that people would help me that don’t even know me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you so much”

And I am grateful too, I know how much it means to her.  She is close to her  goal but could still use a little more help.   Just click here contribute to Theresa’s GoFundMe. 

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