Ideas on knit fabric / Dec 2013
“If you have a good idea, use it so that you will not only accomplish something, but so that you can make room for new ones to flow into you.”
~ Deng Ming-Dao, Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony
Rilke asked "Am I a falcon or a storm or a great song?" / Inkodyed fabric using found natural objects with embroidery / HSF Art Show, Sept. 2012
How do I know what I think until I see what I say?
~ E.M. Forster
Light through the window brightens the afternoon like the correspondence of a friend or confidante (whether it arrives with a beep on my computer or in an envelope on the front porch)
“Letter writing is, in fact, but conversation, carried on with the pen, when distance or circumstances prevent the easier method of exchanging ideas, by spoken words. Write, therefore, as you would speak, were the person to whom your letter is addressed seated beside you. As amongst relatives and intimate friends you would converse with a familiar manner, and in easy language, so in your letters to such persons, let your style be simple, entirely devoid of effort.”
~ an excerpt from The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness: A complete handbook for the use of the Lady in polite society, 1872, by Florence Hartley (also the author of Ladies' Handbook of Fancy and Ornamental Work)
"Guitar Mountain House" (a conceptual art piece using recycled textiles) in progress / Rae puts into words what I've always tried to practice: never stop learning / July 2010
“Somewhere along the line I learned how to learn.”
~ Type Designer Rae Kaiser
Waiting for a cold day: Hand-sewn reversable winter hat; felted wool with button detail lined with printed flannel / 2010
“Now that people have found out that soft felt hats are much more comfortable than stiff ones, they are much worn by men and boys; of late women and girls have taken a fancy to them, and no doubt both boys and girls would like to know what felt is, and how hats are made of it.” (American Agriculturist, vol. 35, 1876)
“Hats at the present day are fashioned of an endless variety of materials, and, especially in the case of those worn by ladies, they are so diversified in form that they defy all definition.” (Chamber's Encyclopaedia, 1890)
“Hats are set well over the forehead, not tilted back as was the fashion one or two seasons back.” (Godey's Magazine, 1896)
'Artifact; Product of craft and art [1970s Nag's Head Swimming Gear]' / (Pap's art show entry) Sept. 2010
“All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.”
~ Henry Ellis
I've been wanting to embroider all summer and finally picked up the needle and thread (Bright yellow sweatshirt with ugly floral design, made new by covering it with a blue and yellow square set on the diagonal; embroidery added for texture) / August 2010
“The art of working with the needle any fanciful design, upon webs woven of linen, cotton or silk is of the highest antiquity.
... It is clear from Homer that the Grecian ladies were skilled and industrious in the use of the needle.”
~ A Short Historical Sketch on Tapestry and Embroidery by J. Getz, 1895
Knit dress in progress / August 2010
“Long before researchers found that experiences, not purchases, are what make us truly happy, home economists had it figured out. They taught their students that people who 'live richly' budget more for 'books and travel, leisure and hobbies, home improvements, entertaining, and giving' than for material possessions. So wrote Grace Margaret Morton of the University of Nebraska in 1943; she specialized in dress design but knew that mere stuff had limitations.
It amazes me how often we rediscover the truths set forth by earlier women scholars. And don't get me started on how useful their lessons on thrift and the dangers of credit would be today.”
~ a letter to the NYTimes by Linda Przybyszewski, Ph.D.
Plain, black fleece poncho transformed into a colorful work of art by removing stitches from the neck revealing a graceful collar,
sewing patterned blue ribbon onto the side seams and collar, adding buttons like hammered silver (the buttons are actually from the old Grants store; 4 for 29 cents) / April 2010
This was the day of the poncho black as night and the girl that deciphered its magic inscription ribbon: Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly (St. Francis DeSales).
This was the gray, rainy day that cried out for color.