Out With the Old

While I was somewhat sad to finish up my 2016 stitch project, I am nothing but happy to have the 2017 one done.  I struggled with this one more, mainly because of the silk thread I used throughout it.  It tangled and snagged, and I spent way too much time trying to smooth it back down.  Lesson learned.  I also felt restricted by the composition in this one and started getting bored with it towards the end.  But I am happy I stuck with it and finished it.

Here's the December part.  I was not planning on using red and green as that seemed so...Christmasy, but it wanted to appear anyway.

I did feel good when I finally laid each month out together and got to see the whole thing.  Things always look better in lots of multiples.  I was surprised it turned out so colorful.  I thought I had a lot more neutrals in it.

I like the idea of it joining together in a long piece that somehow is displayed on spools, but for now I have to put both of these projects away and look at them fresh later.

Now I'm pondering the next stitch project.  I've been having such a hard time coming up with something for 2018 that I'm wondering if it means I don't want another year long project.  But I do like having something I do daily.  I showed this in my art group meeting, and one of the members, who also happens to be a therapist, asked me an interesting question-- "How has it changed you to work on something daily like this?"  I do think it changes you.  Partly it's having just a wee bit of structure, deadline, commitment to myself everyday.  It's almost like a little bit of self-care and a way of honoring my quiet time each day.  It also was very useful for keeping me present and aware of all the marks and lines around me as the seasons shift.

I do have ideas now for more handstitching in 2018, so I think I will just start something and see if it evolves into a yearlong project or not.

My new guidelines are:
1.  No silk thread!
2.  Room for compositional experimentation.
3.  Easily portable.  It has to fit into a ziplock bag.
4.  Not too many choices, limited materials.
5.  Only recycled materials or things I already have.

Happy New Year!

Winding Down

I've enjoyed my stitch projects so much, but now that it's December, I feel very ready to be done with them.  I'm excited to move on to something new for 2018, whatever that might be.

Here are my 2016 November segments all stitched together.

And November 2017 is done.

So one more round for December then these will be put to rest.

November Stitching

I was laying my November 2016 components out to stitch together, and I threw them next to my 2017 project for comparison.   This has been such a bright, cheerful Nov. that I thought they would look drastically different.  They blend pretty well here, but maybe when I join all of Nov. 2016, it will look more dark and somber.  I love rich colors next to dark browns and blacks.

October Stitching

I've been stitching like crazy trying to catch up on Oct. before Nov. arrives.  I took my stitching along on my trip, but I never manage to get as much done while traveling as I think I will.  Now that I can see the end of this project in sight, two things are happening.  One--I'm getting very eager to join them all together in a large roll and let them drape.  Two--I'm starting to wonder if I will be able to come up with a new daily stitch plan for 2018.  So far nothing is coming to me.

Stitching in Sept.

Stitching away on my 2017 daily stitching project.

Art Retreat Week!

Rarely do I have my house to myself.  In fact, in the 20+ years since my sons have been born, I have never had my house all to myself for an entire day.  Imagine my delight when my husband decided to go hiking with his friends for a week, at the same time my sons decided to take a trip to CA to visit their grandma!  Oh heaven!

I recently learned when my husband disappears for his rare trip to visit friends that I should use that period for focused art time.  At first I called it my art bootcamp, but that has morphed into the much friendlier (and more leisurely) art retreat week.  I start by entirely clearing my calendar for the week. With the exception of my morning trips to my dance class, I do not leave the house.  I also get all my food prepped as much as possible for the week, so I can have healthy things handy without giving it the slightest bit of time or thought.  One of my favorite things to do is make my salads ahead of time, so they are crisped and ready to dump in a bowl.  Add some chicken for lunch, and turn them into taco salads for dinner.  Done.  No food planning whatsoever!

I made a list of projects I want to work on with painting planned for my more energetic mornings and stitching for later in the day. I also made a list of art-related things that I've wanted to read, watch or listen to that I never seem to get around to.  I have a list of websites to browse, art documentaries on Netflix, old art magazines I want to revisit.  And that will be my week.  My idea of heaven!

And I finished stitching my August 2017 project.  This has not been my favorite palette, so I'm eager to start moving into deeper fall colors.

Stitching Catch-Up

I'm back from a wonderful trip to Stockholm and then cruising around the Baltic Sea area.  I was so hoping to share pictures, but after a week of trying to get photos from my iphone to a non-compatible computer, I give up.  I think I'm starting to see the real value of Instagram.  Maybe if my tech skills improve suddenly, I'll post bits of inspiration from the trip.

Now I'm back to daily stitching.  My July daily stitch is actually a cheater this month.  I had high hopes of stitching daily on my trip, but the reality was that after busy days, then planning out the itinerary for the next busy day, all I could do is drop into bed with a book.  Thanks to that and some long flights, I did read 2 very good books-- Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen, and The Girls by Emma Cline, and one great one--A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

So now I catch up on a month of daily stitching in one week.  I really don't like doing it that way.  When I'm doing a bit each day, I'm much more aware of the marks I see around me, but at least I caught up.

Here's July 2017 stitch project.  It doesn't look too different from June, but the colors have intensified.

Now I have some painting exercises I want to start.  It always takes me a while to get moving after a trip, so I'm doing it in baby steps.

Stitching in June

I'm finishing up all of my June stitching this week.  I pieced together the 2016 components.  That has become one of my favorite parts in the process.  I like seeing how the pieces interact and form new shapes and emphasis once they are together.  June was pretty wacky with all sorts of odds and ends.  I was traveling in Great Britain at that time, and I added pieces I found here and there, had lots of shifts in weather and environments, maybe that's why this one is all over the place.

My 2017 June is much more unified, maybe a little too much so for my taste. I'm starting with a smaller bag of scraps and threads for this project, and it might be a little too limiting.

I think I prefer the irregularities and oddities of the 2016 piece.  Think I'll mix up my July bag a bit more.

Beginning of June

I started off the month thinking my June stitching would be all soft greens and blues, with a little golden warming.

 But then my neighbor's yard full of Oriental poppies came into bloom, and they were impossible to ignore.

May 2016 Daily Stitch

I pieced together all my May 2016 units.  I like how wild and carefree this group is.