Mom’s funeral was at 11am July 31st US time so I set the alarm for the early hours of this morning at 12:30am, had a coffee, lit a candle & stitched Fly Free Mom into the Long Cloth of Grief and Wonder from 1am to 3am then listened to 4 versions of Angel by Jimi Hendrix, the demo is so raw and tender and purrfect
Fly Free Mom!
PS x fingers the neighbours were sound asleep!
My Mom at her 95th birthday dinner on August 10th last year surrounded by from the left; Mike at the table, Heather & Ben (Charlie’s son and daughter in law), Mike’s wife Debbie, Paul with his grown up kids Kazia and Tazman, Charlie and his wife Teresa is at the table with Mom in the middle!
Mom passed away peacefully in her sleep on July 24, she was the best Mom in the world.
Mom and Dad on their wedding day in 1954, I hope they have met again wherever we go next!
Dream On X
vintage silk moon magic by Glennis Dolce Shibori Girl
stitched with hand dyed silk threads from Patricia Wood Mulberry Silks, Els Sneider & Olga Cironis, teal blue DMC perle cotton, blue waxed linen thread,
reverse is vintage kimono silk indigo dyed by Jacinta Leishman Spiral Dyed
lined with the softest brown suede
red jasper bead
H 20cm
W 18cm
this dream became a memory keeper bag for my Mom
thousands of stitches hold so many memories, dreams and hope that she would get home from hospital. She got home from rehab on Sunday and her birthday is next month, she’s a Leo with the heart of a lion!
the inside is lined with the softest brown suede, a delight to touch
just back from the post office after letting it bathe in the light of the Full Moon
The Goddess of Pink formerly known as The Sunbather at Sculpture by the Sea back in 2023
by Margarita Sampson is happily settling into her garden bed
Hardenbergia violacea aka Happy Wanderer is planted in front of her knee, she is resting on nasturtium seeds & roots which will start growing again when the weather warms up, a Gossamer Wattle aka Acacia floribunda is planted behind her to screen the shed and a variety of perennials, bulbs and annuals will surprise her in spring!
Rake looking fabulous in his winter coat !
Dream On IX
blue moon stitched with indigo dyed silk thread from Glennis Dolce aka Shibori Girl
backed with indigo dyed vintage linen & thread by Ulrike Bogdan
H 17cm
W 16cm
the other side
filled with Mugwort, Lemon Verbena, Lavender, Rosemary, White Sage, Sweet Bay and Rose Petals
the autumn colour was spectacular this year & the light!
have been busily digging, mulching and planting out the new garden bed in front of the back shed creating a x-roads where I moved the chiminea that has never been fired up since I moved here nearly 2 years ago, placed an old saucer on the top for a bird bath.
a garden is a spell we cast within the world
Margie Sampson’s Sun Bather (with cat) 2023 aka the Pink Goddess with Purple Cat will nestle in the new bed soon sans the lime green plinth to be twined with vines and flowers
photos courtesy of Margarita Sampson at Sculpture by the Sea 2023
I love this mountain life!
Dream On VIII
indigo dyed red moon from Glennis Dolce Shibori Girl
stitched with hand dyed silk threads from Patricia Wood Mulberry Silks, red DMC perle cotton, red waxed linen thread & blue cord by Jacinta Leishman Spiral Dyed
backed with the softest red wool fabric
filled with Mugwort, Lemon Verbena, Lavender, Rosemary, White Sage, Sweet Bay and Rose Petals
H 16cm
W 19cm
the other side
dreaming herbs
Stitching dreams into this little pillow has kept me almost sane since just before Easter when the owners of the rental house next door were tidying up preparing their house for sale and said they were worried about my water tank and overflow being too close to the shared fenceline.
I had a look at the Blue Mountains City Council website rules and regulations and yes, as the tank is way over 1.8m (app 6 foot) high it was indeed too close to the fence… should be 900mm (almost 3 foot) it was only 200mm (just under 8 inches)
So I contacted David Robilliard the local plumber who had a look & said he could move it and extend the overflow no worries. I drained it by running a long hose down to the neighbours tanks over the back fence which took 24 hours to drain the 10,000 litres (2,641 gallons), then David extended the footings and raised the edge of the tank with levers to drain the last few rungs through the Storz fire hose fitting over the weekend. He finished the move & extended the overflow yesterday
the overflow will water the Photinia and Honesty bed near the gazebo
With such good timing Rake alerted me to a new leak under the shower stall yesterday morning. I had noticed it wasn’t draining as quickly as it should for the last few weeks so David will fix whatever is going on with it later this week. So happy he can fit my jobs in, he lives in the next street and is a lovely man with a big family to look after. This is such a good neighbourhood!
Rake the mighty protector of home and hearth
Dream On VII
blue moon from Glennis Dolce aka Shibori Girl
backed with indigo dyed vintage silk by Eliene St Romain & vintage linen by Ulrike Bogdan
indigo dyed threads by Els Sneider and Jacinta Leishman Spiral Dyed
H 15cm
W 16cm
wild dreams went into this one
filled with Mugwort, Lemon Verbena, Lavender, Rosemary, White Sage, Sweet Bay and Rose Petals
and a lot of stitching!
the autumn colour is spectacular this week!
the bush walking sustains my soul in these precarious times for our beautiful broken world
Dream On no VI
blue moon stitched with indigo dyed silk threads from Glennis Dolce aka Shibori Girl
backed with indigo dyed vintage linen & cotton by Ulrike Bogdan
H 16cm
W 17cm
the other side
detail of stitching
filled with Mugwort, Lemon Verbena, Lavender, Rosemary, White Sage, Sweet Bay and Rose Petals
Also playing around with some natural Tussah silk from The Thread Studio, tried spinning a bit with a hagstone by Mia Illuzia of Spirit Carrier and a stick of bamboo after watching the video of Renate Hiller but the silk broke immediately! Learning how to draft the fibres whilst looking sideways at the drop spindle that arrived in the mail last week…
The garden here at Dunmovin is such a joy!
It's Crow Time 