Letting go...

Anne asked for a photo of me wearing the stole. Here are some we took this morning on our front porch. And just for fun, I took a photo looking down at all the beads!



























I'll be mailing the stole to Anne tomorrow (Monday) and it will arrive in time to be worn for the Winter Solstice service at Edmonton City Hall, 7 PM, December 21st. Wish I could be there!



Always at the end of a big project like this when I have experienced the ebb and flow (highs and lows) of the creative process, there is a period of "letting go"...a separation time. I'm lucky to have all these experiences!

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The stole is finished!

Here it is...the completed stole. I decided not to embellish with trees afterall. The image became quite abstract--almost as tho' the materials dictated the outcome! I decided that adding trees would be an attempt to make this a more realistic portrayal rather than the abstract image that it has become.





The piping is made from some sparkling green organza, and the lining comprises several scarves plus a pashmina shawl. One scarf was a souvenir from the Edmonton Folk Festival which I laid over the pashmina in the neck and shoulder area for reinforcement. Amongst the ties and scarves sent to me was a charming little Chinese embroidery, and I had the bright idea this morning of converting this into a pocket on the lower inside lining. On the other side is another pocket made from two scarves with musical notes. Anne can use these for a kleenex, key, card...?

I did create an image of the full moon on the back using a little lame and organza--this is one of the few decisions made at the outset that I kept!



I spent a pleasant hour this afternoon drinking tea and chatting with a friend while she was knitting, and I sewed on a multitude of beads to add a little more sparkle. It was a delightful way to finish off the stole.

To continue...

It was high time I put the two halves of the stole up on the design wall to have a good look at it vertically. Here's an image of the stole from a distance and up close.

Now to decide on the embellishment...beads have been suggested for some sparkle...the piping might have some sparkle too. I've pretty much decided against using any organza overlays as I did in the sample. I'm happy with the way the yellows and greens glow...

Thanks for all your comments whether made publically on this blog or privately to me in person or by e-mail. All remarks are welcome and grist for the mill. It's encouraging to know I have interested readers!

Ah....it's coming together!

I've had a great start. Amazing what energy I felt in my tidy studio...all the appropriate materials sorted and ready to use. Above are three images of the stole in progress. You can see that I started by laying down a narrow strip of yellow, and on the right moved into reds, blues and greens. On the left moved into greens and blues. I think I'm making peace with the theme, and am comfortable with not trying to depict northern lights realistically. Whether I use organza overlays as I did in the samples I posted yesterday remains to be seen. For now, I'll let this rest while I go to the opening of the Artsolutely show tonight...and will be back at this project with renewed energy tomorrow and Sunday.

Tidied up...

Ah, much better! My materials are organized and I can think straight again.

Getting to work!

I thought I'd start by showing you some images of my studio at the moment...what a mess! I woke up at 4:30 AM today thinking I need to tidy up before doing anything more.

In the background on the wall you can see the samples I've done so far. I started by sorting the materials (ties and scarves) into colour groups of reds, yellows, greens, and blues. Then I cut a narrow bias strip from each and used my favourite bias strip piecing technique on a cotton foundation.
Each sample has overlays of organzas.