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Sometimes things just surprise you. (Like every day, perhaps?) They just don't turn out the way we expect, and we have to roll with the punches. Take this oddity:  Monotangle (Paradox) with shading, an aura, rounding, and weighted lines. Using Micron 01 and graphite. After weeks of not being able to tangle because I was working on other projects, I had a few moments today to sit down. So how did I come up with this bizarre piece?
 Photo used by permission of KnittedKnockers.org The photo above is a picture of Barbara Demorest, who founded Knitted Knockers, my absolute favorite things to knit. She's sitting on a pile of (as-yet-unstuffed) Knockers. I added to the pile this morning when I mailed off over 60 Knockers I made--I sent them to her organization to distribute, free, to cancer survivors who've had mastectomies. This is such a rewarding and compelling reason to knit. Below you can see what a Knocker looks like once it's been stuffed with polyester. So much better than the silicone/plastic prostheses, which are heavy and can promote sweating and irritation. Knitted Knockers are light, airy, washable, and more closely resemble a genuine breast.  Photo by KnittedKnockers.org and used by permission  Photo by KnittedKnockers.org and used by permission. Let me allow Barbara and her organization to explain, as they can do it much better than I can. If you've had a mastectomy, I hope you will contact the organization and ask for a free Knitted Knocker. And if you're a knitter, I certainly hope you will volunteer to make a few of these. If you do, be sure to go to the organization's website to find a zillion patterns (knitted or crocheted, and many options for how to make them) and a list of "approved yarns." Using only approved yarns is very important, as only certain fibers can be tolerated next to delicate and/or healing skin. Thank you for considering this! Here's the bag I sent to the organization this morning. It's absolutely stuffed to the gills with Knockers I've made while watching tv in the evenings. So easy to do, and so helpful to breast cancer survivors.   "More Wool Please," designer Lori Brechlin and punched by me, with a variety of embroidery threads (3 strands in an Unltrapunch medium needle) such as DMC and a variety of hand overdyed embroidery threads such as Wildflowers by Caron, Needle Necessities (long out of business) and others. Oh, this was fun to do. It has been a long time since I've done any punchneedle embroidery, and I enjoyed every minute of this. I've done a lot of my own designs but when I saw this pattern by Lori Brechlin of Notforgotten Farm I just couldn't resist. I recognize this sentiment as being universal to all rug hookers and rug punchers. Here's a shot of the piece before it was framed:  After all, a hooker can never have too much wool.
Off I went today to a local b&b owned by one of the Quabbin Rug Hookers. We hooked from 11-2 and really enjoyed ourselves at her unique and beautiful house on a gorgeous spring day.  And here are a few of the rugs-in-progress:  An exceptionally well-designed pattern (by Bea Brock) which will result in a gorgeous rug! Judy was just getting this underway today.
Judy was beginning this fabulous Bea Brock pattern and I love the colors she's using. This is going to be a stunning rug. Next (below), if you've been following the progress of Phyllis's "Zen Sand Garden" rug, here it is as of today. She's almost done! I'm loving this rug. It's Phyllis's original design, and she's been improvising with great success as she's been working on it.
Although we'd brought lunch, Lynda served a wonderful tomato soup and warm bread (yum). So filling. During lunch I had a chance to speak with Jane, a brand-new rug hooker. Here is Jane's maiden voyage (first rug); she was also testing out some frames today to decide which one she wants to buy...  A terrific first piece by Jane. I forgot to say that there were only five of us present today at Lynda's cozy house. I totally enjoyed being there and meeting her dogs Kiwi and Harry. Here is the progress on Lynda's Peace Pagada rug:
 I noticed this amazing piece on a wall and could not resist taking a photo of it. A Bacchanalia in the bathroom! Loved this. With thanks to Lynda for hosting, for all the "eye candy" at her house, and for inspiration from the other Quabbin rug hookers. Good food, good conversation, and good work today.
 Micron 01 and graphite. Tangles: Keeko, Soluna, Frunky. I'm not dithering, but the weather is. After yesterday's glorious sun and spring flower adventure (see the last post), today it's dull and starting to snow heavily. Every New England Spring is like this; the weather can't make up its mind. I got busy doing the latest It's a String Thing Challenge, from CZT Adele Bruno, based on the letter Pi. Click on that link and hop on over to the challenge page to read about Pi and have a chuckle. Also to see what everyone does with this string. You'll get an eyeful out of the way the same instructions turn out so differently when read by different people. Enjoy! In my last place of residence, the local homemade pie shop celebrated the letter Pi on March 14th annually with free pie. Yum. (See why March 14th is relevant by clicking on the link to the challenge page above.) So...watch the people walking into the Spring Bulb Show at Smith College. Everyone walking up to the door has a preoccupied or blank look; then as the door opens and they enter, the looks shift to shock, ecstasy, utter delight, and might even be accompanied by shrieks of, "Wow!" or, "Ahhhhhhh...!" as the scent of hundreds of hyacinths and a million other types of bulbs hits the nose. OMG, the smell, the fabulous smell. It hits you the moment the door opens and never quits as you view the show. It's the scent of Spring. There is just nothing like it. Below are some pictures, unfortunately unaccompanied by smell-a-vision. If only.  Walking in the door. Oh, to be able to share the scented air along with the view. I so wish.  A (dry) fountain just inside the door.  Ahhhhhhhhh...      This thing was the size of a pie plate. I felt as though we could climb in and sail away to another country inside it. Wow.  I could caption this, "Just when you think you've seen everything #1." I mean, a checkerboard flower?  Another in the "Just when you think you've seen everything #2" category. What the heck? (I should add that everything was clearly labeled but I was so drunk on the fabulous scent of so many bulbs that I couldn't bother recording names, all of which were in Latin anyway, rather than common names.)  Just plain fun.   The scent was so fabulous even the statues couldn't resist checking it out a bit closer.  And the scent was so fabulous some of the statues were getting slightly drunk from it. ...and tomorrow we are due to get a foot of snow. But what the heck--today proved that spring is on the way. Just outside the greenhouses I saw crocus and snowdrops blooming. It's on the way, it's on the way!
 Rose Tangle. 01 and 03 Black Micron Pens, graphite, Rainbow Lead Pencil, Prismacolor Pencils, White Gellyroll #10 pen. A page from my journal today. Not a masterpiece but at least it got me tangling and drawing, and I completely enjoyed doing it. And speaking of roses, kudos and roses to my buddy Cheryl the Rug Rescuer. She has just completed a commissioned rug rescue for someone she knows who brought her a half-finished rug. As I recall, there was no wool with it, just the unfinished rug, so Cheryl had to match wool as best she could. The pattern, I think, was drawn by a rug hooking teacher who was unable to continue hooking, so I believe it's an original. Anyway, I love this rug (below). Let's first look at the rug on the floor of Cheryl's drop-dead gorgeous Victorian living room; then I'll post a closer view.  That's the rug in the foreground above, but isn't the entire room just so beautiful? And here's a closer look at the rug itself:  What a beautiful design. Very sad that the designer wasn't able to complete it, but at least the Rug Rescuer got it done! Now here's the hard part: She has to give the rug away to the woman who brought it to her. I would have a lot of trouble giving something this lovely away. Now Cheryl is working on this wide-cut rug below (a real departure for her as she's not enthusiastic about hooking with wide cuts). I don't know whose design this is but it's very pretty: And yes, this is another Rescue Rug, started by someone before it was abandoned and turned over to her.  Quite unusual. I don't recall ever seeing this design before. Go Cheryl!
I haven't seen either piece in person yet; another friend took these photos for me (thank you, Kathleen). I'm hoping to see the actual rugs in person in a couple of weeks.  Just drawing repetitive lines is soooooooo relaxing. Any excuse to just do some linework and I can feel my breathing slow, my focus deepen, and the world falls away. A good thing to know about in these troubled times. At the museum, a troubled woman destroys a sand painting meticulously created over days by Tibetan monks. The monks are not disturbed. The work is a meditation. They simply begin again.
(Susan Griffin)  I really ought to stop worrying when I can't sleep. It always startles me when, after a night of insomnia, I continue to feel fine the following day. That's what happened here. I had 3 hours of sleep and got up at 6 a.m. I was tired the next day but not as tired as one might expect. A friend who looked at the tile below, which I finished at 3 a.m., commented that it appears the Mookas (the name of the tangle I used) are falling over until they finally collapse into sleep. A hilarious comment, something I'd never have thought of on my own. And true! It's not a masterpiece, certainly, but it was fun to do and very soothing. I went right to sleep afterwards.  Tangle: Mooka. Micron 01 in blue, and blue colored pencils. |
ABOUT ME I'm a textile artist (traditional rug hooking, punch needle rug hooking, and other textile arts), a long-time meditator, a certified meditation teacher and coach, and focused on learning about the interplay of art, creativity, and mindfulness every day. 
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SITES TO WATCH:
Insight Meditation Society Oxford Rug Hooking School Zentangle: The Official Site Green Mountain Rug Hooking Massachusetts Tarot Society 
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