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Can you hear Elton John singing it? "Saturday, Saturday...Saturday night's alright..." Actually it was the day that was alright but that's beside the point. I'm testing some colors for possible use in an upcoming oriental rug, and here's what I've got so far. First I had to make some skeins:  Here I am using a niddy-noddy (yep, that is what they're called) to make a skein from a 5 pound cone of rug yarn, in order to test dye a certain color. I made 2 skeins.  Results: the colors look perfect so far but they'll dry lighter and it's already nighttime here so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to really see what I have. If acceptable, I'll make them into balls and give them a test drive, punching them onto the oriental pattern to see if they can work. "Niddy-noddy, niddy-noddy...two heads, one body. Tis one, ’tain’t one, ’twill be one soon ’Tis two, ’tain’t two, ’twill be two soon ’Tis three, ’tain’t three, ’twill be three soon …" This is one version of an incredibly old counting rhyme I first learned back in the 1960s when I was first introduced to the tool (niddy-noddies were in use as early as 800 A.D.). To find out more, click HERE. No, I am not in Nova Scotia. But since I'm useless as a cook (food cook), I thought I'd cook some yarn today for a textile project. The color is from a recipe called Nova Scotia Blue. What fun!    I'll have a relaxing day and then go out to a local restaurant with friends for a traditional U.S. Thanksgiving Dinner with all the fixings. Therefore, the fact that I'm hopeless at cooking - except for cooking yarn - won't matter one bit. I am grateful for good friends and for the privilege of enough health, enough time, enough money, and enough shelter. So many folks do not have any of these. May all beings have enough food to eat today. I know that is not true for a great many in this troubled world. May we all have at least that much and more, on this American Thanksgiving holiday.  First Draft. See below for final.  Mandala on gray Zendala tile using Blue Micron 01, graphite, white Gellyroll, white chalk pencil, watercolor. Tangles are Ratoon (a variation) and Pepper. Plus a few random lines.  Gray tile, black Micron PN, graphite, white chalk pencil, white gellyroll. Tangles are Ratoon, Flux, A-Frame, Tipple. This is based on a class ZenLinea posted on the SkillShare website. My further experiment with it is below. A friend stopped by my house today, exhausted and distraught, sharing a very sad but very familiar story of serious family trouble. I think I may have been the first person outside the family she told. There was nothing I could do but listen. I can only hope that being present with her, and listening, was enough to help. She was here for hours. After she left I had to help myself, so I did this "variation," of the tile above, experimenting with what I'd learned in Zen Linea's class to produce this on a Bijou tile (2"x2"):  Bijou (2"x2") Renaissance (tan) tile, Brown Micron 01, brown colored pencils, graphite, white chalk pencil, white gellyroll. Tangles are a variation of Ratoon, a variation of A-Frame, and Flux. Listening with loving-kindness was the only thing I could do.
I am frequently reminded, as I hear other people speak of what they are going through, of how fortunate I really am. I am grateful for my life, with all its warts and minor upsets and imperfections. And with all its privilege and grace. Compared to what some of those who matter to me are going through, I often feel like the luckiest person on earth. May she and her family heal. May all those who suffer heal. May all of us know peace.  Dutch Tulip, punch needle embroidery on weaver's cloth, using an UltraPunch needle set on #2 and hand-dyed fingering yarns (100% wool). Pattern from The Old Tattered Flag. 9.5"x12.5" I do love punch needle embroidery. This is my wildly different interpretation of The Old Tattered Flag's Dutch Tulip Pattern. I needed to be doing something that was meditative during the last couple of weeks, and this fit the bill.  Brown and black Micron 01s, graphite, white chalk pencil. It's been a hard week. I'll leave it at that.
I've used the title "Perseverence Furthers" once before, but it never more true than when I did this tangle:  Done for the Inktober Project 2019. Tangles are: Crescent Moon (day 27), Ratoon (day 26), Tripoli (day 25), Henna Drum, and Kuke (day 29). Micron 01 in black, graphite. It started out as a hot mess about 3 or 4 days ago. Instead of giving up on it, I kept leaving it and coming back to it, adding a few things here and there until today when I declared it finished. I wanted to keep it all black and white (color can hide a lot of mistakes) and I'm glad I did. I'm also glad I stuck with it. It's no work of genius but it's way, way better than when I started! "Try again. Fail again. Try better."
(Samuel Beckett)  I have two partly-finished textile projects underway. One is the punch needle embroidery piece above (this is a partial photo of the edge of the piece--just a teaser). I'm liking it a lot.
The other is a rug. I'm getting pretty close to finishing the rug, but don't want to show it until it's done. There's quite a story behind it and I look forward to sharing that. And I just finished punching a 16" square piece that will become a pillow. As soon as I get it into the pillow form, I'll reveal that one as well. Lots of textile work going on around here. Feels good.  Tangle titles are below. All these were done on 2x2" Renaissance (tan) tiles with Micron 01 in Black, graphite, and white chalk pencil. These were all quick tangle "studies" done for Inktober 2019. On the upper left is the tangle Baton, done for day 28. Upper right is the tangle Abundies, done for day 22. Center tile is Dreamdex, done for day 19, and lower left is Pixiose, done for day 23. The one on the lower right is the tangle Kaas, which I showed and described in the previous post. None of them took long and they were quite fun to do. Experimenting maximizes the fun, since the results don't matter. Charles Darwin (to whom I am NOT comparing myself) said, "I love fools' experiments. I am always making them." Let's hear it for screwing up, flubbing it, being imperfect. Much of my drawing is like this, and yet, somehow I like it anyway. I will never be perfect. But I'll be "good enough" for me and will have fun along the way. Below is a practice tile (a Bijou tile, only 2"x2") for a new-to-me tangle called Kaas. I had a rough time with this one and ended up adding a lot of rounding (rounding is a Zentangle® technique which does what it sounds like--you "round" sharp corners) which can hide a plethora of errors.  My far-from-perfect first try at Kaas. On a Renaissance Bijou tile with Micron 01, graphite, white chalk pencil. Convinced I'd do a better job on my second try, I used a regular (3.5"x3.5") white tile for my entry in the Full Moon Mosaic Project for this month. Nope, just as imperfect, and even more flubbed-up in some ways. Again, I used lots of rounding.  Tangles: Kaas, Rixty, Tipple. Micron 01 in black, graphite, white chalk pencil. I had fun, however, and I like it anyway. If you have read this far, you probably can relate to what I'm saying.
"My mistakes are my life." --Samuel Beckett |
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. 
Certified, 2021
Certified Unified Mindfulness Coach Level I, 2024
Certified Zentangle® Teacher, 2013
Certified by AmyOxford.com at The Oxford Rug Hooking School, 2016
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Insight Meditation Society Oxford Rug Hooking School Zentangle: The Official Site Green Mountain Rug Hooking Massachusetts Tarot Society 
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