Thank you, Japan.

In accordance with my family of origin's history the Olympic Games have always been a presence in my life. For many years I would watch a good part of the coverage if possible, although over the last two decades I would probably choose to go and exercise myself rather than watching some competition on TV.  Last year I was all in favor of postponing the Games due to the pandemic, and I am very much in favor of Japan's recent decision to ban visitors from the stadium. The soccer European Championship has shown how unwise a decision it has been to permit large numbers of spectators, numbers of infections that are traced back to those soccer matches are terrifying. Is this what we all have been making sacrifices for? Yes, we all want a normal life back. But is this what we want - another season of lockdowns after a few soccer matches and a week on the beach? I am appalled at the recklessness of people who are now complaining that their holidays in Spain may have to be followed by two weeks in quarantine. What did they expect? 

I had a furious husband to deal with this morning, he is fearing that a canoe building course he has signed up for in September and which would be the first thing for him to get him 'out' since March '20 (at least nine interesting concerts he wanted to visit have been canceled, and some of these won't be refunded) and he was threatening to get really mad if that course would have to be canceled because everybody now wants to go back to normal and caution is being thrown out the door. I have to say, I was rather helpless - of course I understand his frustration. But why yell at me...?

I have had very busy weeks with studying for the final exams that are coming up week after next, so not a whole lot of stitching has been going on. But I did receive note yesterday that my SAQA benefit auction piece indeed arrived on time. So I can now show a picture of it here.

text messages - but to be honest, I have lost track of the
numbers of pieces in that series of mine...

I also started a new piece because the SAQA regional zoom meeting on Monday is going to be about 'what's on my wall right now', and I was the one who suggested that topic. So I figured I needed to be able to present something myself. Since last year's benefit auction piece I have been meaning to take up that method again, weaving those strips of silk as I did for the small piece "Love. Protect. Repeat." as was shown here. It hasn't really progressed terribly far yet, but I like the way it's going, and that it is taking on a life of its own. I put in pieces of African fabrics that had been biding their time, and there is a bit of brocade I bought in Jerusalem, Old Town, sharing it with Yemima. Too precious to cut up, but it will be a wonderful addition here.

Looking forward to see how it will develop.

Being a student again

When I was having a severe creative slump in early March I decided on the spur of the moment to sign up for a class with Pascale Goldenberg that came across my way unexpectedly. Of course, by the time that it actually came around, it didn’t fit in well at all amongst all the things that have been going on – but because it had been paid for I went nevertheless. And I am glad I did.

I had already taken a class with her about ten years ago and knew that she is good for getting one’s creative mind moving in new directions. Ever since that class I have been a hoarder of anything larger than a square inch. (Although a few months ago I did finally throw out the cut offs of threads which I had been sorting by color in jam glasses.) So packing was easy - all my boxes of assorted scraps, with a few strips thrown in as well.

Pascale uses leftovers of all kinds, and she gets them from tailors and various other places. So her work looks decidedly different from any other patchwork, already because she uses other fabrics. Add to that her creativity...

Pascale Goldenberg,
explaining how to treat pieces of fabric
before using them in patchwork weaving

This class that I signed up for is called “Patchwork Weaving”.

We started off with a “straight” weaving exercise - no two pieces were allowed to be alike either in fabric or in ways how they had been treated prior to using.

Then we were supposed to get more complicated by including round or awkwardly cut strips.

And finally we were supposed to weave something which was then meant to be cut up again to be included in another design. I wasn’t allowed to cut this one up, though, I have to repeat the exercise for homework...

It was great to be a student again. And this class may well enter into my attempts at working smaller pieces. I am curious myself to see how.