serendipity

Pile of scraps

This latest exploration has me excited about the possibilities. I start with a pile of scraps. Stitch them randomly together, slice and restitch, slice and restitch, trim, iron, trim to 4" squares. (oh such fun to use rotary cutter randomly, no measurements -- just the feel of the wheel on the cutting surface.....)

The resulting compositions of floating and jagged objects start speaking to each other when placed in groups. Like shards of reality exploding in a shattering space. The scraps in this case are from a linen table cloth and some black kona cotton.

linen squares

I created 49 squares and assembled them into a grid with more black cotton yesterday. Some of them are a little wonky and I had to trim overly thick seams down to size before the final trim. I gave up being perfectly flat a while ago in an effort to respect the character of the fabric. I may even intentionally unravel some of the edges. Or hand sew some suture lines when I see a wounded piece. I will probably battle some of the bias edges when I start to stitch. But I love their texture, and the randomness of the pieces and I suspect that the wonkiness will add to the character of the piece.

Now, another what if process...What if I create tangent lines next to all of the floating black objects? Let them travel across the piece to intersect willy-nilly with other floating black objects.....

You can see the start of that stitching on this shot. Many more lines to go. I am using a variegated thread that goes from black to white. Love how sometimes it looks like a little spark is ignited where the white threads hit each other.

You can see the start of that stitching on this shot. Many more lines to go. I am using a variegated thread that goes from black to white. Love how sometimes it looks like a little spark is ignited where the white threads hit each other.

It is cold and shattery outside this week. Lovely ice for inspiration. And such a good reason to stay inside and work on new ideas.

It is cold and shattery outside this week. Lovely ice for inspiration. And such a good reason to stay inside and work on new ideas.