I always make mistakes, but if it's not noticeable, then I just leave it and make it mine. What thread was there some discussion about leaving something unfinished? I have torn out stitches, or rows of crochet before though.
I must ask DDIL about the special woven fabric from the town where they lived in Japan. It's absolutely exquisite! This brain though, is like a sieve sometimes. That's why I was interested in the nuido. I especially like things Japanese. Gift-giving is a very BIG deal over there, so on my second trip to visit DS and DDIL I had done a cross-stitch for the owners of the hotel where we stayed gratis. My son had been their son's english tutor. Anyway, months after my return home I received in the mail a Japanese doll that the 80 something grandmother had made for me. I treasure it. I look forward to a day when I can visit there again.
I agree, that is an heirloom that you are making.
jan
Happy Birthday, Harper - Part 7
So glad the photos have been enjoyed. I've been preening over compliments. lol
Carrie, the photos of the squares are just quilts and not nuido. Perhaps I'll post the silk embroidery and other hand pieces at another time. I have an embroidered prayer shawl from a museum show that has recently come back. It was a commission from seven years ago. With nuido you come to realize that no one cares about how creative, brilliant, and rebellious you are. So, do you want to express yourself, or do you want to become a learner? It's all about following the rules. Very hard for self-proclaimed individualists and the Western mind to wrap around.
Thank you Celeste and Louise. I do classes on color.
Jan, I'm the one that mentioned mistakes are a part of your history. We all make them. We should spend more time moving forward and less trying to blot out our mistakes.
Laurel
Sorry, Laurel, I went back and reread and figured it out. So the beautiful squares are part of a Southern garden favorites quilt. You deserve to preen!
Wow! Beautiful Laurel.
Carrie, did you say you used to be a hooker?
Not exactly, David.
I was, but I kept getting entangled. I gave up hooking for being stretched across a frame.
L
Laurel, that nuido is amazingly beautiful. I especially like the three-dimensional texture of it. Oh, I could never do anything as intricate as that.....I would love to see some of yours. I also like that philosophy re: making mistakes.
Harper - think you're coming up on a Big One???? Well, here's a shot of my garden mentor, good pal who turned 99 today. We had a fun luncheon to celebrate her today. She is really an amazing, youthful woman who always says something informed and relevant. She is also wonderfully irreverant and fun. Glorious, beautiful day to turn 99!
Louise, please wish your mentor a happy belated bithday wish from south jersey.
Happy, getting-closer-to-your birthday Harper
Wow! Look how much I missed in a couple of days. Laurel, your quilting is gorgeous. How do you do it all and still have time to garden and maintain your life? I've never been able to figure that one out.
Yes, Louise. The big 40 is coming up. From what y'all have told me, I'm really looking forward to it, too! Happy Birthday to your garden mentor!!!
Amazing how spooky-quiet this place is. Nice and sunny up here, Texas off-grid, everyone is talking home generators even here. Praying for friends in other parts of the country ... and, Happy Birthday, Harper!
Louise, Happy birthday to your mentor!
Laurel, I believe you have had an interesting life!
And Laurel ... I admire your sense of humor.
Happy 'Almost Birthday Again', Harper!
David, you think so?
Louise, would you be open to catering my 99th BD? Looks like a good time. Did you bake that pretty cake?
Harper, thanks, but this life is not "maintained". A major Fall clean up is in order (I'm referring to me, not the garden). I'm warming up for your birthday which is the day after DH's. He has a big decade turner coming up too. Such a hottie for an old toot!
Thanks Candyce. I've missed you. Hope all's well your way. Humor, in my opinion, is a philosophy of life. FYI Dave, I have had and intend to have more of the same. Don't think there are options when it's all a matter of perspective.
A few nuido?
A detail. As an explanation, the threads are silk floss and gold. The shapes are padded below with silk in an alternate direction or twisted cotton. The varying textures of thread are created by twisting the silk floss using ancient "recipes".
L
So here you can see that one flower is made with silk floss and gold, intertwined, and the other is the same silk twisted. The neighboring design is made by layering.
L
Laurel, your nuido is spectacular. Rats, I forgot again to ask DDIL about the fabric from the region they lived in Japan. Love the colors. What is the size of that piece? How many hours of love do you have in that?
Re: major fall cleanup. I just got my hair cut the shortest it has ever been. I was anxious about the reaction at my house between my mom and DH. Both had favorable reactions, so maybe it will be a keeper. I am still getting used to it. Just like our gardens we need to do renovations and maintenance on ourselves. Boy, don't I wax eloquent. lol. Now, I just need to do it. Does anybody ever concentrate on others so much that you neglect yourselves?
Happy getting-closer-to-your-birthday, Harper.
Jan
Here is a detail of the gold work. Gold and silver thread are too heavy to stitch through, so it is stitched down, at a right angle, using the traditional red thread. Red is supposed to make gold look "hotter". These are stitched on Japanese silk kimono and obi fabric (sold by the inch).
I am speechless!!! This is absolutely exquisite. Wow! I will be looking at this alot. Thank you for sharing. I have a grin from ear to ear. :)))
Thanks Jan. Each piece is around fourteen inches and takes about three months to six months if it is worked on almost daily. I would love short hair, but mine is always flying in strange directions. I'm beginning to think I look like a really bad, gray imitation of Cher (with nails like the local Jiffy Lube guy). In fact, my legs looked just like that Big Foot they found near me just a week ago!
Here's an embroidery that speaks to the value of knowledge.
Here is a detail of the wonderful gold and silver "coins" from heaven. Also, the chrysanthemum flower is highly revered. I am just a student, so I wish the angles of my twists expressed more flow in the petals.
Another detail of leaves and favored shapes. Please know that I am just the stitcher and student. We are not allowed to design anything. I have just reached a level where I am allowed to select a few colors for my pieces. Color is also very directed. I've been studying for over five years.
L
Cherry blossoms show how fleeting life, and beauty, is. A recurrent theme.
L
Going back to the fan, here is another detail.
I have quilt photos too, but don't want to clog the thread. Thanks for sharing one of my other interests.
Laurel
Oh, wow, Oh wow! Nice work!!
AHHH, books. I can get lost in them.
Is the stuffing under the stitches on the front side or the back side! Yes, everything has a meaning. I am sure it is hard to learn all the nuances of things we take for granted.( like handing something to someone - it needs to be done in the correct manner, or like you said colors have special meaning as well as numbers) I'll have to ask DDIL if she knows about nuido.
Again, thank you for sharing in this passion of yours.
jan
Amazing!
Your talent is remarkable, Laurel. I can't decide which I prefer, the bright, flowery complicated summery ones or the subtle, gorgeous, complicated Atlanta ones, but luckily I don't have to. It's all beautiful.
The cherry blossoms photo is beautiful. I am in awe of this stitchery.
Me too, love the cherry blossoms and am awe-struck. You could sell that for big bucks Laurel.
And pay for the new chimbley?
I am overwhelmed with all the niceness here and DMs from non-posters. Wow! I am just a student guys. Jan, I too love books. We get to pick from a larger pool of designs as we move up in levels. I picked the books and scrolls. I am very honored to have stitching pieces in several collections but have only let go of one nuido piece. It is in the collection of an Atlanta physician who spent her childhood in Japan. What an honor to have one of my pieces become a part of her collection! I have had other offers, but they are not for sale at this time.
Jan, The padding is always on top and the knots are buried on top as well. Much of the technique and meanings drifted from India to China and then to Japan. For some reason we are particularly valuing all things Japanese the last decade or so.
Pixie, I bought a second fig to keep my brown Turkey company here at Maypop. It is a 'Celeste'. We will call her Pixie in your honor. I have sold work for "big bucks" over many years. I did much better in the stock market.
Back to books. I checked out a library book last year on "golden lilies". Can't remember the title or the author, but it's about foot binding in China. The bound feet were called golden lilies. So, because I have a Chinese connection, my oldest GF (since babyhood) gave me "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" for a BD gift in June. I had just finished a history of England that took months to read. This book is a great one or two day read. I'm recommending here.
It's amazing how the padding and knots are buried on top. I know that doctor cherishes her treasure.
I saw an xray of a bound foot. What a horrific sight!!! It's a wonder they could walk at all. Oh, now my feet hurt.
How thoughtful to call her "Pixie". Aren't DG friends the best? I am so glad I found this site.
What a beautiful quilt!
Harper, your birthday is right around the corner. What are you thinking, doing or planning? After a year of thread bumps, what are you wishing for? We need to start planning your party. I think you may me traveling during your BD time, so lets plan an after-party, okay? I'll cater.
L
Harper, I am here and then gone. Promise to be an eleventh hour for your fortieth. Another that is a detail.
L
So you can see a bit more.
This is the it.
Oh, that is so gorgeous. At this point, I have no plans for my birthday. Well, other than going to New Hampshire for the RU.
Wow! the detail on that is spectacular. If I ever have the opportunity, I'd love to sit together for a week, quilting side by side with you.