Happy Summer Solstice
☀️☀️☀️
Hejsa!
Yesterday Blake woke us up around 5 AM. A bit early! But since it was the summer solstice I didn’t mind too much. Make the most of all those hours of daylight. :-)
Here is my textile pages for the solstice. The hand stitching is not completely finished as you can see. And I’m also pondering adding some more poppies on the left hand page.
It took me a while to decide on which flowers to include. There are lots of wild flowers at this time of year. Spoilt for choice! In the end I picked some favourites and some that I have been seeing on walks with Blake.
I love how the common mallow has turned out. It is one of my favourite wild flowers. And did you know that marshmallows get their name from this plant?
Figuring out how to make both the cornflower and the clover flowers took several tries. Of course, now the final versions seem so obvious. :-)
Can you spot the four leaf clover?
Making these pages is a fine balance between wanting the plants to be recognisable but not having to spend weeks trying to make them look just so. Over all, it is a fun challenge but sometimes I dread sitting down with my pages and pile of fabrics that may work.
But then I tell myself “just start”. Start with the things you already have an idea for how to make and then work towards the rest. And usually it works out in the end. Even if there is a pile of discarded cornflowers and clover flowers along the way…
“Just start” is a good mantra for a lot of projects… and who knows what may appear on the page or the needles along the way when you don’t have a specific plan or template. :-)
Have a lovely weekend!
x Carina
P.S. I hope you will join me for the slow stitching project that I’m sharing on YouTube. It’s all about celebrating summer-y things with fabric and thread. And anything else you want to add…
Some Things I Am Enjoying
Book: The Sewing Machine* by Natalie Fergie.
Watching: The (almost) full Moon!
Music: The album English Rain by Gabrielle Aplin.
Podcast: The Taskmaster Podcast. If you are a fan of the show, maybe give the podcast a listen!
*bookshop.org affiliate link.
Some Random Things From The Internet
On Twitter: Berry, Buck, Mills, Stipe - playing “Losing My Religion” together at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction. I miss R.E.M. so much.
If you miss R.E.M. too, you might like to watch this interview with them (all four!) from CBS Mornings.
On YouTube: Vocal Fry: what it is, who does it, and why people hate it!
Zaituna: Ceasefire. Stitch a cute cross stitch cat and support an animal rescue in Gaza.
A bunch of textile art books that look interesting.
On our morning walk yesterday, around 6AM:
Gorgeous!
This was a lovely essay. I enjoyed reading about how you do your art, and I appreciate the links you shared!