boro, nearly there

Stitch by stitch

my Boro jacket is getting to the end,

"the end" that I think is the end

Originally boro is a kind of mending

old valued textile pieces.

To see some real boro, you have to look

at Stephen's blog "Sri "

(he has a gallery in New York, USA, 

were he has lots of antique Japanese textiles)

Of course you've realized by now my Boro isn't about mending

it's more about decoration, embellishment.

A certain kind of applique is used by Nadia 

She is a blogging friend I found (most probably ... I'm not quite sure ...)

through one of Jude Hill's classes.

I asked Nadia if I could try "her" technique 

on my jacket ...

She said I could !

;-)

So here is the result Nadia 

(still busy in the garden in the warm sunshine)

... and done !

Ha, I found another spot, at the bottom of the front 

that I wasn't very happy with :

so there will be a bit more "needle turn applique"

*

The rain on Tuesday gave a wonderful sight in the garden :

thousands of tiny droplets everywhere !

*

On Wednesday night we had a wonderful show in Rotterdam Luxor by 

Karin Bloemen 

O boy, she can sing ! 

... ánd she's funny too !

(it was a special show about the 125 year old theatre Carré in Amsterdam :

lots of famous diva's were impersonated by "La Bloemen" )

*

Late this evening I had to go behind my sewing machine :

I couldn't find the slipcover for the quilt

that is selected for the new book :

Art Quilts in Nederland  by Henk Lijding.

I have to bring the quilt to Gouda tomorrow,

where next Wednesday on May 1 the book is presented

and the exhibition starts !

(I'm thrilled !!!)

Monday blues

Some days you will remember,

some days you just would like to forget

Some days are good,

some are bad,

some have a bit of both

.....

*

There was sunshine today 

so there is more blue in the garden 

But there was more colour :

... and more blues (of another kind) :

left pocket entrance

right pocket entrance

and ...

the name 

(on the side seam)

(just some more "bits"  Lynne )

another week

Sometimes, time goes by so quickly it seems,

that it's hard to keep track 

of all the things 

you did

.....

There was this lovely day on Tuesday

when I went to the Boijmans Museum in Rotterdam, 

with my dear friend M.

as my birthday present 

;-)

Craftsmanship and artists through time 

Oooooh ... so many beautiful items.

GO THERE

if you can !

*

The garden is beginning to look blue again

with the sunshine we have
(from time to time)

*

I started some flower petals 

for my Boro jacket

(on the machine !)

... so not every piece of fabric I use is blue ...

...

And of course I have been stitching tiny stitches

.....

that was the week that was

boro boro

Handstitching 

is  s l o w  stitching

It's a kind of meditative activity

(though I lóve free stitching on my machine

this kind of boro stitching I'm doing now 

is really something else)

The loveliest piece of Megamendung silk Jude once send me

is like a pair of wings on the back of the jacket.

When it was glue-stitched I didn't like the way it suddenly stopped

at the edge of the silk strip that once became the top of an evening dress

.......

so I made white (silk) running stitches 

to connect it with the piece of embroidered cotton

that was intended to become a Mexican skirt

(but never wás one)

Sometimes the ideas that pop up in my head are so many,

the stitching just goes too slowly !!!

But now that a lot of pieces are attached to the background 

I can easier make my choices.

It really is FUN !

continuing boro

Still a bit weak, but I'm back !

Flu is such a silly illness 

(most of the time)

but it can knock you right of your socks

Now it's over, so : 

time to continue Boro

Ha, só many pieces have already been replaced,

which was to be expected, of course !

But the pieces at the bottom of the back I was sure about 

are now being "glued" to the fabric of the jacket

(noooo,  no real glue of course, but Jude's "glue-stitch" )

Raw edge or needle-turned, just as it goes

and then other stitches follow ...

Mmmmm, I love how the "pattern continues" 

from one piece of fabric to the next

The shibori : I purchaged from Glennis Dolce, 

who brought it with her from Japan,

(ouch ..... and I cut right into it ...)

the piece that it connects is from an old cushion cover 

I already cut into before :  for this

The eyes I found in the "Blaudruck" fabric are finished now 

and there will be a bit of colour in the flowers

Even a lot more colour on the top ánd the front of the jacket

(is my plan)

stitching boro

I think the title of the last post 

was a bit misleading :

I didn't mean to say that 

"boro is boring"

Oh no, on the contrary, I would rather say that

stitching boro is fun !

stitching has begun 

The jacket (of an expensive brand) which I bought during sale at the end of a season,

is very well made.

Before I started pinning pieces to the jacket

I undid the bottom seam of the lining.

Then I put a magazine inside so I won't get through and through

when pinning or stitching my dear scraps.

There is some wonderful original 

"Einbecker Blaudruck"

which I bought years ago when on holiday in Germany.

This Wittram family handprinting business 

uses the same old woodblocks 

that are in the family for hundreds of years !

I often took it in my hands, admired it, and put it back in the drawer,

but now there is a long strip of it all along the backside 

and another pattern, with much bigger flowers on it, at the bottom.

Ha, and when I was glue-stitching it I saw the 

eyes !

you will see them more clearly when móre stitching is done

The inchies, leftovers of some other project and some biscornu's

have found their place next to the entrance of the pocket. 

Yes

it really is fun.

(much like brighten up your old jeans in the 70's)

boro ? no : boring

Boro

was a word that didn't mean anything to me 

some time ago

...

Then I participated in Jude's on-line class

"Contemporary Boro"

Boro comes from the endless ongoing process 

of mending originally from Japan :

pieces of fabric were meticulously stitched 

onto garments with holes, tears or weak spots 

to give them a longer life

That is the kind of stitching Jude often uses in her work.

Making use of old pieces, little leftovers, 

recycling.

It's a fun way of merging all kind of scraps 

haphazardly into something new.

Ha, it's about time I start stitching again !!!

So I took this old jacket.  Any holes ? tears ? weak spots ?

NO a very neat tidy jacket !

but ... boring 

(from another era ...)

and therefore just the right thing for my project

Lots of scraps 

and pieces of fabric that are dear to me :

my contemporary Boro 

O yes, there will be lots of changes of plan along the line

pieces added, removed, replaced by others

it will be :

"just going"