I love September. Some may think I’m crazy, but I gladly welcome the cooler and grayer days, earlier evenings, and the sudden sense of sharpness in the atmosphere. Among other things, it brings a renewed energy to the studio.

No matter what the season, it’s always a treat to watch the colors change and evolve, but late August through November is special. Lower in the sky now, the sun casts everything in a richer light. The garden is beginning to wind down and in a month or so, after a couple of weekends of fall clean-up, I will be able to plant my garlic and call it a season, leaving more time to concentrate on stitching and drawing.

Detail 1

I am continuing to explore this idea of transition in my current piece (what you see here are detail images from it that are about 12 x 15 inches each). I am incorporating layers of silk organza that have been hand-stitched and then dyed to create lines and swoops of pattern. As the pieces are laid over one another, interesting variations in color and depth are appearing and the passage from one section to the next is becoming the meat of the piece.

Detail 2

I am at the point of starting to puzzle out how I am going to push this idea further — how to create an interaction between the dyed patterns and the embroidery that will be laid on top.

Stay tuned.