Munich New Years Eve

Happy New Year! I hope that the coming year proves healthy, creative and happy for everyone. I tried to capture New Years Eve from the 11th floor in Munich for you but I think it is pretty impossible to do so. Here are a few images though that may give you an idea.....

At 10pm, families from the neighboring building gather in the hof.  The kids have sparklers and stand at a distance as a few of the men shoot off fireworks.

I am pretty sure that the kids are young and therefore this private firework display earlier in the evening.  I suppose the parents hope that the kids will be asleep when the noise really starts.  This year though I think the noise at midnight would have waken even the soundest of sleepers.

You can see that the fireworks explode right between buildings.  The balcony decorated with blue Christmas lights is the 11th floor.  Yes, we are eye-level with alot of the explosions....and ear-level I might add.

Off our balcony, we have quite the display from the neighboring 6floor building.  Their fun goes on for an hour at least, not only with firecrackers and fireworks but music as well.

I just cannot capture the entire view with my camera.  Well before midnight, all over the city clear to the horizon, the fireworks can bee seen and heard.  The whole area explodes with lights and noise.  Most of the lights in this image are fireworks.  After about a half an hour though, only the red ones could be seen as the smoke was so thick.

Even through the smoke, the closer ones were vivid.

I could watch for an hour....my neck doesn't get sore from having to look up.  It was an awesome celebration this year in Munich!

Hardanger - I See Red

I started this piece on November 7th. It's fun and bright. I see it as a crazy winter kind of piece.

Most of the stitching is completed although not in the upper left corner, as you can probably tell.

As you know, after the stitching comes the cutting.  Then the wrapping.  There's just one part that has been cut and wrapped at this point....the upper right corner.  I had to order more thread so I did a little cutting and wrapping there while I waited.  I have lots of things to try out with the wrapping as I discovered lots of new things in the three 'Anna Special Hardanger' magazines that I finally tracked down over here.   If you do hardanger, you definitely need to get at least one of these magazines.  In my opinion, with these magazines, you never need another reference guide nor will you ever need to get any more patterns or patterns for ideas.  There's enough stuff in these magazines to last a life-time of hardangering.  ha ha  Is that a word??!!

Yei Interpretation Finished

I'm back! And I am pleased to post pictures of Yei Interpretation, the finish.  I never lost interest in this piece.  In fact, I enjoyed every single stitch.

If you looked at some of the Yei rugs and pictures, you will see right away that my yeis are in line with traditional depictions and yet, also my very own interpretation.

The long green with yellow dividers between each yei represent corn as does their ceremonial staffs.  The small beaded symbols in the middle of the dividers are each out of Indian lore.

Although the colors may not be typical of the wonderful traditional Indian woven rugs, my color schemes add a modern and bright aspect to my interpretation.

Each yei has a necklace complete with actual rocks and minerals.  The necklaces are free-flowing meaning they aren't tacked down so the piece has movement.

The staffs are also adorned with stones.  These are all uniform in type whereas the necklace stones are made to match the color of the clothing and headband.

This pictures is kind of goofy but it goes to show how large the piece is.  It makes a very nice table runner although I don't know if that's what it actually is.  The edging is finished so that it can lay without worry of unraveling or anything but I can also see that this piece would do nicely in a frame as well.

This piece didn't take as long as I thought so I have a new project to take me through the new year.   Of course, I'll be sharing it with you as it progresses.

Yei Interpretation - first pictures of border

After much deliberation, I selected the border from my first sketches for this piece.  It is simple and yet relates well to the stitching.

I'm not quite sure how I will do the corners yet.  And, as always, the cutting and wrapping will be done later.

I may also do an edging around the whole thing so that I can cut it out.  What do you think of that idea?
It probably isn't going to be something that I actually want to lay down but I don't necessarily want to have it be a 'must' to hang.

Yei Interpretation

Congratulations to Felix Baumgartner on a fantastically exciting and record breaking jump!

 I wanted to get these pictures posted before Mom and Dad meet Sue and Steve. That sort of sounds like a movie title but it's not.  It's an actual event and I am sure there will be lots to talk about with Susan's latest accomplishments, awards and shows.  But maybe they will all have time to look at my blog and see my progress.

The basic stitching is now done on my Yeis.

I absolutely love them.  I love their individuality and their similarities.

I love the stitching and the whole concept.

I will now start working on the border.  The beading is last, of course.  So stay tuned and thanks for looking!

Yei Interpretation progress

All six of the Yei are now on the piece. I am working on the hardanger dresses now.  It's a fairly large piece. I haven't decided what kind of border it will have yet but it's still a long way from being done so I guess I don't have to make that decision right away.

Yei Interpretation Progress

I wanted to share my progress on Yei Interpretation.  I love my yeis.  In total, there will be six of them.  There are differences and similarities and it is true, the spirit of the yeis seems to really be growing with the piece.

I did some of the detailing on the first yei as far as the dress goes.  I really think it looks neat.
I still haven't decided how I am going to bring the white necks out but I'm working on it.

And if you were wondering, of course they are color coordinated!  Even a Yei wants to look good!

Hardanger - A Yei Interpretation

This is my current project, inspired by Navajo rugs. These intriguing rugs are strongly representative of the Navajo culture. A 'Yei' is a supernatural holy person who communicates between the Navajo and their gods. Navajo ceremonials center on on a desire for healing, not only physical health but also mental, emotional, spiritual, and even material well-being. These holy people are believed to restore health when called upon in a properly conducted ceremony. (from A Guide To Navajo Rugs, written by Susan Lamb.)

I am combining Hardanger with embroidery. The fabric is 28 or 32 Belfast Linen. No, it isn't evenweave...I didn't have any. The threads are varied, including Pearl Cotton 8 and 12 and also coton a broder 25 which is what I can get over here. I also plan to have some beading. Of course, the Hardanger cutting and finishing along with the beading will be the last I do.  This is my own design. I've been working on it for months in my mind, on paper and also on model samples.

I don't think there is any right or wrong when depicting a Yei.  I have drawn inspiration from many samples.  If you want to see more, there are hundreds of Yei images available.  Let me know what you think!

The Blue Project - Hardanger

Started in April, I finished my current piece which I call The Blue Project.  It is an adaptation of one of the pieces in Gems of Hardanger Embroidery by Mildred Torgerson.  

  

It's about the size of a regular table placemat.

 It is the most detailed hardanger piece I've ever done.  I make a very bad cutting mistake (yikes!) but corrected it the best I could.  The corrections aren't perfect but much better than throwing the whole thing away because of them!  I won't point them out....find them if you'd like!

 I thought the edge turned out really well.  I handstitched around the edging to add support.

 Normally, one doesn't show the back of the piece but since this isn't framed, people can easily flip it over and look at the back for themselves.  So, why not just show it.  It turned out pretty good anyway I think.

 Close up of the middle part.

Close up of the edge.

I am now ready for a break from big projects.  I've done, I believe, three hardanger pieces in a row.  Now, it's time to do some small things for a while.  

Come Ride With Me