Monday, January 10, 2022

Nourishment


Nourishment

I needed to nourish my soul with this creative out taking.  A few weeks ago, my hubby was working in Georgia as a contractor when he collapsed twice due to Pulmonary Embolisms that developed in both lungs. I was in CA at our home with my son. We called the paramedics. They arrived and transported him to the hospital where he spent 5 days in Critical Care. I flew out the next day. After given the ok with the Cardiologist, my son flew out and drove my hubby home through snow, winds, tornado warnings, a stolen catalytic converter, and rain. I had flown home. We are now all happy to be home together doing a bunch of nothing…just enjoying life. 


While visiting him in CC I walked by a door with the word “Nourishment”. Its not a word you see much these days and I found it that it covered all of the feelings I had been going through. We all need "nourishment" when times are difficult. It could be  a helping hand, a hug, a prayer,  or a creative output, these are the things that get us through difficulty. I felt this was the best action although I made a huge mess in my hubby's rented cabin! 


The first part of this journey is on Stencil Girl Talk starting on Jan. 10th. I designed 3 stencils based on my love of all things succulents! Tune in for that tutorial first. At the end of this blog post is my short video showing the completed book...scroll down....






I started out gluing Tyvek strips to the folds of each page to strengthen them. The old papers from the Westinghouse manual were a bit fragile. 

I made a jig to punch holes at the fold of each page using an awl that my 
friend Al Rodriguez made. 



The linen cover called out for color. Using water soluble pencils, I added bold colors to the stencil images. 

With all of the signatures lined up, I started the stitching. This is a French Link stitch method best described by Kristi here  and on her blog  You can even buy her a coffee while supporting her feed! 


The stitch involves "linking" the signatures together forming
 a wonderful pattern. 


I also added some embroidery to the cover. This will be an ongoing process for me...



and finally.. my book..enjoy...












Here's the link to my video