Stitches, Ants, and Bunnies

Dear Sarah - 034

February 3, 2025

Hi Nikki,

I can't match the -25 temperatures in Calgary, but it's been snowing for a few hours now, and it's cold (for Victoria). Lots of cars slipping and sliding down the hill from the Navy base when I went out earlier to go to my drawing class, which is a 25 minute drive away. When my car started slithering around (no salting, sanding or plowing had happened yet) I turned around, drove home and drew more boxes. I'm sure I'll get faster, once the angles become second nature, and it was fun filling a box with tiny bunnies.

A friend has asked me to embroider over some grease stains on her wide-leg jeans. She's a huge Frida Kahlo fan, so I'm going to try and stitch the top of Frida's head (from eyebrows up) with a crown of flowers on top of the lower stain, exploding into stems and more flowers up the leg to cover the upper stain! I'm not an expert embroiderer, but I can do basic stitches. See attached for some embroidered jean patches I made when I was in my early twenties, living on a converted fishboat. The little log cabin is still my dream home. I lived in something like it before we moved onto the boat. A tiny (1 room) cabin on stilts over Cowichan Bay (literally, the tide came up under us). It's in a painting by EJ Hughes called Beach at Cherry Point. I've attached a detail of the painting.

Dear Sarah - February 3, 2025

I LOVE those embroidery patches!! I had no idea you stitched - drawing with thread!

Another insanely busy day today - with almost no time at all to sit and draw. And so, I see your bunnies and counter with some ants from an old sketchbook…

Tomorrow is another day.