I make marks on cloth. I do this slowly, stitch by stitch, then pull the stitches tight and knot before dyeing. This is the ancient method of stitch-resisted shibori. Removing the stitches reveals patterning, planned and unplanned. The planned provides a degree of order, but it is the unplanned surprises that make all the difference. Most pieces beg for color and I add it in multiple layers of dye. I layer these pieces with plain cloth and batting to give body to the work and add marks to the surface with hand stitches that hold the layers together.

These pieces become a record of my days. The final work has stitches next to marks left by stitches since removed, perhaps in the way one might see a snail next to a fossil of a snail or admire the laugh lines on a face that add history to a smile.