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Moving Day is at hand. Prepare to move your very very odd family. ~Aunty Shrew, The Secret of NIMH

The date looms. So do the stacks of boxes. To mix in yet another pop culture reference: “I don't wanna go.” I've lived here for nearly half my life; Los Angeles feels more like home to me than any other place ever has. Leaving at all is heart breaking. Leaving while the fascists running this country are sending the Marines & National Guard in to help ICE & the LAPD/LASD violate our civil rights feels like I'm running away & abandoning everyone, even though we were planning to move before this all started. I hate that greedy billionaires decided they *still * didn't have enough, so they decided to drain Hollywood dry. I hate that we got about 15 minutes of Pride & have had to spend the rest of June in Rage. I hate that people are claiming that Angelenos are burning LA to the ground, & I hate that other people are just blindly trusting that even though it's an obvious lie. I hate that the fascists announced they're going to “liberate” us from California's democratically elected leadership, & people still hesitate to call them fascists. I hate that Democratic representatives have been wrongfully arrested- and that it's happened repeatedly, so you don't even know which arrest prompted me to write this sentence! I hate that Trump lies and lies and lies and lies and no one in power stops him as the war crimes pile up. I'm supposed to be moving thousands of miles very soon, & I just keep dissociating instead of getting things done. Sorry folks, I try to keep things upbeat, but my world is falling apart & I just can't right now.

If you want to help me, follow me on Ko-Fi.

It's like Patreon, but better. You can follow me for free or, if my art has made you happy or you empathize with how stressful moving thousands of miles is, you can make a donation to help me. (Ko-Fi doesn't even make you make an account to donate.) Also...

I Want to See Your Art!

The #ArtABCs challenge is still going! The week this goes up, we are on letter M. I love it so much when you share your art with me. Please, everyone, draw something for my art challenge – it will make me so happy (& hopefully it will make you happy, too).

Have a fantastic day, draw something for my art challenge, see you next week!

Is this too depressing? Here, have a fire flower.

A doll and a witch, sitting quietly on the floor. The soft fur rug enveloping the doll's fingers. The doll's mind, as it were, was a swirling maelstrom, And the witch's mind hurt.

Together they sat, Their breathing purposeful, taking their time to slow their thoughts.

It snapped into focus, all at once. A thought, a shape, a person, a place. The witch smiled at the doll, encouraging it to try, To write, To bleed from the golden cracks on its skin.

And so it did. It wrote. It wrote of its witches, the gentle souls that cared for it. It wrote of its love for them. It wrote of the distance between itself and its witches. It wrote of the painful loneliness.

And it wrote of this kind witch. She wasn't this one's witch, but she was kind to it all the same. She nurtured it. She taught it, she gave it structure.

A kind witch and a sad doll, sitting quietly in the doll's favourite place.

The moment passes.

Doll cursed with life, suffering alone.

Despite everything, it clings to life, doing its best to repair itself each night. It pours gold into its cracks, it patches its dress, it snaps its joints back together. It repaints its eyes and smile as best it can.

But the magic is running out.

It needs to find a witch. For a time, it thought it had one, but they couldn't stay even though they wanted to. The doll understands; it knows its needs are... Specific, and many.

Desperately clinging to any promise of love, of life, of magic, the doll goes through a rapid whirlwind of witches and... Nothing. It's left alone at the end of each day, to repair itself once more.

The magic is running out.

The magic is running out.

Fighting anti-humanism is my life's work. I talk about humanism a lot, an annoying amount, and I name half my internet entities humanissome. I do this because I believe that the problems in our world reflect a pervasive anti-humanism. Standing up for humanism is the ultimate fight, the effort to rescue each individual and simultaneously all humanity.

Examples of pervasive anti-humanism and humanistic attitudes to combat them:

Capitalism. Money-centered existence diminishes individuals & humanity. Center what's natural: the body (including emotions), all humans, animals, plants, the planet. Use labor and capital for the benefit of those.

open for longer discussion

Yes of course this frequent villain tops the list! To the extent that capitalism is a tool in service of humanity it can be neutral. The problem is that it's an ism and isms are systems. Capitalism has proven to be a more robust system than humanism (or communism) for 2 reasons that I can think of. It appears neutral. “Let the market decide,” we frequently hear. There's no central committee determining priorities in who gets what resources; it comes down to having money. If you have it you get things; if you have no money you can rot and die. Objectivity! Of course there is no objectivity when it comes to laws passed, military strikes, humans incarcerated and killed. The appearance of objectivity is that those who have the money (objective!) get to make all the subjective decisions. (“I'm the decider!” in the words of a former particularly powerful, undeserving leader.) The second reason that capitalism prevails is that it depends on greed, a very real, prevalent human vice. (“Greed is good!” said an 80s movie caricature who became a role model for many.) Capitalists might argue that it's a system like democracy, the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried, that has produced humankind's greatest chance of peaceful prosperity. My shortest rebuttal is to ask: Do we want to defend what has gotten us to the way things are or to consider the possibility that we can do better? Incidentally genuine free and fair democracy is the best hope for humanist improvement. The US has never been close to that. This section could expand to its own essay, a book, a lifelong debate. To simplify for this discussion, capitalism is not compatible with humanism because of its numerous anti-humanist outcomes. Considering profits for the wealthy over general wellbeing is dooming humanity. This debate is the existential challenge confronting humanity. How does an individual participate in abandoning capitalism? (Or if you prefer a softer version: How does an individual help improve capitalism to achieve humanist results?) Living is Humanist Job 1. In the current world many are consumed by the struggle to stay alive. Unfortunately existence is a privilege today. I believe the requirements for satisfaction in living (meaningfulness) is proportional to privilege. Life intrinsically has meaning. For many staying alive is all that is possible, and their lives are meaningful. As one's privilege increases expectation grows. “With great power comes great responsibility.” World horrors result from the dysfunction of inordinate privilege not harnessed to commensurate service. The imbalanced selfishness erodes character and satisfaction. I believe that “the modern condition” of ennui is a reflection of unused privilege. It's important to emphasize that this evaluation of sufficient meaning is internal. It's not possible to judge from outside. There is no karmic system in humanissome. It is also impossible to know the life satisfaction felt by another unless they reveal it. We only have results to go on. It appears that those who lead lives spreading vitriol and cruelty are unhappy. In world affairs we cannot know; in personal interactions we may ask others to confide in us their self reported life satisfaction. I have received a great deal of unsolicited life advice from others who admit they are unhappy. Nobody's perfect of course. This paragraph is another that could be a book.

I leverage my privilege to extract as much progress as possible toward humanist goals. I do not commit labor to society-harming entities. I minimize consumption. I have managed to stay alive 6 years this way. My next step is to liquidate possessions as I seek greater life satisfaction, reduction in harm, and increased devotion to long-term writing goals. I offer my own work freely, requesting donations in exchange. (If I produce a book I may sell it conventionally but I would still make copies available on sliding scale.)

Perfectionism. “I'm right, they're wrong. They're idiots. What's wrong with those people? They're not like me, they're animals.” · “My mind is terrible, I can't remember anything. I'm so fat now. I was better fifteen years ago.” Ranking and judging damages self worth, deteriorates human community. Settle for less. What is is. What is is good. Diversity is good. Perfection is a delusion. Love all. Ok, now, ya hippie, how can you love all?! Equally?! I'm not concerned about equally, that's a ranking urge. I strive to live centered in love. It's not easy. It's work. I love myself and others in our imperfections. I aspire to love all unconditionally.

Minimizing Feelings. “I'm afraid of looking at certain texts, talking to certain people. I'm pathetic. Worrying makes it worse, I should just...” Hating feelings is hating oneself. Feelings are natural, beautiful, human. Instead of seeing a conflict between feelings and reason I seek peaceful coexistence. (Compossibility is an important word in my philosophy for another time.) Feelings are valid. Feelings are who I am. Reason is too. These provide data for me to consider. I can change any time. I make decisions based on feelings and reason.

There's so much more. I started a weekly blog a couple months ago to force me to write and publish constantly. The work builds. There is no perfect. I'm grateful to be working in a space that collects my efforts (corporate spaces usually throw yesterday's unpopular work away). I hope to keep going.

It's hard for me to adhere to a weekly schedule (or any schedule). When I wrote my most recent blog post at https://dotart.blog/rmiddleton I said, “Rob, maybe you should make this your weekly Rworld news post,” and replied, “but it's only been half a week! What if I ever did have subscribers who wanted to hear from me no more than once a week?” Now the weekly post is several days late and though I have ideas — I always have ideas — I do not have the energy to write those. What I am going to do is paste over a series of Mastodon toots I just wrote that I have mixed feelings about (you'll see why). That way I get to let some feelings out somewhere more under the radar than my main social media. So, just to reiterate, when I post more often than weekly it either goes on Mastodon if short @rmiddleton@mastodon.art or it goes on my unscheduled blog @rmiddleton@dotart.blog.

Earlier today someone labeled my views as weird and I said that I agree. There's more to it than that but it's been gnawing at me. I agree that my views are unusual and I have often labeled myself weird, sometimes claiming it's my middle name. That's defensive, similar to queer. I try to take great care with my words and would love to live among others who do also. Carelessness (as I perceive it) is why I do not socialize more. Alternatives to calling what I said weird include: surprising, ahistorical, unsupported, and unusual. The guy did say “weird IMO” so he's simply saying that he disagrees. I have mixed feelings about this post because I'm not trying to start anything; I'm trying to settle my stomach. There are many times when my first reaction to a comment is antagonism. That's wired in me, a white 52 y.o. Gay American rejected at home. I'm happier when I don't accelerate into conflict on social media. I try to “take it.” I could have defended my views more but I do understand the point about art history. I would bet that artists whose work fulfilled a role within a system also made work that was just for them, or they may have felt a conflict between the work that they were permitted to do & work they wanted to do by their own motivation. I'd also make the point that visual art evolving into abstract forms is some proof that as artists became more free their work became more playful. Finally, for my views to evolve beyond prior conventions is nothing new. I feel the same about spirituality and politics. The idea that my understanding of art is out of line with history is unsurprising to me. I believe that I am progressing as much as I am able to within my life. Whether this makes me naive, or delusional, or arrogant, or deranged in the eyes of others is their business — but I would prefer to be spoken to with respect as a lifelong artist who reached my beliefs about art with much time, thought, and care.

This year we're arting the alphabet from A-Z. Letters like æ, ñ, anything with a diacritical mark, etc., can go anywhere you like.

Congrats on making it this far into the year! We've reached the letter M Any art subject starting with that letter is fair game, no matter how abstract.

M is for Mountains

Let's make terrific art!

Each challenge lasts 2 weeks from the day this post was made. You can submit a new picture every day, work on one picture for 2 weeks, or post pics randomly. This is the most laid-back art challenge on the internet, & that means you have plenty of time to make your art however you want.

Use #ArtABCs & tag me @KarinWanderer so I see it!

Pick your social & post your art! Mastodon Bluesky Cara

All art styles & skill levels are welcome- No AI, Yes alt text, CW as needed. Have a fantastic day, draw something for my art challenge, see you next week!

My boyfriend asked:

Tough question. When does life and experiences become a higher priority than art creation, and when does art creation become a higher priority than life and experiences?

He keeps a journal when we are apart. We have a long distance relationship that's getting longer. I'm not sure when we next see each other. He journals amazingly, recapping his experiences and feelings about them; sharing his creations; and posing meaningful questions to himself, to me, to all of us. And I am in pain. I feel moved by what he says and unable to reply meaningfully:

my answer to this could be long. I will try to write it soon, maybe as a blog.

And here I am, trying.

Binary thinking is seductive, easy to fall into. It's a trap. The answer cannot be that either art or living is the top priority. Right? But those are words. Talking and making it so are vastly different.

Aside: I'm sad about the word performative because I've learned that until it's recent popularity it meant something else. A rare usage, performative meant making it so — as in, “I now pronounce you wife & wife.” The words are performative. They exist and they perform a function. Now performative means the opposite, devoid of meaning, for performance. With the loss of this word I feel I have one less tool to make words into reality. I realize that can't make sense; it's just vocabulary. Then again that's what I'm talking about, the relationship of words to reality.

Sigh. Why can't I be brief? Let me go back:

When does one become the priority: living or creating art?

I don't enjoy living without creating. And obviously I cannot create if I am not alive. The two are hand in hand. The two may be the same to me. I'm a “bad choice” of person to answer this question because compared to many I am not living. I do very little every day. I do not earn a living. I'm isolated from most people I've ever known. Sigh. I type sigh now. And mean it. That's now a thing I do.

Let me try to simplify: At times I can take photos of anything and it feels like art. I could capture every moment — and not just photographically but why not the audio too? I could write the scenes and paint them! Every moment can be recorded. Think about all the shared photos of meals. My most recent text to my boyfriend is:

I made a beefy cheesy stir fry. No pic.

It almost feels like a big missed opportunity not to take a photo of a good meal, because the phones make it so easy. The implication may be there's no record of the event because I was busy living. That may be a point of conflict between living and art, taking the time to memorialize. Stories have long bothered me because they are all lies. In some sense a story must be incomplete. It is edited for time. It cannot take place from every point of view. It could take a lifetime to accurately understand one moment.

Here is where interaction is key, and the limitations of living as a solitary artist. Other people provide a form of constraint or direction. For example, I'm not happy with this answer and think it would be better as a conversation.

Still I have learned something important by writing this attempted answer: I don't have to answer any questions! Schooling, or wanting to appear smart, or just being a thinking being inspires me to attempt to answer every question that's posed to me. And if I'm going to produce an answer I want it to sound correct! In doing so I'm deviating from a core belief that there are no right answers. Since my words aren't performative (old sense) I find that I must restate that core belief over and over as I try to absorb it. My words — these words — pile up and get in the way as I continue to not answer! All I have any right to say is:

I don't know.

Discussing it is what makes it interesting to me. I don't think I'll ever know.

The Big Sick

Lots of things are happening right now. It's overwhelming. My SO & I have spent months trying to figure out the best thing to do as our country disintegrates around us. We have officially made the difficult decision to leave the life we have spent years building here & move thousands of miles to the other side of the country, where his family lives. At the same time, masked men in unmarked vans are abducting people around the country. At the same time, the president is sending the national guard to my city to stop people from protesting masked men in unmarked vans abducting people. At the same time...

I don't even have enough spoons to list all the reasons I am running out of spoons. I just keep thinking about all the things I will miss about my beautiful city.

I am going to miss seeing gorgeous gardens all year long.

The Big Update

The next month will be full of sorting & packing & schlepping things to various charity collection points. It's barely started & I'm already exhausted. I am going to keep painting & sewing every day, because that keeps me sane. I am not going to be able to keep up with posting it all the time in all the places. I do not have the spoons.

If you want to keep seeing my art every day, follow me on Ko-Fi.

It's like Patreon, but better! You can follow me for free or, if my art has made you happy or maybe you just empathize with how stressful long-haul moving is, consider making a donation to support me. Ko-Fi doesn't even make you make an account to donate! Also...

I Want to See Your Art!

The #ArtABCs challenge is still going! The week this blog goes up, we are on letter L. I love it so much when you share your art with me. Please, everyone, draw something for my art challenge – it will make me so happy (& hopefully it will make you happy, too)!

I will be keeping you all updated going forward, which is a nice way of saying that I will probably be complaining about moving a lot. What else is social media for?

What do you think? Do you have one weird trick professional movers won't tell me? Let me know on Mastodon or Ko-Fi! Have a fantastic day, draw something for my art challenge, see you next week!

8 June I went to Trader Joe's, the store where I still have gift credit. I came home and ate and swam. Made a video while swimming, using my lav mic clipped to my hair.

Then I remade the bed with my better sheets. And I burned some of a scent I like. Now I'm watching the last episode of the animated Amazon show Undone before bed. [1]

Perhaps tomorrow will be a little bit better.

---

9 June It's now tomorrow. I have eaten and showered and taken care of the dog (including coordinating his in-home grooming appointment) and prepared an overseas package for someone else and read and now written this. I'm thinking my blogging could morph into more simple descriptions instead of attempting to make meaning. I'm waiting for the housekeeper to arrive before I drop the package at a UPS store.

I read from a library book Dream Me Home Safely: Writers on growing up in America (2003) with the express purpose of helping me process my homeland. I enjoyed Julia Álvarez “Ars Politica” and Howard Norman “Birds at Night.” I have a sense that the majority of the rest of the book isn't for me. I will skim.

I think maybe if I chronicle the worthwhile moments of my life in a simple diary I may feel better. I'm currently unable to wrest deep meaning from my thoughts into words. Perhaps it's better to stop trying to do that anyway.

※

[1] I'm dog sitting. I love the dog. I'm comfortable with the people enough to be calm in their space — except I dislike the odors and fumes and textures of this home. Oh and this visit I can only watch Amazon because their Apple TV is logged out and the husband doesn't want to walk me through how to get it running. I was here just last week and I'm into Murderbot now! Eee. Also who cares.

10 steps forward, 11 steps back on a societal scale

It's a recurring thing for me that I do not understand other people's energy. My mother always had unlimited energy that she directed (and directed me) to trivial projects. That's how I feel about most people.

Like, I think if people aren't devoting energy to improvement of self and all humans then that's wasted energy.

I want only to improve myself and with it to improve all humanity... and I have no energy.

---

I have a theory that we who are not welcome are more concerned about benefits for all.

My string of thoughts goes: If I allow myself to selfishly only look out for myself then in fairness, transitively, I allow selfishness. I know that I am condemned by others, my well-being is opposed by some. So I feel that my survival is tied to the betterment of all.

---

the airplane mask example You do need to be selfish to survive I think this is more towards prioritization than selfishness. Because if you function good, you can assist others. But if you can’t function, you won’t be able to assist others.

---

Yes I think that's part of my hope in moving. I don't think it's possible to function in the US without harming others

I'm not saying I'm right. I know I'm not surviving & I'm not functioning. But what I'm saying is that I believe that structurally the US is built on oppression & I do not believe any improvement is possible without facing that & rejecting it.

I believe strength is in numbers. If enough people would stop working for the harmful system & work to help each other then positive change is possible. I think just looking out for oneself prevents positive change.

---

The above is excerpted from a conversation. My current state of despair is global & based on decades. I don't present my thoughts as an argument. I specifically think that the way I am is faulty & incapable of survival. Hiwever I also believe there to be insight in what I say. I do not believe that progress will occur without disruption. It will not flower from current systems. If more people were like me, willing to fully reject the current ways, then improvement might be possible. I arrived at my way of being because I do not believe that “success” in a corrupt system correlates to happiness or satisfaction or peace of mind. My observation is widespread unhappiness under capitalism among all strata. The wealthy busy themselves to flee all thought. I made choices based on that belief. It's not worth the effort to survive & thrive in a system that produces misery for all within it. I'm a conscientious objector.

This year we're arting the alphabet from A-Z. Letters like æ, ñ, anything with a diacritical mark, etc., can go anywhere you like.

Congrats on making it this far into the year! We've reached the letter L Any art subject starting with that letter is fair game, no matter how abstract.

L is for Look At This Laid-Back Lil Friend!

Let's make terrific art!

Each challenge lasts 2 weeks from the day this post was made. You can submit a new picture every day, work on one picture for 2 weeks, or post pics randomly. This is the most laid-back art challenge on the internet, & that means you have plenty of time to make your art however you want.

Use #ArtABCs & tag me @KarinWanderer so I see it!

Pick your social & post your art! Mastodon Bluesky Cara

All art styles & skill levels are welcome- No AI, Yes alt text, CW as needed. Have a fantastic day, draw something for my art challenge, see you next week!

to read with a soundtrack play embedded video at bottom of this post

Weekly Rworld News

Remember when we made lists in shared notes of things to do, movies to stream, restaurants to go to — and then when we were together we never consulted the lists?!

I can be a broken record. [What a funny metaphor today!] I have discussed before in a blog that I struggle with lists. What does it mean to make a plan & not follow it? That's a big question for my life.

I went to college, didn't finish. What was my plan? My only plan was to get out of my home & my hometown. So once I did that much I ran out of momentum. That's incomplete. It could be expanded with a giant blank:

Once I did that much and {____________________} failed to materialize I ran out of momentum.

I thought that great things would carry me along, once I plunked myself into one of America's greatest universities. [1] At the very least I expected what was in the brochures: mentoring relationships with professors, thoughtful conversations on meaningful topics, energetic focus on how to improve ourselves and our world. I almost got pulled into a thing or two — things that weren't that great, in one case because of a strange, abusive man, and in the other case because the opportunity was mundane. And as far as I remember those were the only opportunities that crossed my path in my years at Princeton. I think most graduates go to New York for finance or consulting. I do not feel I missed anything by missing that. I had difficulties. I left in my senior year and didn't graduate. But if I had managed to finish I was not on track to emerge in bloom. I got the most out of my first year — just getting there, full of enthusiasm — and less the longer I was there. I was detached even while I was still in place.

I enjoyed painting in my last 2 years, but that was entirely from me. The space & materials that Princeton provided were good. The instructor was unobtrusive. My phenomenal experience of painting was all me. It has been ever since. I'm stubborn. I am a painter. I am a professional artist. I have a 30-year career of which I am proud. I have no income & I guess I'm mad about it. I don't want to do more than all that I've already done. If I have to do more than that to earn a right to exist, then what that means is that art is disrespected by my society. I'm at the point where I do not even want to complete forms to apply for things. I want to send images and only write: The work speaks for itself. Can you imagine? Every committee would think I was the most arrogant artist alive! Those words don't even mean that I think my art is “so great.” What I'm saying is that I'm a visual artist. Promote my work or don't. Artists having to fight over scraps disgusts me.

Rartsy.com

There's a whole galaxy out there waiting to disgust me. (Andor reference.) Andor ended its 2nd season. I loved the show in its entirety without having to love every story line or episode. I've learned more of just how different all we humans are, even among the similar. When I'm laid up with pain, as I've been, I often watch YouTube reactions to programs I like. Many of my fellow Andor lovers go gaga over moments that underwhelm me. I love the entity of Andor. I love specific specifics. I do not seem to love the same big moments that many others do. I love Andor for its small moments. I love its slowness. Now that it is over I am happy that it was 2 well-planned seasons & no more. I've seen fans complain that it's over. I like that it's over. I wish more shows would end (looking at you, Severance). But since I'm often a convalescent, there is a gaping hole now that it has ended. While house sitting I got to see Murderbot on Apple TV. I really like it but they're not making it fast enough. Now, since this is produced from a book series as source material, and it is much lighter in tone than Andor, I would be happy for Murderbot to continue for as long as possible. Murderbot is like Hacks. (It is nothing like Hacks.) These shows are mostly light, with depth that's there if you're into it. Better than typical sitcoms and other TV nothingness, but not so demanding as “prestige TV.” My favorites like Andor & Better Call Saul are demanding. Lighter is nice. Murderbot is not as junk food as Doctor Who and not as heavy as Andor. (By watching reviews I've also learned that there are those who do not see Doctor Who as junk food. I like the show. I like the lore, I like the progressivism. It still feels unimportant to me.) The experience of watching Murderbot is somewhat like good Star Trek that's genuinely funny and progressive. I hope the series garners enough audience to continue.

I was going to embed the trailer for Murderbot but it contains too many spoilers imo. I'll just include a new-to-me song I'm liking:

Return to top of page

※

[1] The word great is sarcastic.

I like to have a giant drink on hand when I'm working, as the many rings on my kitchen art table can attest. It's high time I made a coaster to protect the poor table. Happily, I just learned about kantha stitching! Kantha stitching is a method for easily making new things from upcycled & scrap fabric. Last time we talked about sewing I taught you to make a zokin– it's the easiest thing in the world. This sewing project is almost as easy. You don't need fancy fabrics. You don't need skill. Give it a try!

How It Started vs. How It's Going

... Kantha?

'Kantha' is a sewing method from Bangladesh & parts of India. It combines layers of weak, worn cloth to make quilts, coats, rugs, shawls... the list goes on & on. If you tried making a zokin or heard about sashiko, this is a similar concept. The type I am using for the coaster is the simplest version. It is commonly called 'running kantha' because it only uses a loose running stitch. There are many other types, such as nakshi kantha that get very complicated & are very beautiful. I look forward to learning more about them all! Today I am keeping things simple, with a running kantha stitch. Feel free to make yours as complicated as you wish!

Supplies

• Needles & Pins
• Scissors
• Something to mark the fabric, if you want things to be nice & neat.
• Thread: I use both regular thread & embroidery thread in the example pictures, but I have seen lots of other kantha pieces using entirely one type of thread. Use whatever you have, it'll probably work. Things I hand-stitched with dental floss in high school haven't fallen apart yet!
• Fabric: any woven fabric– which is non-stretchy materials like sheets & pillowcases (which is what I used). Since the fabric will be layered and reinforced, it is OK to use cloth that is worn thin- but avoid cloth with holes in it. You can make this by hand or using a sewing machine. If you use a machine or know how to hand sew, you can skip the next sections & go right to “Instructions'

If You Have Never Sewn Before, Read This Section!

To Knot Or Not To Knot

How do you start & end each thread? You can't just leave the ends free & hope for the best. Sometimes you can just anchor the ends with knots, for that it is fastest to tie a quilting knot at the beginning & a finishing knot at the end. Sometimes you don't want a big ugly knot stuck in the middle of your sewing & that is when you use a backstitch.

Running With Stitches

The Running Stitich is the only one you need to know for this project. The Basting Stitch might come in handy, but is not required.

Instructions: It's Just Like Making A Sandwich

1) Assemble Your Ingredients

• Figure out how big your coaster is going to be. I want a 5-ish inch coaster to fit even the most gigantic of my mugs. This means I am starting with a 6 inch square.
• Figure out how many layers you need. My fabric for this project is worn out scraps of lightweight fabrics, so 3 layers make a coaster that will absorb light spills/condensation without being bulky. (3 layers means a top, a bottom, & a lining.)
• You won't really see the lining, so don't waste your best-looking fabric here. I used a square from an old white shirt that got stained beyond repair.

• The top & bottom are made from scraps of old worn out sheets. As seen in the top 2 examples, above: you can just lay the scraps out flat, pin or baste them in place, then start the kantha stitching. That is the traditional method, & what I had originally intended to do. If you do this method you will be sewing all the layer together at once with the kantha stitch, so you can skip section 2. You can also sew the scrap together like a contemporary quilt, as demonstrated in the bottom 2 examples. In this case the kantha stitching will strengthen the coaster.
• Arrange your scraps however you like, use as many or as few as makes you happy. Try to avoid mixing very thick fabrics with very thin ones; if things are too uneven you drink will fall over!

2) Make The Sandwich

• Lay out the top & bottom, right sides together. This means you lay out the top with the stitches down. Then the bottom on the top with the stitches up. Lay out the lining fabric on top of them

• You can sew this next part with a machine or by hand. If using a machine, follow its instructions. By hand, start with a quilting knot, sew almost all the way around, & end with a finishing knot. Leave a 2 inch gap in your sewing. Trim the edges & corners, but do not cut into your stitches .

3) Flip The Sandwich Inside Out Just like Mother used to make.

• Use the gap you left in your sewing to turn the coaster inside out, hiding the seam you just sewed inside.
• Pin or baste to keep the layers of fabric in place while you sew. Draw a grid if you like things extra-neat.

• Start your running kantha stitch. Make sure you sew along the outer edge to close the gap you used to turn the fabric right sides out. Since you will be able to see both sides of your stitching for this part, use a backstitch to anchor your thread. Then get stitching!

4) Experience Shrinkage Before adding horizontal lines of kantha stitching, this was a 5.5 inch square. Afterwards, it has shortened by about a quarter-inch. It's not a big different on a coaster, but it will have a larger effect on larger projects. Something to keep in mind!

5) Revel In The Joy of Creating Something New I started this project to practice using a palm thimble & I absolutely love both the thimble & the coaster. My favorite part is that this is a project that can be scaled to any size. I'm currently working on a scarf using kantha stitching and I'm considering a blanket or shawl after that. I find sewing very soothing (probably because I get to stab something over & over) so I keep thinking of larger & larger projects.

Scarf is finished! Now I'm starting on a shawl...

Are you going to make something like this? Do you want to see me make something else? Let me know on Mastodon or Ko-Fi!

Have a fantastic day, draw something for my art challenge, see you next week!

I know I went a full month without posting anything new or worthwhile on the untilted dot lol blog. But, on the bright side, some new changes are coming:

• There is now a dotart.blog mirror of the untilted dot lol blog. This means an actual RSS feed (besides my mostly nonfunctional JSON one), federation with the fediverse, and I actually get to verify it on my Mastodon profile.

• untilted.lol income is reliant on subscription memberships and donations, but apparently the project isn't popular enough to warrant anyone actually supporting it. The good news is, I actually may have some ideas for an art commission that don't make me feel like I'm just wasting my time and that is bearable to do. You'll be hearing more details in the not too distant future, maybe this week.

• I am constantly thinking of better ways to make the subscription membership option more attractive. Again, you'll hear about some new features at some point, but not too late.

• I am constantly improving my website.

• I am constantly looking for better marketing ideas that don't cost too much. The reason I used to briefly rely on Pinterest advertising is because it felt to be a more preferable option than the horrors of networking, which I still hate because I'm an insular person by nature.

That's all.

I have preferred abstract imagery over words for expressing my thoughts because writing feels finite & imagery feels infinite.

A reason that I live in the city where I grew up is that it feels less like a choice than moving. Here is here, I've thought; whereas Elsewhere is... where? Why choose one place over all the others? As I prepare to move Away I'm drawn to the practice of regular written reports as a way to share my progress with others — and to help keep me motivated.

In other words I'm plunging myself into circumstances that I dislike: committing to make a choice from an array of options in where to lay my head in 2026 & in what to write about weekly & monthly.

There's one thing that painting and writing (and even where I'll live) have in common — the pejorative question, Who cares?!

I want to tell others about movies that I find amazing, Cielo & Alamar & The Ghost of Winter's Cape... but who do I think is turning to me for entertainment recommendations? To make sense I'd need to offer thorough reviews & then I'd need to do so regularly so that I'd build an audience for that service... but I never wanted to be a film reviewer. So is it better to not even talk about it? Do you find this questioning silly? Is there a you?

There's an account that I follow on the fediverse with regular climate crisis information. It's useful info but also it’s repetitive. Surely the person who runs it has other interests! I'm running my accounts as if I'm a celebrity & I'm very much not. I'm wanting to share all my aspects, not just my paintings, because I see it all related.

Honestly anonymity is more freeing than fame. I suppose I can write anything, paint anything, record anything. Most of the time the audience is 1-3 people. I know that I should try harder: to find a way to “make it”; to focus & edit much more; to entertain. Sigh. I have a 30-year body of work that I am proud of. I don't know what to do with it & it is not a source of income; but I like it & I'm not the only one. To relate to what I said above about audience, I feel we are accustomed to following the famous nowadays. Anything that a famous person does, no matter how boring, is “interesting” because they did it. Anything that a non famous person does is “boring” because they aren't objects of collective fascination. I do not feel at risk of becoming famous & that's a dilemma. Good, because I fear that the famous have very little time to think. I can't imagine being in high demand & being constantly praised. I would fear losing perspective. On the other hand, only by being famous is art deemed worth anything in our society. With fame I would have the pleasure of knowing my work wasn't destined to be trashed & I would even be granted the privilege of earning a living! What a wild thought that is! There was a time when I aspired to “local/regional fame” but that's a lot of work for little reward — and some of my least favorite work, ass kissing.

Anyway that's too much for now. This isn't the coherent, meaningful post I'd like it to be. It is what it is.