hol(e)y stones

while watching the oprah + lance armstrong interview (more about that in another post), i began stitching on my hol(e)y stones. i can't decide what to call them - peephole stones or hol(e)y stones, so i'm trying out both.

they're definitely going in the direction that i had hoped.

i'm learning a lot about different types of wool - this one got all stretched out as i stitched it, making the holes even bigger and becoming very loose on the stone. i had to felt it again to make it tight on the stone. i like the effect it made, with uneven, wobbly holes.

this one, which molly suggested looked like a ski mask (she called it a gimp, which was a new word for me).  i went with that and now it's a bit of a sugar skull.

one of the little bowls got an edging of beads i once bought in manila, plus a few little paper beads with a poem on them that i got ages ago from field & sea on etsy.

it's itty bitty and i'm quite enamored of it. and pleased to finally use some of these sweet little wooden beads gathered on my travels.

this one feels a little like a talisman of sorts now. i got the beads at some point from numinosity. i, of course, have been saving them for a good use. this seemed like it.

i loved working with these bright colors on these cold, grey-toned winter days.

the color combination on the red/orange stone is my favorite. the colors sort of jumped out of the bowl where i keep the clothespins of embroidery thread and i had to use them together. they feel warm and happy to me.

these are getting close and i'm working on more. i'll be putting some in my long-neglected shop sometime this week.

update: the first five stones are in my shop now.