Monday, June 18, 2018

The Making of a Cube

It's Magick Monday again and I don't have a post ready. This post was supposed to be about the cube from start to finish, but it is getting really long, and I don't seem to be progressing as I would like. So here's how I make my cubes so far:

I decided to make a fox cube. I'm using the same pattern I used on the family foxes because I am already very familiar with it so it should work up quickly. If I didn't have a deadline this wouldn't be an issue.
Step 1 was to find the pattern, then figure out how to make it square because it is longer than tall.
Step 2 was to mark the canvas to ensure the cube wasn't too big or too small.
Despite my careful marking, I am still not sure. So I made 51 stitches across the top. I'm using black for the background color because when I picked out the color for the fox I wasn't smart enough to consider the background. Black was already in the house and it goes with the golden orange. Let's see, I believe we are at step 3. Moving on to step 4:
I did a reading to see what kind of Magick to do. The king of hearts fell out. I believe this means being wise in love, though it could be about learning or maturing from past mistakes. I am using 2 decks for additional insight. Sometimes 2 cards emphasize the message and sometimes they conflict. When they conflict I know many elements are at work and things are not as simple as they seem.

Behind the king was the 10 of diamonds. Tens are wonderful cards and usually mean achieving goals. I take this to mean my cube will be successful.
In front of the king was the 2 of clubs. Twos indicate relationships. Clubs correspond to pentacles in Tarot, which is the element of earth. This could be about marriage. But in both cards we have butterflies. This to me says something delicate. We went from a rose to a more ordinary flower. Maybe this is less about romantic love and more about friendship. I'm going to read up on fox mating habits. While card meanings percolate on the back burner of my mind, I'm going to sew.
I didn't get very far. As I write, it is now the next day. I have been working with the orange. I intend to do all the orange stitches, which will form the fox and the checkerboard sides. Before I start sewing, I take a moment to ground and center. I ask for my project to progress smoothly. I call to Totem Fox to aid me with wisdom. And then I try to ignore every day problems so I can get a little sewing done. At no point did I say this is easy.
Problems got to be more than I could ignore. I stopped for over 2 hours, then came back and through sheer determination worked the border. I went straight across until reaching the point where it tappers down. Then I worked each side. I had to go back up because I skipped some stitches. I made a home for my fox. I think this is important. He needs a defined space.
I struggled through home schooling while trying to sew. I was also cooking an early supper because Tuesday is Boy Scouts meeting night. My daughter ran around screaming. I am very impressed I got this far before rushing out the door. Oh, and my husband came home in a bad mood and I spent a good chunk of time trying to be supportive and helpful even though I have no clue how to solve any of our problems.
I sewed during the meeting until the dim church basement light made my eyes hurt. The troop is going camping this weekend. All the boys were excited. They were loud. My head began to ache. I started getting confused counting stitches so I gave up to play candy crush. That was Tuesday.
Wednesday I didn't take any pictures. This is Thursday's work. I have finished the fox and am ready to start on his tail. This is the first time I have started with the fox's feet. I usually start with the tail at the top of the design. I have now spent almost a week on the cube and I don't have one complete side. A lot of doubt is creeping in. No, a lot of doubt is hanging over my head in a dark cloud.
Led Zeppelin saves the day! They're my favorite band. I listened to several of their songs until finally the fox was done. FYI "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do" is my favorite song. I would say leave me where the guitars play, but I am no where close to done, not even with this side.

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