It's that time of year when the salmon are leaving the ocean to swim upstream in west coast rivers and spawn, finishing their life cycle and starting new ones at the same time. The bears (grizzly and black) come to the river banks to feast on the fish, stuffing themselves before hibernation time. Other animals flock to the salmon as well - eagles and ravens and small scavengers eager to get their share. Yet on the central coast of British Columbia, another large land predator emerges from the towering trees to do a little fishing alongside the bears. The grey wolves of the coast (who are even grizzly bear eaters when they want to be), are also after this rich source of protein, chasing the floundering salmon through the shallows while clumsily attempting to snap their jaws shut on a tasty meal. It's all part of the salmon cycle of the west coast, where these fish nourish all levels of the ecosystem, including the trees themselves.
This piece came together slowly, amidst the bustle of moving, but also because every single stitch on it was done by hand. Most of my pieces are extensively hand stitched, but often at least a part of them are done on the machine. My love of handwork continues to grow though, so I may be doing this more often. This small grey wolf and his sockeye salmon meal (in flushed spawning colours) are stitched up all in linen, one of my favourite materials. He is a friendly sort of wolf, but you will definitely need to win his trust before he might share that tasty fish. If you're interested in trying, they are available here.
It's a canine sort of the place in the shop right now - did you know there is also a red fox and a coyote in there? But if you're waiting for whales (or other ocean creatures), I think I'm just about ready to get back to those too. The shop has been a bit sorely neglected recently, but I hope to get back to it now that we're moved, so there can be lots of pieces available if you are doing your holiday gift shopping. There should also be more natural dye fabric packs by the weekend.
Hope you're having a great week so far!
ETA - a little wolf music for you.
3 comments:
I love this little wolf! I hope to include more hand stitching myself, there goes so much joy in it. And the result really shows it. I'm such a big fan of your handwork!
He and his little fish are so perfect k, I love him. The faces on all your creatures are so sweet and friendly.
x
He looks so sweet and friendly. Hard to believe he can take down a grizzly! I had to laugh a little at your description of them trying to catch a salmon. It reminds me of my two dogs trying to catch the sunbream in our creek. Evidently, they are sometimes successful because they will have fishy breath!!!
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