Ruth McMonagle
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ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Ruth McMonagle
@ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
780 followers 520 following 1.3K posts
Textile artist. Nature lover.
Saving the planet, one stitch at a time.
She/her. Aotearoa New Zealand

#art #textile #fabric #recycle #reuse #quilt #sew #stitch #craft #thread #climate #MTB #travel #adventure

Lover, mother, friend.

ruthmcmonagle.net
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ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
I had some "helpers" today. One just randomly pulls the pins out. The other knows he is not allowed to sit on the project, so he guards the very last corner that I have to pin last. He is grumpy when I move him off to finish the pinning.

#sew #quilt #reuse #recycle #art #fabric
🇳🇿🪡🧵🧶 🪶🐾🐈
A grey cockatiel walking over a sewing project that has open safety pins holding fabric layers together. A grey cockatiel using his beak to pull out an open safety pin from the pinned layers. An elderly tabby cat sits at the corner edge of a patchwork quilt. There are pins being put into the fabric layers, in preparation for sewing the layers together. the corner near the cat does not have any pins yet, but they are getting closer to him. A tin containing pins sits next to the cat. A red scissors is next to the tin. An elderly tabby cat is giving me a quizzical look, asking why he has to move. All the fabric layers are pinned, except the one square that he is resting on. He is most reluctant to move.
December 2, 2025 at 8:47 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Today I sewed, and sewed, and sewed.
Made great progress.

🇳🇿🪡🧵🧶
#sew #fabric #art #textile #reuse #recycle #quilt
Close up of a sewing machine foot and needle at the edge of a brown half snowball fabric block. The construction seams of the half snowball are visible. The blocks are being sewn into columns. A pile of fabric blocks all being sewn together, awaiting seams being pressed. Not my favourite thing to do. A row of fabric blocks on an ironing board. The seams connecting each block has been pressed.
November 30, 2025 at 7:27 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Made the most of Saturday.
Stuck the half snowball blocks on the design wall.
Had a bit of a play.
Completed a design I was happy with.
Created number tags from an old calendar so I can keep track of the columns.
Tomorrow I sew.

#sew #fabric #art #textile #reuse #recycle #quilt

🇳🇿🪡🧵🧶
Various half snowball quilt blocks on a design wall. The snowball dark triangles have been rotated to form a downwards pointing triangle. The colours of the fabrics are brown, turquoise, and purple. They are varying shades of each colour. Stretching out the Turquoise half snowball blocks along the design wall. Dark purple blocks repeat the below the turquoise blocks. It looks like another triangle is formed to the right of the initial design. Some extra music themed blocks are scattered below the design, as I need to work out where they are going to go. Cut up numbers of a calendar from 1 to 24 scattered on a desktop. Safety pins are in the top of the image. These will be pinned to differnet columns in the design, so I can keep track of where the sewn bits belong, and not get anything out of order. I have decided to split the length of the 12 columns in half, that's why there are 24 number tags. Snapshot of the design on the wall. Turquoise and purple half snowball blocks. The numbers 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 are pinned in order to different coloured blocks in preparation of sewing fabric blocks into columns .
November 29, 2025 at 7:18 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
OMG. I dont like brownies but this is AMAZING!!! Even though it has 2 blocks of Whittakers, it's not sickly sweet. I suspect the 1 Tbsp of vanilla paste has something to do with that.
The recipe was too big for my 23 circle pan, so I transfered it all into a slice pan.
#cook #bake #recipe 🍰🧁🍫
Two pieces of brownie. Icing sugar is dusted on the top. A small indentation of one of the brownies indicates some strawberry is hiding in there.
November 29, 2025 at 2:49 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
There were no raspberries, so got strawberries instead. Also not so dark chocolate available at supermarket, so got 50% cocoa instead. Late night baking, as this is needed for a gathering tomorrow.
#cook #bake #recipe 🍰🧁🍫
2 bars of Whittakers 50% cocoa chocolate, and a glass bowl full of chopped strawberries. Recipe quite Spendy$$ - 7 eggs, 2 bars of Whittakers, 280gm butter.
November 28, 2025 at 7:50 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Finished sewing the small dark squares onto the larger fabric squares. Now, so much trimming!!! I cut the triangles off at each small square. I will reuse these triangles in another future project. The sewn triangle is pressed to the corner.

#sew #fabric #art #textile #reuse #recycle #quilt

🇳🇿🪡🧵🧶
Assorted brown, tan, and music themed fabric squares, with small dark squares sewn to opposite corners. This is called a half snow ball block. A pile of turquoise and dark blue fabric triangles that have been trimmed off the larger sqaures. In the background are the trimmed dark blue squares attached to the larger fabric squares. A pile of purple, cream, and dark blue fabric triangles that have been trimmed off the larger sqaures. In the background are the trimmed black squares attached to the larger purple fabric squares. Half snowball fabric blocks made up of purple, turquoise, and brown music themed fabric. The dark blue triangles have been pressed to the corners of the larger fabric squares. Tomorrow, I put them on the design wall and see what happens. Exciting!
November 28, 2025 at 7:44 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
I could draw a diagonal line across each small square, but I don't have time for 312 straight lines.
Masking tape is my guide to centre my sewing line.
Lined up the small square with the larger square underneath.
Kept the fabric point on the masking tape while sewing.

#sew #quilt #art 🇳🇿🪡🧵🧶
Green masking tape at the centre line of a sewing machine. The needle of the sewing machine is on the edge of the masking tape. A turquoise square of fabric sits behind the needle, with a small black square sewn to its corner. A turquoise fabric square on a sewing machine. A small black square is covering one corner. The masking tape is showing at the needle end, and at the other end of the diagonal across the small black square. A turquoise fabric square on a sewing machine. A small black square is covering one corner. The sewing machine has stitched about halfway across the small black square in a diagonal The masking tape is showing at the end of the diagonal across the small black square. 3 piles of assorted turquoise fabric squares with 2 small black square sewn in opposite corners. This is the start of a "half snowball" quilt block.
November 27, 2025 at 7:20 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Finished the cutting of the all squares, and threw the larger squares on the wall. Just to check to see how they work together. 312 small black squares. 156 coloured squares.
Tomorrow I sew the small black squares to the coloured squares.
🇳🇿🪡🧵🧶
#sew #fabric #art #textile #reuse #recycle #quilt
Several stacks of 2 inch black fabric squares. They are sitting on a grey cutting mat. 312 squares doesn't look that many. Larger squares of turquoice, tan/beige, purple fabric lying on a table. In the background is the stacks of small black squares. Some of the beige fabric squares have music themed design motifs printed on them. I am not sure if the keyboard and guitar motifs will work in the overall design. Let's see what happens over the next few days. About 100 fabric squares on a design wall. They in rows of colour. Purple is at the top, brown is in the middle, turquoise is at the bottom. I will rearrange these colours into bargello type design. But first, I need to sew the black squares onto the larger squares.
November 26, 2025 at 7:22 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
New project.
Starting cutting the squares tonight. I need to get this completed within the next two weeks, so busy nights ahead. Took me a while to find the right fabrics, and still not sure if one will work in the design.

#sew #fabric #art #textile #reuse #recycle #quilt

🇳🇿🪡🧵🧶
Assorted purple fabrics group together. One of the fabrics has yellow square swirls as a pattern over the light purple rectangles. Cutting ruler on top of some beige fabric. Masking tape is stuck to the ruler at the 5 mark. There are arrows drawn on the masking tape pointing towards the 5 mark. This is so I dont cut the fabric strips too thin. I need them chunky for this project. A selection of turquoise square fabrics in piles. The dark turquiose is on the left, medium value turquoise is in the middle. On the right is pale turquioise with white spots. I like these colours. Reminds me to tropical islands and snorkelling in the sun. Small black fabric squares arranged not very tidily on a cutting mat. I need to cut over 300 of these squares. I will split the task over tonight and tomorrow evening.
November 25, 2025 at 7:28 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
He could grab a small Cowells from a supermarket.
November 25, 2025 at 1:32 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Nearly finished my Loose Ends project. This weekend I will be trimming everything nice &straight & creating the binding. Loving the butterfly fabric that is on the back. It's good for my soul to help someone with closure, as part of their grief process by completing a project for them.
🧶🪡🇳🇿🧵 #quilt
Pale purple/ violet fabric with colourful pansies and monarch butterflies printed on as a repeating design. Colourful squares of assorted jewel colours sewn together in a grid, with alternating black and grey squaresn . Safety pins are holding the quilt layers together while it is being sewn. The purple butterfly fabric on the back of the quilt. The sewn grid lines form diamond shapes across the quilt. A nearly completely sewn quilt bunched up in a pile. All the safety pins are ready to be removed, but it they hurt my fingers, so I have to take this part of the quilt making process slowly.
November 22, 2025 at 12:39 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Exciting!! I haven't got the DM yet, but I hopefully looked under the "My Giftee" feed, and they are there!!

Let the fun begin!

#SecretSantaAoNZ
A screenshot of the Bluesky feed that is on my screen. The headers include: Following, #SecretSantaAoNZ, and My Giftee. Exciting!!!! Screenshot showing what the My Giftee feed looks like. It's by @secretsanta.nz
November 20, 2025 at 3:32 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
#SecretSantaAoNZ

"How glorious a greeting the Sun gives the Mountains".

A clever Santa made me this card. It sits on a shelf in my creative space. The colours and inscription bring me joy.

Sign up deadline is 19 November.
#SecretSantaAoNZ
A hand made card with a colourful red and yellow sun peaking out from behind a textured dark mountain. The inscription on the inside "How Glorious a greeting the Sun gives the Mountain" is by John Muir. I lived about 2 kms from Muir Woods, in the San Francisco bay area. Muir woods is named after John Muir. When I see this card, I am reminded of all the times I spent with my urchins on Mt Tam, and exploring the National park.
November 17, 2025 at 6:55 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
If you see this, post a bird 🪶
Albatross showing off it's wingspan at Snares Island, Aotearoa, New Zealand.
November 15, 2025 at 3:46 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
The cat adopted us one winter evening, howling under the rimu tree. The urchins fed it & he moved in.
The white cat is left over from an urchin that has left home, he likes to sleep (a lot!!). The cockatiel is another leftover from another urchin. He helps me by sorting the pins.
#SecretSantaAoNZ
A fluffy tabby cat with unruly fur sitting amongst some small daisy type flowers. He is not smiling. A white cat snuggled within a black and white quilt. He is asleep, unless I open the fridge. Suddenly he is hungry. A white faced cockatiel with grey feathers on his body. He is in a Christmas tree observing his reflection in a shiny bauble. He glances towards the camera and smiles. A white headed cockatiel pulling pins from a coloured pin cushion. There are lots of pins surrounding the bird, that he has pulled out.
November 11, 2025 at 7:47 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Is this real?
Do I click on the link?
@support.bsky.team
A screen shot of a "we regret to inform you that your Blueksy account has been temporarily suspended due to security-related restrictions'" etc.
November 8, 2025 at 6:55 PM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
I dont wear white trousers, so it's a bit of fluffy situation for the next month until his winter coat is gone.
The hair that comes off while I stroke him, I gather up and peg on a clothesline. The birds use it for their nests. It's normally gone by lunchtime.
🪶
Large tuft of cat hair contained by a peg on a clothes line.
November 3, 2025 at 7:50 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Hubs ❤️ writes cheese things like on the shopping list.
Hand written shopping list in untidy handwriting. honey baking paper Parmesan horrendously expensive cheese for Ruth I might have bought some.
November 2, 2025 at 3:30 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Blue project contd. I am happier with this design, & I need one more square! I also need to fill in the sides with triangles to make the edges straight. 3/.

#recycle #reuse #fabric #textile #sew #art #quilt
🇳🇿🧵🧶🪡
Assorted fabric blue squares on a design wall. At the top left is a gap where one square is missing. I am going to make one that fits in there. The edges of the design are all zig zagged at the edges of the squares. The design is the same, except there is a new dark square in the top left corner. The left side and right side of the design have triangles added to fill in the empty zigzags. At this stage nothing is sewn, so I can move the squares around when I feel like it. A group of blue fabric squares with triangles sewn to 2 edges. Some of the squares have light coloured blue triangles, and some of the squares have dark blue triangles. Just for fun.
October 27, 2025 at 6:47 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
The box got full, and with the crazy weather this week, I started my "blue project". I stuck them on the wall, played with them, but didn't like the designs, so I put the squares on "point", and played with that instead. 2/n

#recycle #reuse #fabric #textile #sew #art #quilt
🇳🇿🧵🧶🪡
A pile of assorted blue fabrics sewn into squares. A contrast colour is also sewn into the squares. A grid of assorted coloured fabric squares, with contasting smaller rectangles within them. The squares are laid out in a kind of darker / lighter alternating pattern. The fabric squares are turned 45 degrees so become diamond shaped. They are higglety pigglety arranged on the design wall in no pattern, just seeing what is going to happen. Dark and light squares are arranged in groups of 4 for interest. All of the coloured blue squares on the design wall but not in a design I am happy with. I need to move the squares around, and swap them, and come up with something that I like.
October 27, 2025 at 6:47 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Several years ago I was given a bag of blue fabric. I made 8 community quilts from it. I had left over remnants, but as I am not a "blue" person, I had no use for them. When I had time, I made small assorted blocks from these and put them in a box, for future use. 1/n

#sew #art #quilt 🧶🪡
A pile of a collection of assorted blue fabrics. Turquiose to deep dark blue. Multiple patterns and shades. Stacks of assorted coloured rectangles and squares of various sizes on top of different blue fabrics that have been cut into varying sized strips. Constructed partial polygons that need trimming into squares. Each blue polygon has a contrasting coloured square or rectangle.
October 27, 2025 at 6:47 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Caught up on some pinning today.
Working on a blue project. What have you been up to this weekend?
#sew #quilt #craft #textile #art #reuse #recycle 🧵🪡🧶🇳🇿
Left hand forefinger on a background of yellow rectangle sewn into blue squares. The top part of the finger doesn’t have a fingerprint 🫆, it is covered in small pin pricks in the skin. It’s a bit tender.
October 26, 2025 at 2:26 AM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Here's the science. Old NASA images showing the exceptionally strong winds that blow downslope from the Trans-Antarctic Mountains across Terranova Bay. These fierce katabatic winds drive the sea ice eastward. The lines across the water were the “ice dunes”.
#Polynya #Antarctica #RossSea
NASA image 2007 showing Terra Nova bay polynya. The lines are the "ice" dunes, the black is unfrozen sea, cause the wind is too strong for the sea to freeze. NASA image 2007 showing Terra Nova bay polyna. The lines are the "ice" dunes, the black is unfrozen sea, cause the wind is too strong for the sea to freeze.
October 20, 2025 at 8:53 PM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Here's the science. Old NASA images showing the exceptionally strong winds that blow downslope from the Trans-Antarctic Mountains across Terranova Bay. These fierce katabatic winds drive the sea ice eastward. The lines across the water were the “ice dunes”.
#Polynya #Antarctica #RossSea
Nasa satellite image from 2007 showing the polyna of Terranova Bay. The dark black is unfrozen sea, cause the wind is too strong for the sea to freeze. Nasa satellite image from 2009 showing the polyna of Terranova Bay. The black is unfrozen sea, cause the wind is too strong for the sea to freeze. The lines are the frozen sea being blown eastwards.
October 20, 2025 at 8:50 PM
ruthmcmonagle.bsky.social
Here are some more of the "ice dunes".

These don't have icebergs for scale, but it felt surreal watching the waves, as they looked like sand dunes.

The katabatic winds moving the pancake ice freezing the sea.

Taken between 10pm - 1130pm 20/2/2024.

Terranova Bay, Ross Sea, #Antarctica 🪶🦋🌿
White waves made up of pancake ice. A landscape that looks like a beach with sand hills, but it is pancake ice golden in the late night sunlight. A landcape that looks like a desert, with golden brown sand dunes, but it is pancake ice moving waves in a semi freezing sea. The late night sun turns the ice sand brown. Another landcape that looks like a sandy desert. In the foreground the pancake ice is visible. The late night sun turns the pancake ice brown, adn the waves create shadows like dunes.
October 20, 2025 at 7:16 AM