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Not quite sure how I'm going to get the text there, but this is the direction I want to go. I'll probably try the printing on fabric backed with freezer paper technique.
I've been taking the chooks outside in the evening to stretch their wings. They love it! Oh they are growing fast.
I printed out a photo that I took on silk organza. Might have been better darker. Played with a variety of fabrics underneath and on top. Solids, floral prints, dots, plaid. I like the coffee dyed wool I did the best.
The other day I was being teased (in good spirit) about how many projects I have going on at one time. For me the advantage is when you aren't sure which direction to go on one, there is another that moves forward.
I also find that the day of the week, and/or the time of the day makes a big difference in what I will work on. I like projects that are easy and take little thought for on the bus (usually knitting that is easy to transport) or for in the evening (bigger projects like the wool quilt). Things that take thought and more attention are better done in the morning on weekends. I'm slowly finding that as long as I'm patient with myself and approach what I'm doing as play, just combining fabrics and experimenting is fun on weeknights too.
While I was waiting for it to be warm enough to work in the garden (35 F, and frost!) and the rhubarb coffee cake to finish baking, I decided to work on making cushions for the swing. The bottom cushion ended up being an old quilt that I folded into a long tube and then stuffed into two pillow cases that I sewed together to make a long cover. Worked great! I'm eventually going to make a cover that will go over the top of it and the back of the swing. Probably with denim since I just started filling a second bag with denim remanents.
Then I decided to use the lion fabric that I bought at a garage sale about four years ago for pillows. I've held off on doing something with this fabric because I didn't really want to cut it up much.
I did try coffee for a dye. The top two were soaked for about 30 minutes. The lighter one still has coffee grounds in it that you can see. I tried rubbing the coffee grounds across the fabric and then dipped it into the dye pot. I ended up using instructions that I found here. I'm setting up a photo album for dye experiments. This is something I want to explore more. I do want to try tea at some point and possibly henna too and a whole bunch of other things!
Push the shovel into the soil. Grow something.
Push the needle through the fabric. Make something.
Push myself forward. Go somewhere.
Wow! I really appreciate everyone's comments on the last post-on all posts actually! Mostly I just meant that it's funny how I've put those "blogging lens" on. (That's a great phrase Sinclair.) I feel only richer for the time I've spent blogging and for the connections that I've made. I know that I've become more consistent with my creativity since I started blogging.
I also want to thank Paula for the link to India Flint. It is so incredible and inspiring.
And-I think I'm experimenting with coffee for my dye this weekend. Different material though.
What I'm going to do with at least one piece of the wool I dyed, a pillow. The lace is a square that my great-grandmother crocheted.
A closer look at one of my favorite parts of the sheer sample I did. Most of the fabric I pieced for the under layer is dots, but I also included this swirly piece. I love how it is up next to the leaf. It makes me think of leaves on a stream.
I had to wonder this morning if I've been blogging too much. I was sitting working on my sweater when the ball of yarn bounced out of my bag across the table and into my coffee cup. Yes there was coffee in the cup still. After I stopped laughing, my first thought was I should take a picture. I didn't. Instead I rinsed the ball of yarn out with water, squeezed the water out as best I could and brought it home to unwrap and dry. I don't think I'm going to have a coffee dye sample yet.
A "what if" in response to another "what if." I pieced together several pieces of scrap fabric and then layered a sheer floral print over the top. I machine stitched a few rows to tack it down and to get a sense of what it would look like. I love the effect of the fabric underneath the sheer! What a great way to make sheer fabric more useful. I could see stitching around the motifs as a design element too. I'm going to continue this to create a summer weight quilt, probably something for on the porch swing. I'm going to have to take some time of work to finish projects at the rate I'm going.
This was part of my morning walk to work. What a great way to start the day.
"Captain, Captain we have a problem. We're going down!"
Darn chooks. They keep burying their food dish in their bedding and then can't find their food!
I'm having so much fun with them. I've had to share stories with some of my friends on the bus. As one of them was asking questions a fellow passenger started asking other questions, mostly about food safety. As I was answering questions I noticed another person nodding his head when I'd bring up various points. The four of us got into a conversation about food safety and food ethics. I think that these moments are so important. It's a chance to share what I'm doing, to maybe make someone else think a bit more about choices, and in a very non-threatening way. I wondered too, who was listening to our conversation and what were they thinking? It's a great way to make Earth Day, an every day celebration. Just having a conversation about an important topic. Something I'm thinking about because of Melinda's post at One Green Generation.
I finished my latest bus project. Bus projects always start conversations too.
It's too small for me to wear this way. And it's a little inside out in this picture. I love it. A cowl seems perfect in the morning right now and then is easy to tuck away. Briar mostly just wants it off and to know why, oh why, is she tortured this way?
Cowl pattern is via Ravelry (need to join to get in). The yarn is local, from Spincycle Handspun Yarns.
A few green things for Inspire Me Thursday:
On Friday there were just enough green leaves on the trees to make the stretch of cotton wood, alder and maples near where I work have a green haze to them. The swallows should be back soon.
Today I made a green salad for lunch. I kind of think of it as a transitional salad, from one season to the next. Pretty much the only vegetable available at the farmer's market are greens. I added some of the last oranges I will buy for the season. I also added walnuts and tofu that were marinated in soy sauce and olive oil and baked until crispy.
I pulled apart what I had done with the "yarn" that I had made from the t-shirt. It was curling quite a bit as I knit. I'm going to try on bigger needles. The other yarn pictured is hemp (the one in the back). I'm going to make a small scarf with it and maybe a wash rag.
And this is "green" in intent and spirit:
My onion skin dye experiment! The material is the white wool that I'm making the wool quilt with. I tied a knot in the middle of the fabric before I dyed it and didn't stir it much so that I'd get the mottled appearance. I will never throw another onion peel in the compost again and I'm deciding right now what I"ll try dyeing with next weekend.
Climbing up on my soap box a little:
After reading Jude’s post at Spirit Cloth today I spent a lot of time thinking about creative paths and goals while I was out working in the garden.
My mother and I have frequently had conversations about focusing in one area of crafting with the goal of developing more expertise in that craft, so this wasn’t a new thought to me.
I have experimented with a lot of things. I have materials for and books on knitting, sewing, felting, dyeing, pottery, metal work, jewelry making, paper crafts, basket making, soap making, crocheting, tatting, drawing, painting and I could probably find a few other topics. There are so many things I want to do and try. And I have a deep need to make things. I love seeing something go from pieces and parts to a whole.
But over the last couple years I’ve realized that I really want to focus on things that help me be sustainable. I want to create things that are useful, that recycle “waste” products into something productive. So there are some of these projects that I’ve let go of. I’ve also let go of the idea that I will develop some mastery in one area. I probably won’t. If I master anything, I hope it's finding the intersections between sustainable and creative. And I'd say that I do feel a responsibility to share what I'm exploring in the hope that it will encourage others to consider the impact that they make on our environment.
Un-peeling the onion:
I made onion relish with my onions that I bought last fall at the farmer’s market. Local and organic and needing to be used up because they won’t be storable much longer.
I’m using the onion skins for dye. I’m going to go start on that tonight. Hopefully I’ll have a sample tomorrow. This is a new project for me. In the past I've dyed with powders.
One last thought for the day: Doesn't it seem that blogging is a modern day equivalent of a quilting bee?
Someday I may use the leaves from this plant to dye fabric. I'm also planting red cabbage this year not just to eat, but as a dye plant. Other plants that I have in my garden that would work as a dye: onions, marigolds, and blackberries (except I'm trying to get rid of them all, they are a weed). I was going to try growing woad for a blue dye, but it's classified as a noxious weed in my area. Oh well.
The T-shirt:
Did a little experimenting. I cut a t-shirt into a long strip (making a spiral cut) and then started thinking what if I crocheted it? That did not work. Next up, what if I knit it? As a knit fabric, it's springy and dense and I think it would make a good place mat. I think strips of knit material would work well for weaving too. Need to try that sometime.
In the garden:All the fruit trees are just about to bloom. These are two Italian Plum trees that I planted in the same hole. The plums need to cross pollinate to set fruit. I decided to see what if I planted the two trees together to save space? What would happen? This is year two. They both look healthy and seem to be doing well. Last year I had a small handful of plums. Hoping for more this year.
Last night I was letting the dogs out and noticed the reflection of the neighbor's forsythia in a mud puddle. It was worth pausing to look at for awhile.
I've been working on organizing my stashes and clutter over the last seventeen days as part of a challenge at 37 days and have been making a pretty good dent with some of it. But there is a long way to go. I have a friend that told me once that I let things get unorganized so that I have a reason to reorganize. There is truth to that.
But what I've come to realize more recently is that when I can't find what I'm looking for, it takes time away from creating. So there are a certain amount of things that need a home and need to stay there. Scissors for example.
The fabric, well, there is a certain joy in disorganization. I pulled a few things out of the piles ('cause that's what they are) to share:
This one is a back pack that one of my brothers brought back from Central America.
I have four of these. I think they are napkins. They are from my family stash. I'm not sure who had them or where they came from.
And because, more and more I am interested in how things intersect, what happens when things or ideas are combined, what "conversations" are created, I've decided to do away with my "categories" (like Paula). Because, really, it's all about being creative.
That chooks like yogurt. Haven't tested this yet.
That my dogs will eat radishes. Who would have thought?
That Briar will still dig holes in the garden. Should have had her help with planting seeds. I planted:
And that I like my sweet pea quilt better in pieces.
While I was playing with the color (it was dark when I took the photo), I started wondering what if I bleached it just a bit to soften the colors? I think it might make the pattern more cohesive. I'm also wondering how quilting will affect the patterns. I'm going to try quilting a square to see what I think. I'll probably wait on the bleach experiment until the chooks are out of the house. They are right next to the washing machine right now. I'm amazed at how calm they stay when it starts the spin cycle....
"If you stand in an orchard in the middle of spring and you don't make a sound you can hear pink sing, a darling, whispery song of a thing." Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O'Neill
The morning sun came through the windows and lit up my bookshelf. I've been meaning to move/do something/compost these flowers for awhile. I was sorting out the silk and velvet that I've been using for the dots in my wool quilt and folding them into a suitcase so that I could tidy up a bit. Had to stop and take a picture.
I've been thinking about how all the bits and pieces of our lives, the mundane and the ordinary might provide the greatest inspiration. And the odd coincidence that I was putting this fabric in a suitcase. Made me think about creativity as a journey.
While I was waiting for it to get warm enough to work in the garden, I decided to do a bit of sewing today. My original intent was just to start working on some pillows for the porch swing. I wanted to try making Maverick Stars that I found via Paula at The Beauty of Life.
That led me to realizing I was working with a nine-patch (like and so unlike another inspiring person's) and I started to play. What if I laid it out this way? What if I turned the triangles that way? What if I just sew the triangles down and let the edges fray? I ended up with two squares.
The material I was using for these squares were pieces that I had cut out for my "sweet pea" quilt. I've been working on this quilt for a couple years (that was scary to realize!). The blue chambray is material salvaged from my grandfather's work shirts. I started thinking of this as the "sweet pea" quilt because of the bright colors I had picked out of my stash to alternate with the blue and because my grandfather grew (among many other things) sweet peas to sell at his local farmer's market.
The square I had started with is called "Peace and Plenty," which seemed appropriate in memorial for my grandfather. I really don't like the way it is turning out for a quilt however. It's too patchy. Too many colors, too many patterns I think. While I was playing with my scraps I found a solution. What if I sew the blocks together another way?
What if I tear apart what I have finished and start over?
I bought strawberry plants for my spiral garden. The spiral ends at a clump of rhubarb:
Today I ate spinach from my garden and I have some eggs from Mom and Dad's chickens for tomorrow. I'm pretty sure if I hadn't been looking, my mother would have smuggled a chick home in her pocket.
There a chook. Wouldn't you like to have a chook too? (the color of this picture is a little off-too yellow.)
The black ones are Barred Rock Hens and the yellow is a Buff Orpington . I brought them home on the bus in a box that said "cat food." That sure was a conversation starter!
I keep going to check on them and worrying that they are too hot or too cold. They are fairly quiet and aren't huddling together too much (just to sleep) so I'm hoping it's about right. It's been a long time since I've been around baby chicks and the first time I've been "in charge" of making sure that everything is right for them.
Yep, I have a blister. Being a bus rider/walker means thinking a little bit more about the shoes you buy and wear. I've had these for over fifteen years so they get an A+ for longevity and for comfort while standing, but they fail as walking shoes. Of course, I knew that before I started. It just was too beautiful to not walk.
