Last night Jude posted a link to this video...after watching I just had to go work on something. This was it:
I've been debating for quite awhile what I wanted to do with the top. A while back I decided to add a little moon and a drift of cloud. After thinking about it and watching one of Grace's projects unfolding, I realized I wanted to leave this empty for the most part. I haven't captured it well, but it looks right to me. It reminds me that I am content not knowing what is beyond the stars that I can see... That there is a place for open spaces. (I had forgotten that Grace had done a moon similar to this one when I stitched mine down. I don't think I'd have done it differently if I'd been thinking about it though.)
After visiting Penny's blog, Tanglewood Threads, this morning, I decided there was one more thing I wanted to try with this piece of fabric. I sprinkled some metal shavings my dad had given me over the top of the fabric and sprayed it with some vinegar water (I keep a bottle handy for cleaning). Surprise, something showed up. The outline of the leaf I had tried to get an ecoprint of. Hmm....
I couldn't wait longer and pulled the silk velvet I was dyeing in the pansy-petunia tea (with a touch of alum). It's a bit bluer than pictured, I included the white fabric for a bit of contrast. I hope I'll be able to gather more flowers before the weather changes. More experimenting to do. Velma has a sample too. And of course, India Flint's book Eco Colour is providing a lot of inspiration! Her "found, stitched and dyed" is a fantastic project.
I also tried Kaite's ecostring. I'll have to practice a bit more to have as smooth of a texture as Kaite's, but I think I've got the process down. I used bearded iris leaves from my garden for this.
We create in community, this I believe. I've just pulled a few threads here...so many more directions I could have gone. And I'm thinking of all the lovely ways that we can use our hands, all the textures there are for us to explore. Life seems rich with possibilities.