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To take pictures everyday, to write a post every day for a month was a valuable exercise.
I learned that sometimes to be creative, space needs to be cleared: body, mind, soul, environment.
When I started this photo collage I thought it would be a summary of the month, of things I'd done or learned. It's really a summary of who I am...
Maybe what we do becomes who we are?
This is about me.
Being creative...
I walked out the door at just the right moment this morning to be able to notice the colors in this spider web.
Summer sunlight caught for just a moment, at just the right angle...
And this evening, at an outdoor concert, just before sunset...
The clouds are coming back.
Today felt like one of those endless summer days that just stretches on...
Maybe because there was such a dramatic change in weather. This morning gray and maybe just a bit of drizzle and then by afternoon glorious sunshine.
For some reason it seemed like a good day to make pajama bottoms.
Actually two pairs. One with an old sheet to test the pattern. Another pair with fabric that I splurged on at a sale.
And yes, they are flannel.
Cause the sun won't stick around.
This one was tough for me. It says something important to me about being creative.
I've known that I wanted this blanket, "Following Sea," to have a compass. I had some vague ideas of what I wanted it to look like. And then yesterday morning as I was brushing my teeth it came to me that I wanted the compass to be the predominate symbol. My motivation for "Following Sea" is really about direction. Whether we are traveling with the waves or against them.
When I think of the fishing boat I spent most of my childhood summers on, one of the images that always comes to mind is the compass that sat in front of the wheel.
I'm pretty sure that the inspiration to have a large compass in the middle of the blanket really came from a post Acey put up here. A little medallion floating on a blue background.
And then Jude posted a picture of this bowl.
And despite knowing better (despite having read Jude's thoughts on beginning and copying!), the first thought that came to mind when I realized what the pattern was...was something along the lines of "now it will look like I'm copying an idea when I start my blanket..." and "maybe I should think of something else."
And I told myself No. Continue.
I believe we create in community. I believe it can be impossible to tease out all the things that inspire us as we create. I believe that there is a current that creates like thoughts. Many of us have shared experiences that create similar ideas. This is important. This is community.
So my "Following Sea" is about community too. It's inspired by the company I keep. By my childhood. It's built from the skills that I've learned from others, in community. Even the cloth is from my community. Most of the velvet on the front came from a friend cleaning out her mother-in-law's stash after she died. The fabric on the back was a gift from a friend. The fabric for the compass points mostly a gift from my mother. I added a bit of my grandfather's chambray shirt for one of the points.
We live in a community.
Looking closer: some of the points face inward, some outward. With the following sea, against the following sea. Back and forth. In and out.
Today I went to the beach.
I settled in amongst the rocks and day dreamed for awhile.
I took a bit of a nap until a group of people in kayaks going by woke me up. And then I read a bit and thought a bit and wrote a bit, until my mind seemed empty and clear. And then I walked home.
Somehow being by the sea always brings me right into the moment.
This morning I was thinking about how it isn't always desirable to travel with a following sea. Sometimes it is more rewarding, more fun to go against the current...it just depends on perspective.
The first project of the day was to add a red star to the building block quilt. It's actually acquired a new name: "Made of Stars."
Most stars are considered red dwarfs. There are also brown dwarfs and blue dwarfs.
Unfortunately, the color of this red dwarf is off. Visualize it as a bluer red.
As I was stitching I realized that my favorite way to start a blanket is to sew together larger pieces of fabric to form a large cloth. So building a blanket with blocks of fabric is really how I'm creating...
It's based on my desire to not cut fabric any smaller than I have to.
One of my favorite things about making a blanket this way is that I can use it right away, but I can take as long as I want to embellish since it never has to be "done."
At least one star on this blanket is going to need to be exploding or radiating away from it's center.
And since just about any blanket/quilt could be started in the same way as "Made of Stars," I pieced together a lot of my blue velvet. A base for "Following Sea..."
I think it's time to start keeping a written journal again. Love what Jude shared today.
Garden:
This morning I picked the first handful of loganberries off one of the vines I planted this year. Also a small amount of currants. I planted the currant last year so I didn't expect much this year. And then it started to rain.
Cooking:
For something new I'm trying pickled nasturtium buds. My recipe says they should age for six weeks before eating so it will be awhile before I know whether I like them or not. They are a suggested substitution for capers. I've never had capers that I know of, so I really can't compare.
I also made kale chips for the first time. Different seasonings than the recipe I linked to, but same technique. Making them again.
Today's sewing project:
A couple years ago I was making buckwheat pillows for gifts. The most economical way to purchase the buckwheat was to buy a big bag of buckwheat, a really big bag. Today I made a large pillow for myself with all the buckwheat I've been storing and then made a new pillow case. Buckwheat pillows can be a bit bumpy so I decided to line one side of my pillowcase with an old towel that has lace edging on it.
And because I thought of it today:
"I will make you brooches and toys for your delight
Of bird-song at morning and starshine at night.
I will make a palace fit for you and me
Of green days in forests and blue days at sea."
-Robert Louis Stevenson
It is good to be at home.
Editing, pruning, cropping, thinning. Processes that make space, that allow growth.
Dinner tonight, with eggs.
Minus the dirt.
The latest bus knitting project. It doesn't seem to crazy considering we've been having a lot of rain and haven't had a day over 80 degrees F yet this summer...but they are really for winter.
Not going to be able to keep it to one photo tonight:
On staycation for the next week. A little earlier than planned but that's okay. The next week should be good gardening weather.
The yeast/sugar indigo dye vat worked! The first piece of fabric that I put in the vat didn't take much color. The second, so much more. I'm going to put another piece of fabric in tomorrow.
This is not as easy as using the color remover. It's going to take practice to get reliable results.
One thing I know for sure, this is an outside project. Stinky.
What I suspect, this method takes some time. Be patient, lazy or forgetful.
Found floating in the water I've been rinsing fabric in.
Indigo moth...