bee creative

#20 sewing projects for the weekend

As I often do on Friday, I've been planning what projects I want to work on this weekend.  Rain and wind on the way.

Time to bring the orchids in and this begonia too.

To start eating some of the pumpkins from the garden.

And to sew:

This weekend I'll finish the hems on the blue shirt.  I'm thinking to make cuffs that fold back with the blue print and to make a skirt with the red print.  My mother found the fabric in a second hand store for $3.00. 

The weather report:  6:57 PM 62 degrees F, Winds SW 3 MPH, cloudy, Sunrise 6:54 and Sunset 7:12. 

#19 laundry day

The trick to not having a dryer + a job that involves young children is to be organized and do laundry on a regular basis.  Either that or have a lot of clothing. 

#18 seeds

Seed stitch:

Playing with pink.  Sometimes an idea is a seed too.

Tomatoes set aside for seed, marigolds, swiss chard seed and scarlet runner beans. 

For next year's garden.

#17 stocking up

From the garden:  About 14 pounds of apples from two different trees.  One on its ninth year, the other its first harvest.

Food: Part of my pantry.  I've lived within a 10 minute walk of a grocery store for the last 20 years and I still stock up. 

For making clothing: While I've learned (the hard way) not to build too large of a stash, I do think it's worth while having a few things extra.  I buy fabric when it's on sale at my local fabric store, extra thread or an extra skein of yarn on occasion at the yarn store (also locally owned). 

Eggs: As the chickens will stop laying eggs when the days get shorter, I'm also stocking up on eggs.  These are going in the freezer.  Two cubes = one egg.  I've never tried this before so we'll see how this goes. 

#15 preserve and #16 cook + a few other things

Yesterday afternoon and evening there was thunder, lightening and rain, lots of rain. Seemed like a good idea to turn the computer off for a bit so I'm combining two days into one. 

Before the rainstorm I worked in the garden.  Found a winter squash hanging in one of the apple trees, about 3 feet off the ground:

and this from the black bean dye pot:

The moon is where the fabric was resting against a penny.  This hasn't been washed yet.

Other projects done on Sunday:

#15 preserve

5 jars of corn relish and 4 jars of mixed pickles (peppers, green beans, onions and carrots). 

#16 Cook

Last night's dinner.  The salad is made from wheat berries, a tomato, cheddar cheese, a bit of the corn relish and a few olives.  Plus a few walnuts.  The relish could be replaced with a bit of corn and diced onion.  I used olive oil and no vinegar (since the relish is tangy), but a vinaigrette could be used as well.

On the side, vegetable fritters made with corn, cauliflower, zucchini, and peppers.

So good. 

#14 medicine in the garden

Two of the medicinal plants I've added to the garden this year: yarrow and mullein. 

Sometimes considered weeds.

And really anything that makes a person smile is good medicine.

 

update from the dye pot.......................

Elderberry leaves

#13 observe

5:45 PM Sitting at the bus stop after stopping at the library.  This is a page from one of the books I was picking up, Anam Cara by John O'Donohue.  I became interested after listening to an interview at On Being.  

It was 62 degrees F, Winds S 7 MPH with gusts to 17.  Sunny but I could see the bank of fog/clouds heading north with the wind.

And now it is overcast and heading towards sunset at 7:27. 

#12 life without a car: bus projects

The scarf that I pulled apart has been re-knit.  Becoming a cowl.  A bit of alpaca mixed in with wool for each strand.  The wool for strength and the alpaca for softness.  As a thank you.  As a way to hold place.  Knit mostly on the bus.

Continuing the knitting that I started on the beach a couple weeks ago.  On the bus. On my lunch break. All wool.  Some from my grandmother's sheep. Holding both place of inspiration and place of family. 

I've been considering the differences in texture in these two projects.  The difference in how they lay.  Soft and flowing, curling with firmness. 

#11 try again (something more for the dye pot)

Dahlia started from seed this spring.  I wasn't sure that the seed was still good but thought it worth a try. 

#10 adapting (dyeing with plants)

One of the things that interests me greatly is dyeing with plants.  The connection of environment/garden to making and purpose.  As a more natural way of coloring things.  An article by Rita Buchannan in a magazine was my first inspiration many years ago.  Her book, A Weaver's Garden is a wonderful resource.  And then I discovered Wild Color by Jenny Dean and then India Flint and I've been exploring ever since.  Maybe not as much as I'd like, but learning more each year. 

Some of my latest experiments:

Onion skin, Sumac fruit, black bean and copper (3 pieces of blue), hazelnut, sumac fruit, and another batch of onion skins.

Sumac fruit up close.

Thinking about the importance of adapting to what is available to us, what is local and part of our environment...