bee creative

things I did today

Two things from the garden:

So good.

Testing rose hip ink made last fall and charcoal made from pruning. I am going to make ink from the charcoal.

I also collected marigolds to make a lake pigment with, probably tomorrow.

Not from the garden:

Lazy boys, I napped too.

And...the tank top I am making with scraps (linen) from other projects.  

The tricky part was making the arm holes.  I wanted the lighter color (which is a plaid) on the top but there wasn't enough fabric to make a yoke.  I had to piece fabric together to make it big enough.  In this picture the left side has the arm hole cut correctly and the right side still needs to be cut.  I also cut the neckline a little deeper. 

Now to make the other side and clean up the edges. 

Hoping to be done before we have 80+ weather.

change the story

At the farmer's market last Saturday I stopped to buy a cauliflower from a vendor I have been visiting more frequently. 

On the table I found a book...

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig.

It looked intriguing and I investigated.

Today I picked up my own copy at the bookstore.

I discovered this video and there is more to explore...

 

 

Tonight I am thinking about how once you "see" something, it is hard to unsee...

 

More to think about

kind of random

Layers of rose petal ink.

I like this one.

The first of the lilies are starting to bloom.

Runny homemade salsa that made good soup with some diced cucumbers.

The sour cream was really for the chips, the soup really didn't need it.

lunch break

Sitting outside on my lunch break today.

A breeze, the cottonwood was noisy but just right.

Stitching the last few strips on this square.

 

 

on repeat

So good I ate it two days in a row.

Potatoes (some from my garden) + cheese + pod peas + prosciutto (made by one of my brothers!) + garlic scapes + bread.

It is based on a potato lasagne recipe in Lynne Rossetto Kasper's cookbook The Italian Country Table that I love.  Instead of baking it, I made a stove top version. 

And

A print I made with my paint muller.

At first glance I only saw one beast, but right now I see four.

color is one of my favorite things

No sewing today...I spent about 4 hours in the garden weeding and puttering.

I pried off some gum from the cherry tree. It's soaking in water now and then I will filter it.

And I made some pigments.

I have a tea plant (camellia sinensis) that I harvested some leaves from last fall and soaked in water.  It was for another project that got away from me.  Today I realized I had about 1/4 of a cup of very concentrated pigment. 

The brown is the tea, the green rose petal and the black iron/oak gall. 

I also made paint with some of the ochre/clay that I brought back from California.

This is a special one for me. In an email I sent recently to someone I wrote, “It is a truly wonderful and magical thing to be able to hold on to a memory or a connection to place through pigments….”

 

almost there

Almost finished with this square.

I really love the cloud.

 

I need two more squares and then I will finish putting the top together, 6 feet by 6 feet for social distancing during Covid. 

It's cat approved.

 

 

movement

Rearranging.

Layering

First raspberry...exquisite.

 

fieldnote: blueberries

Do the first taste best?

playing a little

Happy Solstice!