I am still reading In Kiltumper. This morning I found another passage that I need to keep track of. The passage refers to plants that self seed and come up in unexpected places.
"These surprises are small reminders that you are part of a living, changing space, and also, that you are not in control of everything, a good thing for me to remember. Another, that you can't imagine what will lift your heart tomorrow. But somewhere, today, it is already starting to happen."
The book has also taken me down a bit of a rabbit hole. On Niall Williams' website I found a podcast called Shelfmarks that featured the book. I am now working my way through the series. It's a mixture of poetry and natural history.
And...today the indigo that I grew this year (started by my mother), is lifting my heart.
I made the pigment on the right with indigo that has been fermented and with calx added. The one on the left was done with fresh leaves and as a lake pigment. The lake pigment won't work as a dye (I am pretty sure) but the one made today can be used that way. I have a copy of John Marshall's book Singing the Blues. It's been very helpful (for the fermented pigment, no information about lake pigments).
I still have a tiny bit of fresh indigo and might dye part of this wool a third time. I want to use this for a lap quilt and am thinking that some applique on top might be nice.