While sorting cloth I found the white fleece I was looking for. It had been made in to a pair of sweat pants that were too big.
Added to a little leftover pink fleece I have a whole new sweatshirt...probably for a P.J. top.
I suppose there is a little Alabama Chanin influence along with the usual suspects.
And the house is a little cleaner....
Home today working on projects, mostly sewing.
I've been using the facing patterns that I made for my favorite tank top as guidelines for necklines and armholes for more free-form cutting like the top below that is based on a square.
First time round this was too wide for the weight of the fabric. Much better now.
This is the favorite tank top pattern made to dress length. I'm trying to make my wardrobe more cohesive and this shade of red matches a skirt perfectly...so it's a tunic length now.
This jacket was started during Jude's Boro class. I finally made a decision regarding fabric for sleeves. Just a little more lining to go and then I will sew up the side seams.
I think it might be time to make jeans....
An assortment of plant dyed fabric, all plants grown in my garden. Mostly browns (leaves), some yellow from marigolds, blue from the indigo I grew. Some fabric stewed away in canning jars for a year, some for a couple months. Length of time didn't seem to change anything for these samples. Fabrics are wool and silk.
I've been looking and considering this weekend but still not sure what I want to do with them.
Look and See, it's the title of a movie. Simply, a movie about Wendell Berry, but really more about what he believes and values.
One of Berry's essays I read recently from The Future of Nature, Writing on a Human Ecology from Orion Magazine included:
"The principles of neighborhood and subsistence will be disparaged by the globalists as "protectionism"--and that is exactly what it is. It is a protectionism that is just and sound, because it protects local producers and is the best assurance of adequate supplies to local consumers. And the idea that local needs should be met first and only surpluses exported does not imply any prejudice against charity toward people in other places or trade with them. The principal of neighborhood at home always implies the principle of charity abroad. And the principle of subsistence is in fact the best guarantee of giveable or marketable surpluses."
Local can be defined as where you are standing but is also dependent on what you are referring to. If we are talking about the universe, Earth is local. A community can be global.
"Think global, act local." It's become a little overused but is useful as a lens.
....
I so overestimated my ability to finish my sweater; still working on the yoke.
It will be finished when it is finished but it will be soon. I was remembering recently that this was reclaimed yarn. The first time I used this yarn for a sweater, the sweater didn't fit so I pulled it all apart.
I did finish a tunic I put together using scraps left over from another project. It is made up of six different pieces of fabric.
Very much designed using ideas from India Flint's class, "conscious clothing."
Choosing local can be as simple as choosing to do the labor or reusing materials...
Or let sleeping dogs lay?
Experimenting more with taking pictures when lighting isn't great. Filters are not quite true, but not wrong either.
The bottom image is of two of my current projects.
The netting (from Mo Crow) is being stitched to pre-felt.
The knitting project is a hat and is my current bus project.
Wool dyed with Eucalyptus.
I have enough wool for a blanket but to be dyed in the eucalyptus I'll need to cut it apart, bundle it, and then sew it back together again.
Thinking about how that is story telling....
Salad: butter lettuce, peaches, sherry vinegar, olive oil with lemon and herbs, scamorza cheese.
Shawl. The edge is secured and ready for the dye pot.
Shirt/stitch. It has a few extra seams so that I could use scrap fabric. It's a self drafted pattern inspired by several sources (Spirit Cloth, School of Nomad Arts, Conscious clothing, dosanyc).
Summer.
It's the season (noun) and it seasons (verb) everything.
The sky is one thing that inspires.
A short list: inquiry, investigation, multiple intelligences....
...
P.S. One more "h"
The secret to getting a Hoya to bloom is to not water it for awhile and then give it a good drink.
The flowers barely look real.
They inspire me.
Color provided by dripping dyed cloth:
It was made into a book, one to doodle in, maybe make some dots. Dots are fun.
Along side the book is a scarf found today at a side walk sale. The design caught my eye. The fact that it was silk meant it was coming home. It will blend in perfectly with other yellow/brown dyed fabric. It's time to try for avocado pink dyed fabric again.
Somewhere in there is a hummingbird or two. There have been several in the Buddleia today and they are moving fast. This morning one stopped to say hello. It's startling how they seem to make eye contact.
All this brings delight. A pretty essential ingredient for life.
Today I spent some time learning about Anji play. It made me think of moments of joy, delight, wonder. About what children should experience, what they need in their day; about what adults need. We need to play too...
One pair of pants + one skirt =
Won't be wearing this to work, it's wool (the skirt wool gauze) and I would cry if bleach got on it. Well, maybe...it could always be mended and/or over-dyed.
Cost, about 15 dollars. I live close to a really fabulous thrift store which is a great resource for work jeans. Sometimes other things can't be resisted!
The top part was cut using the facing pattern for my favorite tank top. For the skirt, I cut out the lining and the zipper, cut it in to 2 pieces and then put it all together.
Another photo with bad lighting that needed a little help. Lola is very happy when I am home. Especially if there are leftovers...
About 2 cups of risotto + 1 egg + 1/4 cup cheese + about 1/3 cup zucchini butter.
I keep forgetting things like this stay together better when the mix is chilled before baking/frying.
Oh well, still tasty.