bee creative

growth rings

The "On Being" podcast is one of my favorite things to listen to while working on projects.  This weekend I listened to an episode with Sandra Cisneros that is being added to my favorites list.

"You know how you look at a tree, and there are some rings that had a lot of rain, and it gets really bigger, and they shrink. Well, we can say that about our own years and what defined us or what happened to us in those years."  Sandra Cisneros

I tried to draw a ring for each year of my life in my journal but ran out of space.

I made a stitched ring too, although not as big.

This is the front side.

I love the soft edge where the two pieces of fabric joined.

word number two is the title of a book: Erosion

Sitting at the bus stop for 20 minutes will make a few things clear:

1. Most cars contain one person.
2. On a busy street, when there is a pause in the traffic of 30-60 seconds the silence is amazing.
3. On a sunny day bicyclists mostly look happy.
4. Given a chance a dog is always going to stop to say hello.

I took the scenic route home from the bookstore today. 

Along the water, towards the mountains.

I went to get Terry Tempest Williams new book Erosion.

 

It's next up on the reading list, although I've already dipped my toe in just a little bit.

Today's project: taking apart a fabric basket that I made a couple years ago and reassembling it into a smaller one.  It was too big to hold things well as I never put cardboard in the sides to hold it firmly. 

Smaller can be better.

 

 

assignments

At the beginning of the year I gave myself assignments to accomplish. 

It's doubtful I will complete any of them. 

Even a once a month assignment to fill a jar with dye stuff:

I missed June and August.

There are good  and not so good reasons for not following through. Luckily, since there was no true deadline other than the one I had created it's not an issue.

I learned something very important; the goal I can reach is daily and lasts only for one month.

The other parameter that works well for me is one that is like the one for this shawl:

The rules are:

1. Only work on it away from home (bus, lunch hour, waiting room).
2. Change color each week.

I've worked on it every week since it was started. 

Next year I want to give myself some new assignments. 

They will be monthly assignments.

In the meantime, I might still be able to finish the 12 books I assigned myself....

 

holding place

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....

catching up

It doesn't matter what I am trying to do, the cat wants to be involved; preferably from the shoulder. 

She's been a constant companion as I've finished Robert Macfarlane's Landmarks. I want to dive right into Underland but am making myself wait.  There is no way I am going to finish all 12 of the books I picked out at the beginning of the year but I'm going to see how close I can get. 

The tomatoes are gone for another year.  I used a version of this recipe to make chutney.

Changes to the recipe:

• Chipotle powder for red pepper flakes.
• Regular granulated sugar and a good dollop of molasses instead of brown sugar.  It won't be preserved so the balance of vinegar and sugar isn't as important (other than to taste). 
• No star anise, not my favorite flavor. 

 

The quince crop was small this year. I made a small batch of quince paste. It's lovely as a layer in scones.

The current bus project.

Instead of switching colors daily as originally planned I've been switching weekly.

Marking time, measuring time.

 

Coupville, part two -the book

My book holds time, generations, and place...

Family, friends, places I've lived, places my family has lived, and color as memory (redwood cones, indigo, avocado pits, pomegranate, walnut).

A fragment of pattern as a reminder of a baby quilt made by my mother.

A sense of childhood, a sense of place.

Gifts from: Hazel, a bit of Deb Lacativa dyed fabric; fabric from one of my grandmothers, some of the lace my great grandmother made and part of her wedding dress; and from Jude.

Transformation.

There is breath and raindrops (not quite how I intended but maybe better?).

The end but not the end.

There is still room for notes.

The workshop, "Binding Time" by Christine Mauersberger

#27 last minute

Zucchini noodles, onions and tomatoes plus egg roll wrappers filled with ricotta.

Two pairs become a set.

That might be how things become...

x is for multiplying

The color isn't true in this photo, but the stripes are visible.

Multiply, to increase.

This shawl is built with increases.

Closer, contrasted with white.

Color provided by fresh indigo.

Grown from seed.

Another increase.

Next year I'd like to have a white sweater done to add to the dye pot.

v is for vegetables, vacation and video

Vegetables from the garden.

Mostly container grown to keep things manageable.

Vacation.

Video, I need to figure this out a bit more but you can see it here.

 

t is for thinking about...

Time.

It passes quicker than I think.

I lost track of it on Sunday and didn't dye anything that I meant to.

There is time still time.

Another shawl. 

They are perfect for the bus.

I've decided to use a different yarn each day that I work on it.

To use up the stash.

Another way to track time.

Someday I'd like a tiny house.

Not tiny enough for this.

Tiny for me.

Tangled and twisted.

Thinking about that too. `