bee creative

d is for drip, design and delight

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...

c is for color, collage, and cherries

Cooking project of the day: Cherry compote.

July's jar of color.  I bundled silk with marigolds and wrapped it around an avocado pit. Unfortunately June sailed by without making a bundle.  I will add a bit of white fabric to the mix to mark the month.

The other two bundles are experiments with elderberry leaves and sumac.

Trying to get back to making either a paper or digital collage each day.  The flower is of a campanula, not sure of the type. 

C is also for commitment and continue. 

layers again

Looking out the window. 

Thinking in layers.

Layered flavors.

Layered color.

Spinach, onions, a pinch of tumeric, a pinch of cumin, a sprinkle of salt, a quick pour of buttermilk (about 1/4 cup). Topped with fried paneer sprinkled with pepper.

Oatmeal, grated carrot, raisins, walnuts, a bit of cinnamon.

The bus project.  No counting just make an increase every other row one stitch from the side (cast on three stitches and will keep going until I run out of yarn). Originally I thought to dye it in fresh indigo but I am really liking it the way it is.

Layered thoughts.

I'm going to try dyeing with those rose petals.

Planning on sewing today...layered cloth.

pattern as layer

The feed I buy for the chickens is "layer" mix.

Yesterday I thought I could smell the sea,

Marine layer.

Say a word enough times at it always sounds funny.

life happens

"You can tell a lot about a garden and about its gardeners by monitoring how weeds are attended to."

This week I have been revisiting a garden book I like...Gardening at the Dragon's Gate by Wendy Johnson.

Layers.

Inspiration gathered from many sources.

A myth in the making. Once there was a dragon that lived in a cold dark sea and dreamed of warmth...

Study. 

Absorb. 

Growing.

We have a garden party coming up next week where I work. Families are invited to come, plant something with their children and spend time with us.  We will grow all sorts of vegetables, herbs and flowers for cutting.  There is a little forest area we are trying to reclaim.  It is being planted with natives. 

Nourish.

Paneer + cauliflower + raisins + rhubarb + spices (cumin, chipotle, ginger, pepper)

pulling a green thread

From Teju Cole’s book, Known and Strange Things:

“There is another possible book that contains all that is not in this one.”

I put myself on the wait list for a few of Teju Cole's books after listening to his interview on On Being.

I've read a few of the essay's, enough to know I want to find a copy to keep, to take time with.

Counting stitches for a sleeve.

Stitching with plant dyed fabric, some printed silk that I've had for a long time.   

It's May and the first rose is blooming and I may be absorbed into the garden...

random moments

1. This is Lightning. He lives at the childcare where I work. On Friday one of my co-workers gave him a hair cut.  I combed some of the fur into some sheep's wool and then showed the preschoolers how it could be spun into yarn with my drop spindle. And then how that could be knit into fabric. 

2. Multiple photos and projects, layered. It's been windy and it's raining cherry blossoms.

3.  Salad made of fried potatoes, radishes, lettuce, walnuts, avocado, bread, cheese. Tonight's version was asparagus, toasted bread, cheese, lettuce, spring onions (cooked), lettuce. 

4.  Yesterday I was looking at some wooden spoons and pottery at the farmer's market. The vendor greeted me and then asked me a question I thought was a bit odd for starting a conversation...had I ever tried making pottery? (The answer is yes but not much.)

 

 

assignment #1 March: collage

I'm still doing a collage a day but not always dating. Sometimes it's completed, some times it's a bit more on something on going, sometimes it's digital.  Some of these I am going to make into cards. Some of them inspire thoughts of cloth projects. More ideas than I can keep up with.

There is still snow on the ground in places. Still cold and it shapes the days.

A few pictures from my walk through the neighborhood park today:

blended worlds

2 torn pieces of paper + 2 photos, blended + a filter + a bit of sketching = something else than the beginning but not really an ending.

 

assignment #5 and an update

Assignment #5 is to make or mend each week, with the idea that a project is finished. It was not accomplished during the first full week of the month but if I hurry it will be for the second. Tomorrow I hope to finish the edges on this jumper (dyed in walnut) and attach pockets (maybe the original color?).

An update on the rest of the assignments...

Assignment #1

A collage is happening everyday. 

Yesterday while looking at a photo of water lilies I was inspired to make my own.  I've been thinking about how there is an essential shape to anything that the human eye identifies and labels. 

Assignment #2:  January's dye jar is brewing away happily.  I occasionally tip it and wonder what color is being absorbed into the fabric.  The water is a lovely golden tea color. 

Assignment #3 I am on track to finish Wanderlust by Rebecca Solnit by the end of January. A friend (Nancy at pomegranate trail) recommended Silence by Earling Kagge which I checked out as an audio book and have been knitting to.  There is much that I like about this book including the following definition: "Wonder is the engine of life."  

Assignment #4 The sweaters.

Sweater number one is at about 8 or 9 inches. At 15ninches I'll start the sleeves. This will be a short cardigan intended to wear with dresses and tunics. The length is based on a favorite sweater.

A lot of the knitting on this one is happening on the bus or on lunch break. It's mindless knitting...knit one way and then purl the other. 

Sweater number two is cast on and moving forward. Right now it is my "at home project," for when it is quiet and I can concentrate. There is another new skill with this one that was not considered...reading a chart for the color pattern (yes I had to start twice).  Once the yoke is finished it will pretty much turn in to around and around we go and will take the place of sweater number one as the on the go project. 

The colors of this one make me think of sunlight moving through the forest. 

At first I thought the goal of 4 sweaters might be ambitious but it really seems doable.  Part of this is choosing the right project for the right time of day.  Which is really the truth for all of these assignments I've given myself...

smile!

Or maybe pucker up?

One of the assignments for the class I'm taking.

There's also this:

Thinking about something similar to this on cloth.