bee creative

silence

I fell into silence again.

Maybe it's the darkness. The days are definitely shorter.  I am very aware this time round that we are in the dark of the moon. 

There is a small garbage can full of walnuts fermenting away on the back deck.  Lid tightly closed to keep the squirrels out. 

Silk shirt (purchased at thrift store for 5 dollars) dyed in sumac. 

I also found a pair of white jeans that promptly went into a not working so well indigo vat, followed by a dip in the walnuts, and then after drying out a bit; is now back in the walnut vat. 

On the left is a tank top that I made, dyed in the indigo vat (with better results but splotchy) that also took a dip in the walnuts.  It's still drying on the line and will be washed soon. 

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Several years ago I bought a copy of A Book of Silence by Sara Maitland.  I've dived in and out of it but haven't read the whole thing yet.  I think it's time to start.  A part that caught my attention...

"But the horizon line of the hills abided...  Whenever I sat to meditate, there was the clear, clean line that divides earth and sky and also unites them.  That line was constant.  It emerged out of the dark in the first dawn light and was swallowed back into the dark at nightfall.  Above the line, infinity, below the line, mortality.  But the line itself was both and held them both, and the wind blew along it, fresh and free like the passage of the spirit." 

This wasn't the quote that I went looking for this morning, but after seeing Jude's post today, seemed most appropriate. 

 

mending by making cloth

Today I sorted all my white fabric scraps by type and weight. 

There is enough linen to piece together a skirt. I'm sewing all the seams down with cotton thread one of my great-grandmothers crocheted lace with once upon a time.  It's old but certainly strong.

It's heading for a dye vat along with the tank top. 

I signed up for India Flint's class "Conscious Clothing." 

So many ideas....

 

fieldnotes #48

The weather has cooled considerably, back down to the low 70's (around 20 C).  I'm ready for the next "heat wave." Two pairs of Pants No. 1 by 100 Acts of Sewing are done. They are great with my tank tops, short and dress length and of course Dress No. 2. 

It would be safe to think that I didn't have a garden the way I fill a basket at the market. Today's purchases: zucchini, cucumber, cherry tomatoes (the first!), broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, new potatoes, onions, cherries, strawberries and a rhubarb danish.  And basil plants.

In the garden there are all kinds of herbs to harvest, garlic, raspberries, the first of the blueberries, the occasional strawberry, lettuce, peas, Swiss chard and sour cherries.

In another month there should be zucchini and tomatoes.  One of the cucumbers is about to bloom. It's the difference of a green house and micro climates. 

Shopping at the farmer's market is really more about getting fruits and vegetables ahead of when they are ready in my garden, getting enough of something to preserve (cucumbers for pickles), or things that I don't have the room for or struggle to grow well (corn!).

First sighting of baby deer for the year on Friday...at the bus stop.  So sweet but worrisome too.  This is an area with a lot of traffic. 

A little further down the street two blue herons flew over.  It's wild out there... 

 

 

 

 

Finished sweater...just in time for 80 F weather

Pattern: Less is More

Adjustments made:  I followed the directions for long sleeves but stopped just past my elbows.

Yarn: Aviary by Abundant Earth Fiber

Not blocked yet (washed and shaped). 

Thoughts:  Very easy pattern to follow and I will definitely make it again.  It was, in fact, a tester to see if I would make this sweater with hand spun yarn. 

It's one size larger than needed because I like roomy sweaters but it really is too big. This sweater will mostly be a "wear at home, to cuddle in sweater." Next sweater will be exactly to the measurement.  

One part of the bottom wants to flip a bit. It's probably because I forgot to switch to smaller needles for the edges, but next time maybe the edge needs to be a bit deeper?  And maybe this will go away when the sweater is blocked. 

As for the yarn, it's so very lovely.  At it's current price, it wouldn't be a good choice for a sweater for me again.  This isn't a complaint about the cost of the yarn but rather what is realistic for my lifestyle. The roving is very tempting though...

feild trip: Portland Oregon

Last Thursday I hopped on the train heading to Portland to take a shoe making class (Laughingcrowe)!

I love my shoes so much and the class was fabulous!  So much so that I brought home tools with me so I can do it again.  I also have some other leather projects in mind. And well...thinking by the end of the week I'll use my pattern again to make wool slippers. 

Making shoes was the last piece of a goal I set for myself, to make every item of clothing that I am wearing.  More on this later. 

I didn't take many pictures of Portland, too busy looking, soaking in some sunshine and worrying about finding the train station. 

 

Sunset on the river:

 

A really cool fence on the way to class:

One of the very best parts of the trip was staying with a friend I've known since we were 10. Thank you Renee and Kevin for your hospitality and more good memories.

I did take quite a few pictures on the train...The trip was beautiful.

Almost to Portland.

Mt. Rainer

Sunset coming out of Seattle.

u

Uniform. Implies, predictable and sameness.  In some ways my wardrobe choices are moving towards a kind of uniform. My favorite is a cardigan, tank top and skirt.

Unmentionables. Usually code for underwear! Most preschoolers think underwear is hysterically funny for some reason. As part of my make everything I wear goal, I am sewing underwear.

Umbrellas. People in this area have a funny relationship with umbrellas. Once upon a time it might have been said you weren’t local if you used an umbrella. I think this is changing. Research at the bus stop concurs. What is more true is that umbrellas are only useful when there is no wind. Mostly when there is rain there is wind. Gusts of 33 MPH tonight.  Unfortunately, it might not be restful. 

inspired by "Under starry skies above," Cole Porter

Up. I love looking up at the sky. There is so much to see and dream about up there...the universe.

 

t

Tree...time to trim.

Tomato soup with thyme

Tip: Every summer I freeze whole tomatoes. When I want a tomato for a meal I run it under hot water and slip off the skin.

Soup made by cooking tomatoes with onion + a bit of thyme from the garden and water to thin. And then blended with a hand held blender.

I can usually find a bit of thyme in the garden.

Oh, and garlic toast too...

Topping: A sprinkle of the garlic from making the toast

Thread...

I add thread tails to my wool for extra texture sometimes.

The movie Phantom Thread (trailer) is very good. Worth watching almost just for the setting and costumes.

Tailor, made to fit. I am taking apart the coat to remove the flannel layer.  While it is very warm, it just doesn't fit as well as I want it to. 

 Every project has something to teach. 

g

gifts, garden, gratitude, goal

Goal: a task that we set for ourselves, or is set by others, to be accomplished.

A goal that I’ve been working towards for awhile is to make every article of clothing that I am wearing, including shoes. This year I’ve found a shoe making class to take. 

I'll share more about this later!

Gift: something given to a person by someone else.

The idea that creativity is a gift makes sense to me. Not in the sense of muse so much but rather that by being present in the moment, by noticing what is in our environment and what is happening around us; we are given the gift of an idea.

Garden: a place where plants, trees, shrubs are cultivated.

Gardening is probably in my genes. It’s one of the way that I hold on to my heritage. When I am in my garden I lose all sense of time and am in the moment, focused on the task at hand.

I garden because it reminds me to be grateful and because I feel a responsibility to grow some of my own food, plants for my own care (mint for an upset tummy for example), or that can be used to craft with (dye or baskets).

rose hips and grape vine from the garden

Gratitude: Thankfulness for what we have.

There is more and more research on the importance of gratitude for longevity of life and mental health.

I've listened to this On Being podcast with David Steindl-Rast about gratitude more than once. He also talks about joy. 

 

friday field notes #27

I wanted to be able to say we were warming up and there was nice normal Pacific Northwest rain. 

Not so!

This morning it was wet and warmer but by this afternoon it was pouring and windy and cold.  A little to the north there is an ice storm.  That's the first time I've seen "ice storm" show up on the local forecast. 

IT could be worse, but it's cold enough.

Temp: 34 F

Wind Chill: 25 F

Wind: NNE 13 MPH

Forecast: Rain and Snow

Wish I'd picked the last of the Swiss chard and Parsley last week. 

...

Still mostly sewing happening around here.  A few tips:

1. Get whiny dog a pillow sooner rather than later when you are not in her preferred room. 

2.  When you have set personal parameters around sewing times, follow them.  For example, I know better than to sew on the machine after 3 PM. 

I know better, I do.

3. When you have to tear out a seam it's easier if you work from the middle, between the two layers of fabric. 

I'm experimenting with embellishing pockets.

Inspired by a hankie...

I need to practice needle turned applique more.  If I had the right hankies, they would make perfect pockets as themselves.

Hmm...

 

sewing snow day

It's snowed all day but barely anything has stuck to the ground. 

Went outside to play for a bit today but mostly I tried out a new pattern.

I used some fabric purchased from the neighborhood thrift store as a test. It's very wearable as is so I'll consider the pattern paid for considering the fabric was $4.00. 

The pattern: Dress No.2 from 100 Acts of Sewing.

No fitting changes were needed so I dived right in to using the pattern with this fabric:

In this picture the colors are accurate.  The fabric is cotton voile which I've never tried sewing with before.  It drapes more like rayon. 

It didn't fit as well as the plaid cotton that was used for a test so I took 6 inches off the bottom to make it blouse length rather than a dress. 

Perfect! 

My suspicion is that fabrics that are lighter will look better shorter and the ones with a bit more stiffness/weight will be fine at the "dress" length.  This might be a fitting issue specific to me. 

The neckline still needs to be bound. It would be nice with something that contrasted a bit.

One of the reasons I'm so excited about this pattern is that it is simple enough that it will be easy to experiment with. I want to try piecing or dyeing stripes for sleeves for example. 

So many possibilities!