Tuesday Thoughts

After pulling up the exhausted ornamental cabbage plants and throwing most away, I found two that I'd left in the front bed.  Hmmmm.  Wouldn't they be good for eco printing?  And why didn't I think of that before?

I guess because my current projects aren't leaving me much time for thinking about going through all the reading and preparation for eco dyeing and eco prints.

I tore off some of the leaves and am flattening them out in an old phone book.  Isn't the stem beautiful?

So now there is a little bit of silk soaking in a mordant bath of alum and cream of tartar.  

Something I just realized after getting out the silk -- on all of the prayer flags that I said I used habotai silk...I meant raw silk.  I do know the difference, but for some reason, "habotai" is what I typed on every prayer flag where I used silk.  And ALL of them use raw silk.

The texture, rough and nubby, of the raw silk appeals to me, and while I do love the sheer silkiness of habotai silk,  it must be the word itself that I love.  I'm not going back through all of those posts to change it, but habotai silk  is in the mordant bath, and all of the prayer flags use raw silk.  Duh.

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My friend Thomas has gotten me hooked on a Korean television series,  A Tree with Deep Roots, and now I'm having to do much slower stitching because I'm having to read the subtitles, and I'm so entranced with the series that, in spite of my determination not to, I keep returning!  Beautifully filmed and with engaging characters, the story line is loosely based on the Korean king who created the alphabet for the Korean language (instead of Chinese).  It was so much simpler that a person could learn to read and write within a day.

"King Sejong presided over the introduction of the 28-letter Korean alphabet, with the explicit goal being that Koreans from all classes would read and write. He also attempted to establish a cultural identity for his people through its unique script. While creating the alphabet, King Sejong encountered opposition of courtiers. First published in 1446, anyone could learn Hangul in a matter of days. Persons previously unfamiliar with Hangul can typically pronounce Korean script accurately after only a few hours study."

The series has mystery, political difficulties, corruptions, romance, and, uh, wonderful costumes.  Yes, I love the costumes.

More Eco Dyed Fabric

I forgot to show some of the browns from various dye pots.   Some have been over-dyed in more than one dye pot: birch bark, acorns, leaves, spinach, and rosemary.

Yesterday, Fee and I went to lunch, dropped by to see Bryce Eleanor for a brief visit, then went to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.  I read a bunch of John LeCarre's Smiley novels years ago.  Some, at least 30 YEARS AGO.  I enjoyed the books, but when watching the movie, the only thing I could remember were the names George Smiley and Karla.  I may try reading through the entire series from first to last, especially since I never read all of them, just the ones that were available at the library at the time.

The film was good, but occasionally difficult to follow with all of the flashbacks, especially since I couldn't remember a thing about the plot.  Gary Oldman did a great job as the laconic George Smiley, but John Hurt, Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch were also quite good, as would be expected.

It rained and rained last night and has continued to do so throughout the morning.   Although tempted to stay in enjoy the weather by having a cup of tea and reading (something I haven't been doing too much of lately), I decided to  go to the 10:15 tai chi class anyway.  The class is Yang style, and I practiced Wu style.  

You would think trying a new style wouldn't be too difficult; however, I'm finding it pretty demanding.  I've only been to 2 classes, and hopefully, things will begin to fall into place eventually.  Most names of positions are the same, although with slight variations, and the movements the same, but with many slight differences, including uprightness or leaning, direction, hand positions, etc.  These important details take some time to nail down.

 Yang style is more open and sweeping; Wu style more restricted.   Sometimes it is difficult to recognize a movement from one style to the other without paying close attention.

 Wu style has a 13 form, 24 form, 48 form, and 108 form.  Yang style has a small circle form, an 8 form, a 16 form, etc.  So sequences changes as well.  Nevertheless, I'm going to try to keep two classes a week in my schedule because...tai chi feels good.  :)  Like yoga, much of the benefit is in the breath.

Five people playing one guitar...very, very well.

Blues

A mixed bag of blues and blueish from the red cabbage dye pot.  I will try this again at a later date, but I wanted some blues for my prayer flags, and really, I'm pleased to acknowledge that red cabbage does produce blue.

The gauzes took the blue better than the large piece of dupioni, each gauze took the blue a bit differently, and the small strip of dupioni has a much deeper blue than the larger piece.

They were all a lovely light purple at first, but the blue took over as the dye pot cooled after the simmering.  I rinsed, washed with Eucalan, then dried them, and the color lightened to (approximately) the above shades.
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The first stitch for TAST is the fly stitch.  I know everyone who is participating in the TAST Challenge was excited to finally begin stitching, and the fly stitch is very versatile--the kind of simple stitch that can be soothing work for the hands while listening to music or watching television or Netflix streaming.  (My current Netflix love is Kingdom with Stephen Fry, and last night I stitched on the first prayer flag while watching the lovable Fry and the eccentric inhabitants of  a small village in Norfolk.)  I started with some simple fly stitches just to get the feel, and then began working some variations, and developing a pattern.

I'm still not certain how many prayer flags will be the result; I simply can't see myself as disciplined enough to make a new flag each week.  That would be 52 prayer flags!  I'll just see how I get along in the first month or so and hope for a pattern to arise.
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Uh, oh.  Now there are a bunch of blog posts about pantry re-organization.  I'm always enchanted with the way some people's pantries look so beautiful, so homey, so designed to make you want to live in a house with "that" pantry.

 I haven't even organized the bedroom closet yet, and now I want a gorgeous pantry! Sigh.  "I want" does not, however, mean much.  I only want a gorgeous pantry if someone else would do it.  I definitely do NOT want to do it myself.

I've strained all of the birch bark out of the dye pot and added some fabrics.  As I suspected, the brown has a pinkish tinge to it, not the deep brown or grey that I wanted, but I've have some other options for those pieces.

I love the way the birches shed their beautiful bark.  I used birch bark in some fabric art pieces about five years ago; flattened and treated the bark (which has a kind of paper layer to it), then sewed it directly on to batting and backing for fabric postcards.  It quilted nicely after being treated with either gel medium or ModgePodge.

Below is the red cabbage before going into the dye pot.  I have some silk dupioni and gauze mordanting in a plastic bucket.

We will see what happens.  Hard to imagine getting the blue I want from the purple/red of the cabbage.
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I've been reading lots of resolutions and goals on various blogs, and one item that crops up in the top 5 or 10 pretty consistently is organization.  And I, willing but not able, read them all with fervent good intentions.  I particularly like the ones with titles like "20 (or 15 0r 10) Ways To..."  If you could see me, nodding like a bobble-head, at some of the excellent ideas, you would most likely be snickering to yourself at the very idea of me following through.

In the same way that I love reading about neuroscience and quantum mechanics, I find the complexity and methodology of organization fascinating, and yet am unable to incorporate the concepts into my own thinking in any meaningful way.

 Yes, yes, nod, nod.  I understand this sentence, this concept, this technique! then 5 minutes later... Say what?


Not that I don't make lists, have good intentions, and frequently tackle the problems of organization.  I do.  Usually with some short term success, but never with consistency.

Nevertheless, I'll give it a go...again.  And, of course, I'll fail again, but here's the thing:  I always feel good about the effort!  First on the list?  Our bedroom closet.  Last on the list?  May be our bedroom closet.  This project has to be done at least twice a year because I start using the closet as handy storage space.  The larger the closet, the more junk can accumulate.

I love this little postscript on today's Notes from the Universe:  Why not just celebrate that you're alive, Jen, every single day? After celebrating that you don't need a bike to get email, in January.


My little stack of prayer flags are awaiting the announcement of the first Take a Stitch Tuesday 2012 Challenge embroidery stitch.  Tomorrow!

Busy...

I've worked on the studio. And worked.  Shuffled and purged and moved stuff to the attic.  Worked all morning yesterday and began to see the difference.  Still a long way to go, but definitely improvement.

Started this little 4 x 4 linen square on Tuesday and finished it up yesterday morning.  This may be the size I work with for the TAST Challenge. The Tuesday Stitchers are all contemplating or finalizing their ideas.

Also  spent more time stitching on some of the eco dyed and/or eco printed fabrics.  I've backed all of these with muslin and pieced the smallest scraps together.  Still don't know exactly where these are going,  but I love working on them.  They have a tattered, aged, vintage look because of the natural dyes and raw edges .

I love the striated marks left from the strings and yarn used to bundle or wrap the pieces.

The work is back on for the laundry room.  It stopped when we went to North Carolina and then for Thanksgiving week, but the guys are back and busy.  In the meantime, no washing machine or dryer, but when it is finished, I'll have more room, a built-in ironing board, and shelf for folding clothes!

I also had them put in a big sink upstairs in the studio because the closet up there is where the hot water heater is.  They did this before the work stopped in November, and I've not actually used it much so far, but I will.

Back to organizing and re-arranging upstairs.  Trying to decide on a layout that works for sewing, crafting, sculpting with clay, mixed media, felting, etc., that provides storage for the items required for each,  and that avoids interfering with the doors to the attic, the closet with the sink, and the door from the stairs.  And what needs to have access to electrical outlets.

I have to do everything in that room, including yoga, so sometimes when I think I've got it worked out, a snag appears.  When I finish, if I ever finish, I'll have to re-organize the tiny attic space I have access to.

:)  Have a great day, ya'll!

WIPs and Off to Baton Rouge

Some new attempts at eco prints hanging up to dry.  Both are new versions of previous complete failures.  The prints at least show up on these.

Above--started working on another patchwork of scrap samples.

We will be leaving shortly for Baton Rouge to see our two oldest grandchildren, our red-headed daughter, and to have Thanksgiving.  

What is going on with Blogger (or my computer) now?  Some more weird stuff going on...

Hate the New Lightbox Feature?

Michelle at with-heart-and-hands has posted a tutorial on how to disable the new lightbox feature:

If you have noticed, and hated, the new blog Light Box...where instead of opening and enlarging a photo, you suddenly see a center box photo with little other photos down below from the post...you can disable it and revert back to your previous photo viewing.

Here are the instructions for disabling that photo feature and returning things back to the old version. (and thanks to everyone who has previously mentioned this and reminded me I should mention it too!)

1. Log into your blog via your Dashboard

2. Click on Settings

3. Select the Formatting tab

4. Scroll down and look for 'Showcase Images with Lightbox'

5. Select "NO"

6. Save settings

A pretty easy fix...thanks, again, Michelle.

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I finally got some decent leaf prints on a sleeveless top that I didn't wear but once this past summer.  It isn't great, but all of the leaves except the ginko made an impression.  It was first dyed yellow with turmeric, then I tried bundling it with leaves and simmering in a coffee dye.  Not sure what I'll do with it next...leave it or keep working for something I like better.

Right now, it is hanging out to dry.

Saturday Thoughts

I haven't been online as much for the last couple of weeks.  I've missed a lot of blog posts by my favorite bloggers because I just check in occasionally, and then I'm overwhelmed with the number of posts in all  my areas of interest.

I've been experimenting with eco dyeing...with less than outstanding results.  All the pre-mordant, co-mordant, and post-mordant possibilities make the outcomes so variable, and I'm not keeping up with the details very well.  The cranberry dye came out with a purple flavor to it, especially on muslin.  The leaf and bark dye was also pink, but with less blue.  The silk takes up any dye with much greater intensity than does the muslin.

I didn't take pictures of my first two dye pots, but above is when I tried turmeric.  Maybe added a bit much turmeric, but definitely a yellow dye.  You can see a pinkish batch from leaves and bark in the background of lower right photo.

My eco prints haven't been very successful at all, but I'll continue trying.  And take better notes of what I'm doing.

India Flint's Eco Colour has been read cover to cover and  perused frequently (often without my full understanding), but each time I return to it, my thoughts are a little clearer.  Her blog (not all those who wander are lost) is also inspiring.

Since I'm only using small strips or squares, I don't mind the mistakes too much.  I'm piecing together a tiny quilt of dyed and embroidered scraps.  Taking some tips from Jude of Spirit Cloth-- I've been admiring her work and reading her blog for several years now.  Her free and spontaneous style suits me since I'm not too good at following directions or patterns and love using embroidery (moodling) as a meditative process.

Embroidering these pieces and checking on my dye pots has kept me busy in a pleasant way.

I finished watching Everwood while working on some of these.  I enjoyed this series and didn't see it while it was running. 


A little more work on the dolls has taken place, too, but I'm sorry to say they have been neglected for the most part.


Hope everyone is having a great pre-Thanksgiving Weekend!

Chaos in Action

Fee bought me a new lens for my camera-- a 35 mm, f 1.8-- an early birthday gift!  I've been playing with it and hope to make the most of it on our trip.

A little fabric play.  Exaggeration.  I spent most of the day playing with fabric.  Dyed and embroidered.

 Above, silk habotai , unbleached muslin, and flour sacking dyed with cranberry juice.  We had an old bottle of unsweetened cranberry juice, and I decided to try it with a few scraps.

 Below, some garden pics.  It is a little overcast this morning.

Cold bundles from the last few days.  Silk scraps with onion skins, leaves, spinach.

And a few shots from the studio.

 Moodling on this piece continues.  Used new lens; the new lens is perfect for some things, but may not be the best choice for detail pics like this because of blur characteristic.  Still, I have a lot to learn about lens choice.

Actually, I finished the entire strip; it is embroidered from top to bottom; need to get a shot of the entire thing.

 What to do with it?  Always my problem.  I like the fun of  playing, but rarely consider before hand the purpose or how I might incorporate the finished piece.  Maybe just the calm and pleasure of taking stitch after stitch is enough...


 I've been auditioning fabrics for this lady.  She's hung around in her knickers for too long.

 Stinker on the step ladder.  A wonderful cat toy.

Since I spent most of yesterday playing, I guess I'd better get busy with what needs to be done before we leave tomorrow morning.

How has your weekend been?

This and That

I still haven't taken down all of the Halloween stuff.  Yesterday, the plumbers were working on the new addition to the laundry room, and I stayed in my bedroom reading.  I couldn't play in the studio because they were adding a sink up there.

The addition is very small (but then the laundry room is so tiny that anything will be an improvement); it will give me a little more space, a built in ironing board, and a shelf, hopefully, for folding clothes.

Anyway, I spent most of the afternoon going back and forth between a mystery and India Flint's book on eco dyeing.  I started it about a month ago, but was side-tracked by various other projects and the R.I.P. Challenge.

Yesterday, I started at the beginning again, hoping that it would be easier to digest (the chemistry aspect and multiple mordants tend to overwhelm me).  As I suspected, a second reading was beneficial -- and third and fourth readings will probably be even better.

Flint's eco dyed fabrics are so beautiful (slow and complex cloth) and just looking at her work is a real treat.  Her influence is felt all over the textile world and more and more people are venturing into this environmentally friendly method of dyeing cloth.

She uses eucalyptus in many of her fabrics, and I regret even more the loss of our eucalyptus tree to the tornado.  I need to get another one for this house (although we have a postage stamp yard) because both Fee and I loved that tree.  It was fast growing, too.  I planted a baby that grew mighty fast.

  You can see the eucalyptus at the end of the path.  It had grown much larger before the tornado hit.  Terrible picture, but it had grown this much in just a couple of years or so.

early spring; the comfrey hasn't gone crazy yet

early summer

Oh, how I miss my garden.  This one simply can never be the same.  This yard is so small and already planted in a simpler style with lots of shrubs.  The soil isn't very good either.

I spent hours and hours, days, weeks, months... shoveling huge piles of eco mulch, creating my old beds; the goal was that the grass would just be for pathways.  It had finally gotten there. My beloved perennials came back each year and many annuals re-seeded to the point of invasion.

 Oh, how I loved my Queen Anne's Lace, comfey, daylillies, etc..  It is sad to think of all the dye material no longer available, but maybe I'll have a little more incentive to work on this new garden.  All I have to do is dig up dozens of box woods and double dig the soil.  Huh?  I don't guess that is going to happen.  There is a great deal of difference between 50 something and 60 something.

I'm looking forward to next week and our little trip to North Carolina.  We will fly to Chapel Hill and rent a car and see as much as we can in 4-5 days.  I suspect it will be just a taste of what is on offer!

What's going on at your house?