Eco-Dye

May 26, 2015

I was visiting Jude Hill's blog recently and I saw she had experimented with azalea blossoms in her dye pot. She posted a beautiful image of a pale pink piece of cotton and I fell in love with it. Lucky me, my azalea bush was in full bloom, so I immediately went outside and picked a bunch of blossoms and decided to spend some time experimenting.

When I went searching for cloth to use, I came across bundles of flowers I had wrapped in newsprint and put away at some point in the past. I decided to give them a whirl along with the azalea blossoms. I really have very little idea of what I am doing. It seems every year or so, I try some natural dye experimentation for all of a week or so, and then I drop it until another year passes! Maybe this time I'll stick with it for a while - I'm feeling optimistic.

I think my introduction to eco-dye was via India Flint's marvelous book, Eco Colour: botanical dyes for beautiful textiles. What a wonderful book! That book was followed by Second Skin, another book I'm pleased to have on my shelf. The book I am using while I attempt my latest foray into the World of Dye, is a sweet little book by India, titled the bundle book.

I made quite a few cotton bundles with a variety of ingredients, even adding nuts and dried fruits to one of the bundles. The most gorgeous combination was when I dusted the purple glads with turmeric. It may not work well as a dye, but it sure does look spectacular in the "before" photo!

DRIED GLADIOLUS BLOSSOMS, DUSTED WITH TURMERIC.

I spent quite a bit of time making various bundles and I'm hoping my jotted notes will be sufficient to remind me of what I've done. All I have to do now is be patient and try not to unbundle them too soon. It does occur to me, rather belatedly, that green (dyed?) string might not have been a wise choice. We'll see.

GOOD THINGS COME TO SHE WHO WAITS. AT LEAST I HOPE SO.

Seeking Solace

May 10, 2015

I have not done much blog-visiting lately so I am thrilled that I stopped by India Flint's Prophet of Bloom in time to make a word flag for her Seeking Solace Project. She envisions "a collective impromptu poem, recorded on cloth, to sing in the winds." Beautiful!

India invites everyone to make a flag to contribute to her project. Each flag will be triangular and it will have word(s) stitched on it, by its maker ... "a word or a phrase or a sentence that might act as a wish for peace or an acknowledgement of beauty, imply a sense of stillness or simply something that gives you solace." I love the way India thinks and I'm grateful that she shares so freely with all of us on the internet.

For my contribution, I will use the textiles above, which are eco-prints made from using natural materials to make images on the fiber. This is most fitting since India is an internationally known and admired maker and teacher of using nature to print on fiber.

I don't know what my word(s) will be. I'll think on it as I stitch.

Seeing Red

May 2, 2015

Starting a piece of cloth weaving, a technique made popular by Jude Hill (Spirit Cloth).

Step one is choosing a colorway, from that amazing stash of fat quarters I snagged at a local tag sale. (See my previous post to read about that.) As you can see, I'm going for a red hot palette, with smatterings of purple, ochre, and grey.

Textiles chosen, I tear strips and layer them, then weave the layers of strips and baste them in place.

Now I'm in the process of selectively cutting away ... it's both fun and a bit nerve-wracking. I'm hoping I'll soon have some stitching progress to show you.

fat quarters & awesomeness

April 26, 2015

I've recently discovered local tag sales that happen on Facebook - and I'm loving it. People post things they want to sell and if you like something, then you jump on it. Easy peasy. It seems that every town around here has a tag sale page on Facebook. So, I've found some awesome items and, more importantly, I've met so many nice people, right here in my own town.

Among the more awesome tag sale experiences was the opportunity to buy zillions (yes, zillions) of fat quarters at fifty cents each!

To add to the awesomeness, the seller - Sage (great name, right?) - and I hit it off right away. We had a blast talking, while I pawed through thousands of bundles of fabric. I mean really - I was there for nearly four hours and when I finally left, it was only because I had a prior commitment. I actually returned a few days later for more fabric and fun.

Here's the kicker: Sage asked me, logically enough, if I am a quilter. Not exactly, said I - I work with textiles and often I make little quilts, but I'm not a traditional quilt maker. Here, said, I, let me give you my card.

I handed over a card with a very nice image of a little quilt, made with linen and cotton. Then, just for the heck of it, I handed over another card, one showing my first Pieces of Dreams, made with upcycled sweater pieces and antique buttons. I hesitated to show it to her because it had nothing to do with the kind of fabrics she was selling. But, what the heck, might as well share it, right?

So, Sage looks at the card and her eyes light up and she exclaims, "I know who you are!" Really? "You had a show at the Sadelier Gallery in Danbury!" True! I did! Then, check it out, she tells me that she has kept the show's promotional postcard tacked up on the wall, next to her sewing machine, for the last ten years - as inspiration! You know how that makes me feel, right? It makes me feel GOOD! And then, it gets better, Sage asks me if I will autograph the card for her. Now, I've been asked to autograph things before, but not often enough to be anywhere near jaded, so I was flattered, big-time, by her request. And I did autograph it. And that was the topping to an awesome day.

FOLLOW MY BLOG WITH BLOGLOVIN

la, la, labradorite

April 10, 2015

It's been about forty five years since I last saw Aynne, my dear high school friend. She lives in California and I live in Connecticut, but thanks to Facebook, she has resurfaced in my life. This is how it is now, for so many of us: rediscovering old pals, far away in time and space, but still soulmates.

Memories are heaped upon memories ... her fabulous smile ... listening to Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds ... our teacher assigning one word descriptions to everyone in the class - she was ethereal and I was enigmatic ... both of us devouring books - Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land and Hesse's Damian spring to mind ... buying the same dress, unbeknownst to each other - hers black and mine red - then each of us wearing the dress to school on the same day, totally unplanned, and certain there was great meaning in the coincidence ... exploring Innisfree Gardens in Millbrook while sharing a yogurt (my first taste of the stuff) ... ice skating on Vassar Lake ... sharing secrets ... sharing friendship.

&nbs… — PHOTO :: VASSAR COLLEGE ARCHIVES

I'm sure I haven't a single photo of Aynne from that time, let alone a photo of the two of us together. But now I do have a lovely photo of her wrist, adorned with many gorgeous bracelets, one of which - the labradorite one on the far left - was made by me. That feels good ... feels special.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Aynne will know what that means.