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Closer to Spring
Everything changes. The morning light is different now.
Determined daffodils
Tulip snouts
Old and new
Flying north
February
Daisys' favorite weather!
Icicles on the neighbors' house
Seeds packets and Valentines' cards
Waiting for spring
Ice and snow
A little snow and ice fell overnight.
Yesterday I made a path through the mud with old Christmas tree branches. The birds are making their own path of footprints.
Walnut brew left outdoors
Indigo dye project left out overnight
Sweet, furry Daisy seems to like the cool on her tummy.
Late Christmas stockings
Finally finished!
I let distractions keep me way behind schedule.
Once I finally buckled down, completing the final three was pretty easy.
They'll be early for next year.
Indoor dyeing
It's so cold that I'm restricted to indoor projects. This has put a halt to most indigo dyeing since I can't air any wet textiles outside. They freeze almost instantly, and trying to unpin them from the clothesline is really hard.
Frozen hemp
Right now my outdoor dye-work is limited to hurried picture-taking.
January wonder
Just when it seemed too cold for anything but cozy indoor projects, an outdoor wonder appeared.
When the ground is frozen and the world is ice cold, I toss seeds and crumbs to the birds. Today this fine feathered beauty was waiting and watching the festival of sparrows and pigeons from the power lines
Those feathers!
I think this is a red-tailed hawk.
What surprised me the most was that the birds on the ground didn't seem to mind him at all. Also that he simply watched them for nearly an hour.
December Silks
December has been filled with beauty and busy-ness. Happily, I've been able to squeeze in some of my favorite projects, including the dyeing of more silk threads.
After soaking in alum
Indigo
Indigo and weld
Cochineal, madder and indigo
Baby pastels (indgo, madder, weld, walnut)
More madder and cochineal
Coreopsis flowers, weld and madder
Walnut hulls
Cochineal and madder
Walnut, cochineal and madder
Cochineal and snow
Steady...
After all of the Thanksgiving visiting and joy, it's time to get back to normal.
The days have become soft and gentle again. I finished planting the daffodil bulbs!
I'm still working on emptying the silk fabric storage baskets. Since I'm so busy with dyeing all the time, they fill up fast.
Vintage block prints
I really love old Indian block printed textiles and keep my eyes open for them at yard sales, estate sales and second-hand shops. Sometimes it's hard for me to use these fabrics, just because they're so beautiful. Then I ask myself if I'm waiting until I'm 150 years old before I dare to use them?!!!?
I allowed, (forced), myself to use some of these wonderful fabrics and yesterday morning I took a few pictures of what I've made so far.
Winter has fallen!
Most of the peach tree leaves have fallen straight down without changing color.
Hiding in the leaves
The temperature fell to 17 overnight. The rhododendon is a good weather gauge - it really shrivels in the cold.
The first snow has fallen. As usual, I'm in the middle of an indigo dyeing project. The cold complicates this a little - mostly it's just less pleasant to work outdoors.
There are still dozens of daffodil bulbs to plant. Winter is beautiful, but I'm just not ready yet.
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