Blog entry
December 9 2022
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It's been such a long time since I've added anything to this little blog.
The months have marched along, full of wonder, action and beauty. It's impossible to gather them back, but it's not too late to begin sharing again.
The bird bath
The neighbor's magnificent elm tree was cut down this September. The process was very unsettling, to put it mildly.
A small part of the cut down elm tree.
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I asked for a couple of the logs. The birds and cats take turns perching on them.
August 2020
The outside world is very strange and it's not so dependable right now. Routines have been obliterated, and the ordinary has been lost. In our city of Chicago, each day contains unwelcome surprises.
The backyard world of the garden is true and dependable. There are always changes, mostly gradual and sensible. Every year the garden is a little different, but always a delight.
These Japanese morning glories have just begun blooming. Since the days have been so hot here, the flowers don't last very long. They sort of melt in the hot morning sunshine.
March 5 2020
New batches of madder roots and onion skins soaking in the sunshine.
Checking the color of the madder brew
Hemp and indigo shibori
A bit of bloom
About to bloom!
October
The sweet Service-berry is beginning to glow. In every season it is a beauty.
I desided to take a little break from dyeing silk and linen. The cooler days made me turn to wool for spinning and crocheting. It's hard to decide what to make - scarves, hats, or should I dye enough to crochet a blanket....? I've said it for years, but one of these days, I'm going to try felting.
This rose reminds me of the brick-red madder shade.
Happy morning
Our youngest son is coming home today to vist after a really long time.
This is a very happy morning...:)
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In the midst of major tidy-ing up, I came across these little odds and ends of wool yarn. They were dyed with cochineal, indigo, and coreopsis flowers.
Madder silks
I've been gathering amd sorting some madder dyed silks .
Organza
Raw silk
May
I dyed some hemp silk fabrics with madder roots and indigo. This is one of my very favorite,most intersting kinds of fabric.
This piece of hemp/silk dyed with madder seems to echo the tulip shades.
The madder patch is thriving
Clearing out the boxes again
It's time to sort through the heaps again.....
Most of these are pieces leftover from other projects and experiments.. Some have imperfections. I was waiting to find a way to use them or fix them. I'm pretty sure I won't after all.
This one isn't so bad really.
Vintage silk pieces dyed with cochineal, weld, indigo and madder roots.
Fancy vintage Japanese silk and fresh indigo leaves.
Silk organza indigo and snow
I'm so fortunate to be able to work with color every day. Off to fill up the baskets again!
November 2
November has arrived suddenly! It's been gorgeous - chilly and fresh, and tonight there may be a little snow. I've been rushing to plant hundreds of tulip and daffodil bulbs before it gets really cold.
There's so much to be done that I can hardly begin. One thing I have gotten done is to sort through some of the giant collections of silk scraps. Above is a little of the walnut dyed vintage silk.
Scraps of indigo dyed silk
Inspiration on the ground.
Coreopsis flower dye
I've been collecting these annual coreopsis flowers all summer. They're small but they pack a punch in the dye pot. These plants are getting a little ragged but are still popping out the blossoms.
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The brew has a nice, fresh medicinal smell
Silk embroidery threads dyed with coreopsis flowers. The one on the right was dyed with coreopsis and madder roots.
Elsewhere