Blog entry
October
There's something about the light in October. that makes the world almost too beautiful. Even on a cloudy morning there's extra richness in the colors.
Flying saucer morning glories
Red nightshade berries and yellow Virginia creeper leaf
Silk dyed with indigo
Virginia creeper
Perennial sunflowers
Virginia creeper
Elm tree
There is an old elm tree growing between our house and the neighbor's house.
This tree is beautiful. It's branches are like an umbrella, giving deep shade on summer days and even some cover from the rain. Ive seen so many birds in the branches - woodpeckers, thrushes, nuthatches, robins, cardinals, blackbirds, finches,warblers,and of course, the sparrows. The squirrels race up and down and use it as a pathway to their home in the hole they've made under the gutter. One day I saw a racoon sleeping on the edge of the roof.
Pansy Dye
Since May, I've been picking pansy flowers and saving them in the freezer. At first I kept individual colors in their own bags - purples and blues together, yellows and oranges in their own bags, etc..Lately, I've just been stuffing them all together so now I have to separate them.
A few fresh blue pansies for the brew
There are mostly purples and blues in this jar, but since I wasn't very careful. there are a few bits and pieces of pinks and yellow flowers
Yellows and oranges
June Inspiration
II've been dyeing silk threads in colors inspired by the velvety shades of petunias
Combinations of lac, logwood, madder and indigo
The milkweed flowers have begun to bloom. The air is filled with their heavy sweetmess. The tender, muted pinks seemed like the perfect color for some handspun wool yarn I've been saving.
Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Handspun wool yarn soaked overnight in alum.
Summer
Officially Summer today, though to me summer really begins on June 1st.
Ripe!
The squirrels and blackbirds keep knocking them down.
Raspberries beginning to ripen
Milkweed
Madder stars
Milkweed and madder in a friendly competion for sunshine
June morning
June morning
It's so fine to step outside barefoot,without a sweater, and get started right away. On most mornings,this means just wandering around in wonder and amazement.for awhile.
The backyard is not big, but the cherry tree doesn't seem to mind.
The blackbirds and squirrels .are ready to pounce!
A clothesline fiull of projects
Silk organza after soaking overnight in alum water
Another piece of organza dyed with indigo
Vintage linen napkins
Old fashioned
Both of the Grand daughters have arrived! Like flowers in the garden, they blossomed one at a time.
Their fresh new lives are a lovely unfolding of beauty, hope and mystery.
White peonies
The little ones have charming, old-fashioned names. Clara May and Ella Jane. This seems just right. The old-fashioned garden plants welcome them with soft perfume.
Magenta peonies (Paeonia officinalis)
Old peony bed
Dr, Huey (1914)
Mock orange (Philadelphus virginalis)
Sarah van Fleet (1922)
Service-berries ripening (Amelanchier alnifolia)
Madder roots and silk
Madder patch May 2017 (rubia tinctorum)
I've used and re-used all of last years' home-grown madder roots so many times that now there's barely a whisper of pink left. Although they still look rosy- red, I don't know if I can coax any more color from these roots. They're so pretty, I don't want to compost them yet. I might just dry them once more for a future experiment.
Old madder roots from last years' garden
Rain
Lately, the rain has been steady.. Explosive thunder, gushing downpours, then soft dripping from the branches.
Serviceberry
This weather isn't so good for taking pictures of textiles outdoors, but it's perfect for working in the garden if you don't mind being soaked.
The water does wonders for the garden
The alley is a lot better after a good wash.
The houseplants are rejoicing in the rain after the long, dry winter indoors
The water encourages the seedlings.
Somniferum poppies
Reflecting the elm tree
May color reminders
To celebrate the beautiful rich shades of the May garden, I've started a little purple, pink and indigo dyeing project.Yesterday I mordanted some silk scarves and wool with alum. After soaking overnight, they were ready to drink up the colors. I'm using madder, lac and indigo.
Pansies
This is my favorite weather for gardening and dyeing - fresh and damp without harsh sunlight.
Pink, purple,and indigo in layers of wet color
Elsewhere