May, 2024

 


 


One rainy morning we discovered this little guy in the kitchen. He was hiding in a corner, surrounded by the cats!  Luckily, they seemed pretty puzzled by him. We shooed the cats out of the room, and It was pretty easy to coax him into a cat carrier with nuts and peanut butter on bread.

I put the carrier outside under the cherry tree,  but he finished the rest of his trearts  before scampering up.

 


 

 


Spring arrived soon this year. Peonies, delphiniums and roses are blooming about 3 weeks early.


 

October 27 2023

 


Beautiful cherry and redbud leaves.


 


Serviceberry leaves



 


Coreopsis and Bright Lights cosmos blossoms



Silk dyed with coreopsis and cosmos flowers


 

December 9 2022

 


 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.


 


 I asked for a couple of the logs. The birds and cats take turns perching on them.


 

Fresh indigo

A basket of indigo leaves


After grinding the leaves with ice water


The beautiful green brew


 


 Silk scarf and fabric airing. There are lots of indigo leaf bits still to be washed and rinsed away.


 

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.

February 27

 


The start of another destashing session... It's surprising how quickly new projects crowd out the old. So often I think I'll work a little more on a piece, maybe try to develop the color more, but the day is already filled with other work, so I put it away for "later". Later doesn't come.  The sensiible thing is to gather up some of these and list them for sale as they are, spots, speckles, and all.


 


Groups of indigo dyed napkkins. Most have a little dyeing mistake, but the I think the fabrics are still lovely.



 

Madder silks

 


I've been gathering amd sorting some madder dyed silks .


 


Organza


 


 


Raw silk


 

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.


 


 

 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.


 

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