so bright such delight wow

in which our plucky heroine appreciates autumn ...

and the last few days have been very autumnal indeed. Well mixed with cool grey mornings and crisp clear afternoons, the leaves turn colors and fill the edges of the streets. We will have a few more days like this, before rain.

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~ maple aflame ~

so difficult to capture the way these vivid maple leaves were glowing in the angled light of late afternoon... Fortunately I'm usually riding on the quiet side streets, since the color stopped me in my tracks.

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One of the three legs of my venerable vegetable steamer somehow fell apart. It appears to have been bent aside at an angle enough that the leg slipped through the attachment hole in the base of the steamer. The legs on this one are riveted in place, and so difficult to easily reattach. So, though my initial thought was to somehow make a replacement leg from wire, my second thought was the hardware store. Indeed, the bulk aisle of the local Ace Hardware had a modest but sufficient number of drawers of stainless steel bolts, screws, nuts and misc. While not perfect (the 1" bolt is about ⅛" too long) combining a bolt, a split lock washer, and the matching nut the steamer can now stand on three legs again, albeit a tad tilted. Fortunately that makes no difference at all to the items being steamed.

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Saw Dr Breeze today instead of my usual PCP. I'm glad that he took my concerns seriously, and said that he thought it was good I was not ignoring the issue(s). I am less than thrilled at the idea of going on prescription antacid for two weeks as an initial diagnostic, particularly with the many caveats attached to it, and also that some of the side effects are the very same symptoms I am concerned about. How would one know if it is effective in that case? Apparently there is a progression of testing, which echos the saying "when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras"

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Decided to go ahead with making five "star books" for the Advent Swap. It turns out that the metallic origami paper is tricksy to use for pages. There will certainly need to be instructions included along with the tiny book/ornament: "Open and unfold all the way, placing the book covers back to back. Tie the cords in a single overhand knot, then use the rest of the cord to hang the star book up as desired. Adjust the pages evenly distributed, with each side forming a five pointed star. To put away, reverse the process"

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 lunaria pod ornaments	wheelbarrow tire	greenwaste bin
2	5 more lunaria ornaments	cardigan cuffs	recycle bin
3	5 golden origami dragons	reattach wheel to wheelbarrow	recycle bin
4	5 mini amanitas	vegetable steamer leg replacement	-
5	18 penny luck envelopes	-	-
6	10 holly&bells ornaments	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- our local hardware store had what I needed in the bulk aisle
- had a nice long chat with my pal Wanda
- was able to see alternate doctor today, who took my concerns seriously.

Time of Isolation - Day 1948

Thursday thoughts

in which our plucky heroine remembers...

... that a rainbow can be a promise, and a rainbow can also be a bridge. So many stories; all true, or all holograms of true; "there is no one true way"...

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~ it's like a rainbow ~

I've cut little inch squares from the assortment of Kaffe Fassett fabrics one of my online pals sent me, for a rainbow stripe of patches. I want to decorate a fabric holder for the set of bright crayons I got for little Liam, the child I've never actually spent time with, for they were born after the beginning of the pandammit, and his parents live many miles away. But as one does, the urge to connect, to send little gifts of caring, cannot be ignored, and I like to imagine a bit of receptive delight...

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Rode to bike shop this sunny afternoon. They remembered me! Asked about a replacement valve cap (which they had), and asked about something to replace the broken stretchy silicone strap that holds my bike light to the handlebars. They had a whole box full of random silicone elastics, and found one that was a good size. When I asked "what do I owe you", they suggested I stuff a dollar in the tip jar... since sadly I had brought no flat money at all, I suggested I might bake some cookies and bring them some the next chance I had. This counter offer was received with much enthusiasm

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right now I have no words, watching the nightmares of the LongAgo Los Angeles child I once was, now come to life in the much too bright hot world... This is not the timeline that child wished for and believed in, the timeline we are in where this is the calmest best most pleasant moment/day/year we will ever see going forward. I still persist in seeking out what there is to be grateful for every day, and in doing what I can in the cause of beauty and creativity and connection, because that is all I have to give to the world.

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Here, have something tasty, lest all I share today be edged with sorrow. I was craving this, the only recipe I have that includes kale that I willingly eat. The various ingredients combine to make a complex taste that balances the bitter kale with other strong flavors, in a most satisfying way. I usually substitute lemon juice for the wine, and chopped green chilies for the jalapeno (since our plucky heroine is a spice weenie), and add raisins to the cilantro and green onion garnish; the recipe is a guide and not a scripture.

Bulgar Salad with Kale and Feta
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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic lozenge enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. The bike store gave me the two small things needful! I am going to make them a batch of cookies...
2. an excellent enjoyable conversation with Mikki brainstorming ways to solve the bike light attachment problem
3. Bulgar salad with kale and feta is still as yummy as I remember

Time of Isolation - Day 1638

abberation

in which our plucky heroine makes a colorful choice...

I pretty much wear neutral colors, black and greys, indigo and chocolate brown, and have for years. The most "exciting" color in my closet has been a recent foray into teal/turquoise as an accent color. But for some reason I needed to make this gauzy rainbow linen cowl scarf, and it needs to have embellished edges now that I have found the appropriate yarn...

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~ no such thing as too much rainbow ~

I've been beavering away on the tiny tassels, and am about a third of the way through. They are a perfect sort of handwork for zoom calls, or for watching media. I made it through three episodes of "Call The Midwife" last night, and many tiny tassels were the result

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really tasty faux-sagna tonight and as usual it made a double portion to put in the freezer for a different meal later on. I am getting better and better at "cooking ahead". This started last week when I wanted to use up some freezer tomatoes, and turned them into a pot of red sauce, with veggies, mushrooms, herbs, and some italian sweet sausage. That made half a dozen sauce cubes, some of which were layered into the casserole tonight, along with cottage cheese, rice paper, and some of yesterdays roasted zucchini sliced up small. The whole thing was topped with some cheddar and parmesan and baked until the top was bubbly. It was most warming on a very chilly night. 

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Since we now have been assigned our Sekrit Pals for Dagmar's Sekrit Santa Swap this year, I had best put in some time tonight updating my wish lists and linking them to my Elfster account. It is always a bit challenging, since what I wish for the most is not really more "things" but rather assistance with chores that are beyond my singular ability. Well, and there are other, less tangible things I wish for are not possible to be given as gifts..

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Halloween cushions	repot spider plants	recycle bin
2	applesauce	harvest persimmons	yard waste bin
3	cat head graphic	moar pruning	recycle bin
4	6 jars to ferment	grape pruning	yard waste bin
5	lime curd	mailed advent boxes	recycle bin
6	quince jelly	long jane hems	x
7	Sidewalk Joy books	renew worm bin	x
8	tiny hearth fire	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I made some very delicious faux lasagna for dinner tonight
2. the rainbow tassels are working out well to decorate my scarf
3. long ago Jen made me some naalbound mittens, and they are the best thing ever when it is really cold outside, being both windproof and insulative ♡

Time of Isolation - Day 1599

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine enjoys small beauties...

A spectacular visual treat, this afternoon when I went to take out the compost... maybe half a dozen male Western Tanagers were hanging out in my backyard up in the walnut tree between my yard and the bad neighbors yard. I had to look the birds up online, as at first I thought goldfinch, but they had vivid red heads!

(Western Tanager - photo by Peter Pearsall/USFWS)
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time in the tinyworld:

Only tinyworld activity currently happening is some clothing being made for Kenya, who seems to be rather mad for purple. I wonder if I need to make her a red hat?. Other than that, I have been enjoying window shopping online and getting ideas about how to decorate Caer Cardboard. Maybe wainscotting downstairs in the library, and the upstairs will probably be a sewing and crafts room, maybe with a daybed, or a bedroom for at least two denizens? (I don't think any of the rooms in either house are big enough for three beds, though I need to check the size of the spaces in the Aster Cottage kit ) The downstairs in Aster Cottage is definitely going to be the kitchen/workshop space. Food for thought...

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A song of hope... never not needed, never not helpful...

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~ creativity challenge ~

I've been wishing for some small pillowcases for my buckwheat hull pillows, but lacking any decent flannel on my resource shelves. This weekend it occurred to me that there were four linen tea towels that with a bit of time under the presser foot, could become just the pillowcases I was needing. Use what you have is my theme.

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I was able to locate some of my preferred heavy interfacing  (Peltex) to use for stiffening hat brims. Since lacking this is what was keeping me from making a new hat, I guess I am good to go, or at least good for experimentation. I have never been totally happy with the crown shape of the Norwester pattern, and hope to come up with something just a tad more vertical, which means creating an entirely different crown pattern. Long ago I had a hat pattern I really liked, with a more vertical bias crown, but it had been lost long before I moved to Acorn Cottage, and I have no memory of the pattern name, which was from some independent patternmaker I have never seen since.

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	lilac top for Kenya	small linen pillowcases	yard waste bin
2	setting for Laurel	-	recycle bin
3	dress for Kenya	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	-
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - Yesterday, a zoom call with my Mud Bay friends. (things continue to deteriorate with my Aged Parents, so a chance to see dearheart friends I sorely miss, and feel less isolated did make a big difference in my state of mind. Even though I almost burst into tears more than once)

Time of Isolation - Day 784

grey day - in a good way

in which our plucky heroine is pleased with how very much difference a change of color creates...

much painting was accomplished this weekend, thanks to the help of Heather and Brandon the remaining walls in the kitchen have had fresh coats of paint, and that phase of transformation is complete...

I love grey walls. Have pretty much decided that the larger bedroom will be the same color as the kitchen, since there is rather a lot of the second gallon left. I love how that color feels cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, and really sets off artwork and woodwork. To me, it is kind of the "little black dress" of wall colors.

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	x	2 walls painted grey	-
2	x	x	-
3	x	x	-
4	x	x	-
5	x	x	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - confidence in my own design sense

a darker grey than expected

in which our plucky heroine gets a wild hair...

This all started with the defrost the chest freezer project. Which then necessitated moving the freezer so that the floor underneath could be washed. Then I mentioned something to Heather about how every winter I wish I had painted at least some of the house NotWhite. She asked if the supplies and tools were on hand, and since there was both brushes, rollers, and a number of cans of MetroPaint, before I knew it she started painting the kitchen, because what better time to paint the walls behind the freezer than when it is pulled away from the wall...

now one wall and part of another are now no longer white, huzzah!! (the remaining walls will be painted soon) My recombinant clock looks quite splendid against the grey, and I'm eager to see how the artwork looks returned to the wall above the freezer.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	undergown bodice	popover pockets	plant stand
2	Lion's cub master	gown band printed	bag to Goodwill
3	Leo Minor master	Kestrel gown neckline	bag to Goodwill
4	Lion's Mane master	freezer defrosted	bag to Goodwill
5	Kestrel gown toile	kitchen wall painted	old frozen food
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	-
8	x	x	-
9	x	x	-
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - enthusiastic helpful friends

1 shoe 2 shoes, now it's blue shoes...

in which our plucky heroine decided it was time...

I've been craving a pair of blue shoes for ages, and given how difficult it is for me to find any shoes at all that fit...

These started out as a clearance pair of Xero Hana shoes; I took a chance and it turned out that their men's last is acceptable for my hard-to-fit feet. But I sure didn't want boring beige...

So, the first step was to mix up some indigo blue acrylic paint, and carefully paint the canvas. I also used a brown sharpie to color the elastic on either side of the tongue. The laces that came with these shoes were much too long, and the ends dragged on the ground in a way that would be a trip hazard, so I removed them.

While the shoes were wearable sans laces, I remembered that I had stashed a few replacement laces kits for my former Keen water sandals. It wasn't too difficult to adapt the instructions to work for these shoes.

Since the shoes are now blue with brown (and spiffy black laces), they will coordinate with basically all my clothing, and will be a chance for me to trade out my heavy Keen work shoes for a lighter more minimal/flexible shoe in the summertime.

I really like how adding the Keen elastic laces makes the shoes look more "finished"... although I might not be finished with these - it is tempting to add some decorative painted motifs to the uppers

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter #2	stripey vest buttons	chicken wire
2	2 tiny enamels	bead swag ends	-
3	blue floral blouse	painted shoes	-
4	Sólbein cardigan	new elastic laces	-
5	x	x	x
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - ever and always the wellspring of kindness from friends...

just a few Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine enjoys a bit of handwork, and just a bit of fiber fantasy...

There may be some sweater knitting once all the holiday projects have been completed... Fringe Association will be doing a "steekalong" starting in January, and I was quite taken with the fetching example "Sólbein", knit at an open gauge in Lettlopi. The yarn comes in so many colors it is hard to choose a favorite combination; I had fun playing virtual swatch collage to try and get a sense of which colors worked together in a way that pleased me, and coordinated with my wardrobe... no surprise, but I'm thinking that a gradient of indigo-blue would be a good addition to the wooly cupboard, as I have nothing in that colorway for outerwear.

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Am making good progress on the Eileen Fisher cardigan refashioning project, which is turning out to be easier than initially thought. I bought some wide ribbon that was as close a color match as I could find at the local fabric shop, and carefully hemmed it in place over the turned up edge of the back cardigan piece...

Once that was done, the sides stitched to the back, and about half of the bottom front edge seam closed up, (as much as can be done by "burrito-ing" the cardigan into the fronts). Hard to explain, and only figured out what to do after the fronts were partially opened out... The rest of the front bottom hemline has been gently pressed in place, an hour or two of hand stitching will close it up and reinforce the buttons, et voila - a new-to-me cardigan!

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Thora gown	Earthboxes filled	bag to Goodwill
2	Isabel gown	woodchips moved	-
3	chookhouse base	EF cardigan refashion	-
4	x	x	-
5	x	x	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	-
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

my handy rubber mallet*

in which our plucky heroine is a bit of a block head...

This last week has been all about block printing, first making trim for Isabel, and then a whole assortment of trim fabrics for Thora. Blue Cedar House folks are going to the Baronial Ball in November, in Glymm Mere, and asked for some "fancy" party clothes...

Thora will be getting a new Rus/Slavic style overgown, slightly less than full length, and her best underdress will be embellished with a wide band of printed trim which will be visible at the hemline.

Started the large motif trim fabric for Thora, first pass is black ink, on yellow/red shot cotton. Rampant mice are from Thora's heraldry, the central tree is a heraldic representation of Blue Cedar, the household name...

Five blocks into printing the largest and most elaborate trim for Thora. I didn't realise how long this process would take, but am quite pleased with how the pattern is gradually taking on the appearance of historical silk samite, yet suitably altered to reflect the preferences of my dear pal. Still yet to do the yellow overlay on the purple, and add the red dots to the yellow circles... (note: we decided to use green dots instead of red, see image below)

Completed elaborate trim fabric for Thora's new garb. "Si moriturus es, morere plenus tortae", or in the common tongue "if you are going to die, die full of pie" which is the household motto for Blue Cedar House, which dates to the Turkey Day dinner four years ago, with five adults, two children, and three dessert pies. The finished fabric uses six blocks, four colors, on red/yellow shot cotton.

I carved all the blocks, the largest one, circular with large and small dots, is 8" in diameter. This is my first time using Speedball textile ink, oil-based but water cleanup, and it has been really nice to work with. Washing the blocks and tools is really simple, and the odor is not objectionable; the ink has a much longer open working time than textile paint. The drawback is that the ink needs to cure for up to a week, as it gradually dries, oxidises and becomes permanent which means finding a spot to keep the fabric while it is curing, the plus is that it does not need to be heat set.

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The red border printing for Thora's gown - two blocks, printed in purple and blue on red/blue shot cotton. Band is about 2 1/2" wide. I printed the central purple motifs and then realised I needed something different than what I had for interstitial blocks, so quickly carved a chunk of dollar store eraser into the "gothic arch" motif and carried on printing, like you do...

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An even harder to photograph color, the green border trim pieces are shot green/red cotton, not oddly grey, printed in green, yellow, and black.

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The last trim panels for Thora. These will be three blocks in all black, on shot blue/black silk. That small quatrefoil block in the foreground is one of the most useful in my collection, only about an inch square, it comes in handy for both simple borders and as an interstitial block in larger patterns...

The rich effect of black on blue/black really delights me, as well as being able to give this fabric (originally her wedding dress) a second life. The central motif in this iteration is based on a medieval Armenian six pointed star/wheel of eternity

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Laurel tablet weaving	Ironrite chair	old tourney seat
2	Marya cuff	plant hooks	bag to Goodwill
3	grape syrup	grapes picked	bag to Goodwill
4	charter # 12	back door latch	shelves to Goodwill
5	Ellie apron dress	squirrel proofing	yard waste bin
6	another Marya cuff	x	-
7	Isabel trim	x	-
8	Thora fabric trim	x	-
9	Thora red border trim	x	x
10	Thora green border trim	x	x
11	Thora blue cuff trim	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

* rather than push the inked blocks into the fabric by hand, which quickly leads to sore hands, I set the blocks in place and smack them with my 8oz rubber mallet. Tool Girl for the win! I've been doing my block printing on the standing workbench in the workroom as it is quite sturdy and stable. A double layer of craft felt underneath the fabric to be printed adds just enough give to allow the blocks to print cleanly. I will say, though, that standing for that long on hard concrete makes me rather sore, so a padded mat in front of the bench would be a good addition.

to dye for

in which our plucky heroine gets experimental...

Since there was no orange wool for my next tablet weaving project, it seemed like a fun idea to try using food color and vinegar to dye wool yarn. After all, there was both a box of gel-paste food coloring and a jug of vinegar in the pantry... 

First step, according to online tutorials, is to soak the yarn in a water/vinegar mixture for at least 30 minutes. Started on Tuesday evening, and continued the project this morning. The now thoroughly hydrated yarn is visible in the Pyrex measuring cup:

The food colorings are much stronger than the little jars of liquid from the grocery store. Gel paste is used to get vivid colors in foods, and is usually found in either baking supply shops or craft stores that sell cake decorating supplies. It didn't take very many times dipping the toothpick ends into the gel and stirring it into the custard cup of hot water to get a deep orange liquid.

Since both food coloring and vinegar are food safe, I had no qualms about using my regular cooking pans for this experiment. The dye, added first to the saucepan of hot water/vinegar mixture, looked a nice medium carrot color, just the thing to set off the olive-y green motifs on the weaving-to-be. The presoaked yarn took up the dye really quickly, necessitating some careful movement of the fibers in the dyebath, and adding a little extra food coloring to get as even color as possible.

Once all the dye is transfered to the wool, the liquid remaining in the saucepan turned clear again. It seemed like a good idea to just let the yarn cool down in the acidulated water while errands and a trip to get an eye exam took up the middle of the day. Once home again, and the yarn cooled, it didn't take much to rinse out any excess dye, and the now much more colorful yarn was draped over the kitchen towel rod to dry...

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September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter # 10	bathrobe hang-loop	bag to Goodwill
2	fig sauce	many pokey wires	butterfly chair
3	seraph	dye yarn orange	first leaf raking
4	charter # 11	x	-
5	hat for Thora	x	-
6	applesauce	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

thinking about dyeing

in which our plucky heroine mulls over various possiblities...

The rayon fabric I am currently struggling working with is a brightly multi-colored high-contrast print. (I suspect I acquired it in a fabric swap, since it isn't a typical colorway I would choose, though the hand of the fabric is lovely, and will make up into a Very Comfortable Dress.) As is often the case with printed fabrics, the individual colors are notated on the selvedge, in little numbered dots. In this case, there are a total of FOURTEEN different colors!

The biggest challenge when overdyeing fabric that is colored or patterned is to figure out, at least theoretically, what color you will end up with in relation to what color or colors you start out with and what color dyestuff you use. At the very least, it requires great imaginative effort, for more accuracy, it requires sample dyeing. Rather than start by preparing several dyebaths, I decided to make a chart, and carefully think about how colors usually interact.

overdye interactions

#	FABRIC COLOR	OVERDYE BLUE	OVERDYE BROWN
1	black	no change	no change
2	dk grey	darker blue	darker brown
3	yellow-green	dark turquoise	bronze
4	navy	no change	slightly warmer
5	lt grey	darker dull blue	darker dull brown
6	dull blue-green	darker bluegreen	bronze brown
7	bright med blue	darker blue	cooler brown
8	periwinkle	darker cool blue	cooler brown
9	ice green	slightly green blue	slightly bronze
10	hot pink	purple	terracotta
11	warm cream	slightly warm blue	slightly warmer brown
12	lt grey	slightly darker dull blue	slightly darker dull brown
13	lt blue	no change	slightly cooler brown
14	pastel teal	slightly green blue	slightly cooler brown

As I had suspected, the most challenging color in this print is the hot pink, which shows up often enough that whatever color it turns will be a noticeable accent color. I don't really like purple or terracotta very much. It is slightly more difficult to predict colors with brown, since brown is not a primary, or even a secondary color, but a mixture of red, yellow, and blue, often toned with either white or black as well.

I shall continue to mull over the possibilities. I found this exercise to be informative, as though my initial thought was to overdye in brown, but looking at the probable outcome, I am more inclined to go with the blue, as more of the shifted colors are ones that I am comfortable wearing, and are already in my wardrobe. Perhaps it is time for me to get over my irrational dislike of purple? In the interim, I shall get the pieces prepared to sew, and stitch together the new popover dress, a good task for another terribly hot day. If I stitch up the seams and topstitching in black, the thread color will not be a factor in the overdye process later on.

Sunday snippets

in which our plucky heroine notices a momentary halo...

Apparently the bike lanes on the nearby primary street were just repainted, which process also includes the liberal sprinkling of reflective glass spheres. As I was riding home on my bike earlier today, my shadow was cast ahead and slightly to the right, the sun not having reached full height in the sky. A curious effect of a small but bright rainbow*, was following along slightly ahead of my shadow, apparently from the excess of microspheres, and a slight, quick, turn of my head showed that the rainbow formed an pennanular curve around my cycling shadow self. It was a most curious effect. I tried stopping to see if I could capture it with my cell phone camera, but the effect seemed to be predicated on movement somehow. In difficult times any glimpse of beauty is a benison.

*edited to add, that the scientific name of the phenomenon is called "a glory", and there is, of course, an optical explanation. Thank you to my Berkeley friend Flieg for the additional info.

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Back in the dawn of time, when I was a child (and the soft hot rocks made it difficult to keep the crayons from melting...) instead of giving crayola colors amusing descriptive names like "inchworm", and "jazzberry jam", the colors had simple names like "blue-violet", and "yellow-green", for example, which made it more obvious how combining colors led to more interstitial colors. This painted example of the color wheel (I made up outline coloring wheels to share with my charter painting students) is one possible useful and handy way to think about colors. I assumed everyone learned this in grade school, but not necessarily.

This is a more complex split primary color wheel; by starting with a warm and cool color of each of the three primary colors, more subtle secondary colors can be created. I realised once I started that this color wheel was a bit beyond the needs and available time for a single hour and a half introductory painting class. It was fun, however, to draw up the master for this, I got to use some of my geometry templates and triangles...

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I should mention that in fact, I did teach a new workshop on Saturday - Introduction to Charter Painting. It was intended for encouraging beginners to try their hand at charter painting, which is basically "illumination made easy". Charters are xerox copies of SCA award scrolls (certificates), with the calligraphy already done, and the design in place, as outlined motifs. Hence, painting a charter is a bit like coloring in a coloring book, only with gouache paint instead of markers or crayons, and often with a bit of additional embellishment. I greatly enjoy painting charters as a form of meditative relaxation, so encouraging others to also give it a try was not a terribly difficult step. I think that the class was pretty well received, and with some editing of the handout sheet, it could also be taught as a fun short workshop for modern folks as well...

into indigo...

in which our plucky heroine had a blue Wednesday...

Last week was the final week of the Mood Indigo exhibit at SAAM in Seattle. I have some dear friends who live not far from there, and an excursion was planned.

A three hour ride on Bolt took me across state lines and between cities. The transit tunnels in downtown Seattle are deep underground. I took one bus from where Bolt dropped us off in the International District to where I could catch the electric bus to my friends abode. After taking the elevator up one level, after wandering about for a bit, I found this escalator up to the surface, and arrived, blinking in the daylight, in front of Benaroya Hall...

The composition of the photo really pleases me, as well as gives a real sense of the dizzying effect of the steep moving escalators.

:::

It was impossible to see and photograph all the amazing textile art in the show, and still have any time to actually take in some of the beauty. And for various reasons, M and I had only about an hour and a half there, before the museum closed for the night. I am very grateful to have had a chance to see this particular show, and hope to get back to the museum again at some point...

dynamic asymmetry on an African garment


resist dyed Japanese bed cover


wonder what other dyes were used, besides indigo


embroidered border on Chinese wall hanging


detail of embroidery on silk


embroidered Chinese roundel


weft dyed futon cover

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farmer jacket in shibori and sashiko

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furoshiki decorated in sashiko


Korean carrying cloth pieced from many small bits of indigo fabric


Japanese rabbits, doing things


this spherical Japanese bunny reminds me of "the rabbit in the moon"

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shibori herringbone, plus a closer look...


love the combination of stripey sleeves with figured body


Uzbek multicolored ikat...


padded tie-quilted bedding

This "sacred shawl" was in some ways the most impressive object I saw in the entire show; the level of detail in the weaving took my breath away... this is only two small sections (from Sumatra, Indonesia, from the Batak culture)

out beyond blue...

in which our plucky heroine has fun with indigo...

After spending days of my transit time stitching up carefully folded panels of linen in preparation for some shibori dyeing, Wednesday was set aside for a visit to my pal Marya, aka the goddess with the blue hands. She has quite a bit of experience with indigo dyeing, and agreed to help me turn my first shibori efforts blue...

The warm indigo vat, with the first dip of my prepared shibori panels.

Five of the panels coming out of the vat after the first dip. The indigo in the linen fabric is just beginning to oxidise and turn blue. Marya figured out a clever way to suspend my panels in two groups of five, using yarn and a bamboo stick, which made the process much less cumbersome than individually dipping ten panels over and over

After a few dips, the tightly gathered panels look very sculptural. The magic of indigo is easy to fall in love with! After seven dips the panels look very dark indeed, almost black, though some of that will rinse away, and the color will lighten further once the panels are dry.

These panels were then rinsed repeatedly while still tightly gathered. There will be a lot of rinsing; while the indigo does bind tightly to the fibers, a lot of excess dye tags along. The more thoroughly the dyed fabric is rinsed, the less excess dyestuff remains to be rubbed off onto other clothing or the skin of the wearer...


I couldn't resist opening up a panel to see if/how my hours of stitchery worked out...

This design is called "horse's teeth". To me, what I ended up with looks a bit more like dental x-rays, and while not exactly like how the pattern is supposed to come out, it is very pretty indeed.

The other design I tried was this "undulating line" pattern, also in ori nui shibori. I am quite chuffed at how these two different designs turned out, and look forward to useing the panels as part of my Honor Feast kosode project.

:::

September SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	apron dress for L	linen closet doors	bag to Goodwill
2	DM coronet	shed roof patched	bag to Goodwill
3	DM coronet	front door latch	bag to Goodwill
4	red top for Joan	bike brake cable	bag to Goodwill
5	Coptic stitch book	bike kickstand	bag to Goodwill
6	duct tape clone	side yard work	bag to Goodwill
7	whitewash	back yard work	bag to Goodwill
8	4 heraldic enamels	whitewash henhouse	bag to Goodwill
9	10 shibori panels	chook roost	electronica x 2
10	-	-	yard waste bin
11	-	-	yard waste bin
12	-	-	-