My first attempt using koolaid to dye wool. It is so easy! Clean wool into the saucepan, cover with water, add some heat, sprinkle a package of koolaid on the wool. Gently stir. Simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool. When cool, the water on the pan was clear. A quick rinse and let it dry. How easy is that!?!
It's not really mine, but I am probably the only person who checks on it each morning and many times during the day just to admire how beautiful the sky is. When the new neighbors move in (they haven't even begun building yet), I may have to share. It's not an especially beautiful tree, but God paints the sky and gives me such colour each day. I've thought about putting the images together into a book - wouldn't that be a lovely gift to present to the neighbors!
I've been working on my, "air pollution" dress, in my earth dress series. It seems that I am jumping around from dress to dress to keep myself interested and motivated. This one is too hard to stitch on at night - grey and black are just too difficult to see, even with good lighting. I prefer a nice sunny day and it looks like that may not happen for a few days. For now, I'll put it aside and work on something a little more cheery!
I do enjoy finding VanGogh studies using mixed media. We took a cruise on September and found wonderful art on our ship:
My earth dress series is slowly progressing. It began as a slow stitch project, but now deadlines are popping up. A friend has volunteered to write a magazine article, another friend is looking for the perfect place to exhibit and another keeps feeding me with new dress ideas. Yes, the project seems overwhelming at times.
Fresh Water Dress is currently on my work table. Green beads and stitching... over and over... slowly, I stitch and think. I ❤️ the colour contrast. It is finally looking good to me.
We've had 2 days of huge bird flocks circling our house. They seem to swarm from the front yard to the back for hours. One can't help but notice as they are so noisy!
After photographing, I made a quick stencil to record this amazing day.
I am in Fodder School 2 this year. I'm sure I already have enough prints and fodder to keep me busy for years, but the temptation was too great.
I did make the decision to work with fabric along with a bit of paper. My reasoning - I would actually use some of my hand dyed stash and shoeboxes full of fabric I just can't stand to pitch. Now I wonder what my end game will be. Probably boxes of printed fabric I can't throw away, right?!?
Anyway - I've been gelli printing on pieces of an old quilt that was falling apart. I was a little frustrated with how quickly the paint was drying on the gelli plate, so I decided to go old school and make my own with Knox gelatin and water. My first round of prints:
Enjoyed a few hours at the Figge Art Museum with friends. I enjoyed the Day of the Dead displays thru out the museum:
I've seen so many beautiful trees in the past few days, covered with amazing colours. My favorite is this lone tree across from my kitchen window. The poor thing never has pretty leaves, instead I welcome the months while it is bare. A season of beautiful sunrises, stormy skies, or just a sea of blue. I do hope that our new neighbors also embrace the beauty of this solitary tree.
When I visited Arrianne earlier this month, we spent a few hours at the Botanical Gardens. Very nice. I especially enjoyed the water gardens that surrounded a courtyard for receptions and social events. There was a team setting up for a wedding, so we didn't stay too long. (Didn't want to be put to work!) I would like to incorporate some plants and land scaping into our pond. Or does one call it water scaping?
This may be my favorite Stitch Club workshop! Sue Stone's "Off the Grid", has so many possibilities.
In a moment of craziness, I decided to participate in #printinktober. My thought was that it would be a good way to prep for 2 mini workshops I'm heading up at the library. (1) stencils and (2) carving rubber stamps. I need some samples and figured that this would be a good way to make them! Something like, "killing 2 birds..."
Each piece used a rubber stamp that I carved during #CarveDecember a few years ago. How nice to pull them out of the box and actually use them!
On my forest walks, I enjoy taking pictures to remind me of the beauty that I've been blessed with. With a particularly damp season, I am delighted with the fungi that pops up overnight. Using my fungus identification app I am beginning to give my photos names! The Pleated Inkcap, is especially short lived. The transparent look may be a challenge to stitch.
This week was fabulous! Art time with friends, quilting field trip to 5 quilt shops, invitation to exhibit my quilts at a local gallery, and quality time with mom. Almost forgot - Jon's wheelchair ramp was installed too! Today I'm thinking... "how did I ever find time to work?"
We leave tomorrow for a 2 week cruise. Jon is leaving all the packing to me - this has never happened in the past. He did manage to lay clothes out for me to handle (I rejected a few items) and have the washing machine going now to freshen fall clothes that haven't been worn for awhile.
My pile consists of art supplies and my favorite hiking boots! Luckily, I have a good idea of what I want to take!!!
Off to work on my very long to do list....
Not a weed a really gave a second glance in the past, but I recently read that it makes a lovely dye.
