Make ink: Tansy

I am very happy with this colour! I dyed fabric with tansy last year, using alum as a mordant.  Not quite enough blooming yet to make a dye pot, but a little goes a far ways when making a little ink.

Make ink: Red Zinnias

Before leaving the library yesterday, I dead headed a few plants.  Yes, I was selective and only took the red zinnias, and yes they were still blooming brilliantly.  Naughty me? 

They cooked down quickly.  I added a bit of vinegar and brushed the ink on water colour paper.  Reminds me of dried blood stains.

Dye / Sea Glass

I signed up for an online workshop with Kelli May-Krenz that begins August 12th:

On a whim I decided that it would be a great idea to dye fabric for this class.  Like I need a reason to dye fabric, right?  I had purchased "Sea Glass" some time ago and decided to give it a try.  

Kicking myself for not using it earlier!  Loving the colour!

Travel badge - England

After stitching this badge, I decided it looked like a big red tongue.  I had a good laugh over my choice of colour and shape.

How do pick just a few pictures to share when there are hundreds from this trip in 2014.  Red.  I picked photos that had red!

Big Wedding: Norwegian Wedding Cake

The cake was a success!  Transporting 18 layers + 12 additional layers for a second cake in 90+ weather was nerve wracking. I had enough containers to not layer, as I decided that the weight of the rings could be a problem.  The dog was in the back seat, until dropping him off at the kennel for the weekend.  He stays at the Hobo Pet Hotel - cutest little place ever!!!  Yes, their marketing worked on me.

After dropping him off, I put the back seat down to draw cool air into the trunk.  The plan worked.  Everything made it to the church in fine order.  The baker that invented this cake was actually Danish.  While in Denmark earlier this summer, I picked up a bag of Danish flags.  It seemed only fitting to make one of the cakes Danish to properly celebrate this occasion!

The cake mysteriously disappeared!

Big Wedding!

My brother is 58 and getting married for the first time.  Our family is so excited to welcome Michelle into our family.  Just a few pictures for now....  We leave in a few minutes to take the dog to the Hobo Pet Hotel and then head into the city. 

Yesterday evening I baked the rings for the Norwegian Wedding Cake.  The kitchen smells so yummy!  I volunteered to bake this cake as it is dairy free.   There are egg whites in the recipe, but I can overlook that for this melt in your mouth cake.  It is carefully packed up and ready to take to the church to assemble.  Don't worry - I will take plenty of pictures!

While visiting my son last month, a trip to Pier One scored this cake plate.  The wedding colours include different shades of blue.  While wiring some silk flowers for the base I decided to add a bit of lavendar.  Lavendar symbolizes devotion, a perfect flower to include at a wedding.

I have a few flowers left from the cake stand ring and will add them to the present.  My collection of old wedding pictures make awesome cards.  

Make Ink: Red Geraniums

I'm getting ready to go out of town for a few days (big wedding!), and the geraniums begged to be dead headed before I left.  The heat we are expecting this weekend may kill my plants anyway... What a nice way to preserve some colour:

After cooking it down, I brushed some of the liquid on watercolour paper. You can see the green peeking thru from the back.  I then added vinegar to the water and cooked it down some more to remove about half of the liquid:

This ink blob was on mixed media paper:

Make Ink - Orange Zinnias

Now that the garden is blooming and I have the wedding quilt done, it is time to start picking, chopping and cooking some delicious colour!  I "borrowed" flowers from the library to cook up this pot of loveliness.  Unfortunately the photo I took of the flowers before cooking left my camera.  This happens sometimes for no apparent reason.  The guy at the phone store had to the nerve to ask if I knew how to take a picture.  Inside my head I thought, "Really?  I've been taking pictures since before you were born".  I was sweet and and just smiled.  He then googled and found that others have complained about the same thing.  But no fix for missing pictures.
Any way - I think the flowers were zinnias, but had very short stems.  I cooked them up and after draining I added some vinegar.  The last batch of flowers I cooked I omitted the vinegar and ended up with a lovely crop of mold on top of the ink. 

Wedding quilt - finished!

The quilt for my brother and his bride is finished.  None too soon.... the wedding is Saturday!

I had wanted to work on a quilt using Gee's Bend Quilts as inspiration.  I like the improvisation look of the quilts made by these incredible women. 

The crosses are not quilted, so I am hoping that after it is washed that they will stand out more.  The other thing I must tell the wedding couple - use this quilt.  Quilts are made to be used and loved.  I will be sadly disappointed if after a few years it doesn't show signs of wear.  Fading and frayed edges tell me that is was not folded carefully and stored in a drawer.  It's ok for the cats to sleep on it.

Warning! Wear protective glasses

This was supposed to be my morning to catch up on the weeding in the vegetable garden.  I decided to use the weed eater around the compost pile first.  Bad move.  Double bad since I didn't take the time to run up to the house for eye gear.  The eye doctor said that weed eater injuries top his list of patient accidents, so I am not alone. 

My eye is fine, but will take awhile for the bruise to go away.  Just my luck! Saturday is my brother's wedding.  I will be the one wearing the sunglasses for all the pictures..

Travel badge / Iceland

Earned the Iceland travel badge while on a few day layover from Boston to Stockholm.  (It was  planned.)  My cousin, her daughter and I met up in Boston and flew to Reykjavik to join my son for a few days.  Words cannot begin to describe this incredible country.  We enjoyed every minute of this adventure.   A high point for me (besides time with my son), was a hike into a volcano.  First a 2 mile hike across the lava field then we were lowered into the volcano.  The colours inside were so beautiful.  I am an artist, not a scientist, and was very fascinated by the art made by nature.

Yes it was cold while we were in Iceland - middle of September.  But the days were pleasant and it was not overrun with tourists.  I would love to return for another adventure.

Travel badge / Northern Ireland

In 2012, my son and I took a trip to Ireland before he left for Afghanistan.  We wanted to do something special before saying goodbyes for almost a year.  He picked Ireland, as he had been there while on a People to People trip during middle school.  Always wanting to go back, this was a great opportunity to experience Ireland together.  This was my first European trip. 

We both enjoyed the Giant's Causeway and we played and hiked for hours before heading toward Dublin and the rest of our journey.