Summer Dyeing

Daughter Elizabeth is good at coming up with creative solutions. We were planning to do some dyeing outside and wondering how to set things up. This was her solution using things on hand: an old firewood stacking frame and a door.

The set up. Note the perfect hat I have found for working outside in the sun. 

We worked with Bengala dyes, made in Japan from earth.

These are the 12 colours presently available in North America.

Tree of Life in Saint Petersberg

When I travel I look for a number of reoccurring symbols, one of which is the Tree of Life.

I found some very interesting ones in the Church of our Saviour on Spilled Blood, in Saint Petersburg.

They are huge mosaics, high on the walls.

They are on all sides of the church and each one is different.
Working with this symbol is just at the percolation stage at the present but it may be time to put them up on my design wall and move on to the brain storming stage.

Saint Petersberg

This summer I went to Saint Petersberg, Russia

One of the most striking features of the city is the contrast in architecture.

 

 

It was such a pleasure to just wander around the city for days.

Summer 2013 'To Go' Project

Early summer I made up a 'To Go' project, something I could take with me to work on while travelling.
It had to be self sufficient, small and take a long time.
I started with a card a friend sent me for inspiration. She knows I love hens.

The bantam is a childhood memory of watching them in my grandparents' large vegetable garden and helping Nana shoo them into their coop each night.

I found a piece of even weave another friend had given me.

I found a charted hen motif in an old kit and coloured it with bantam colours.
 I picked floss colours for the hen and the background.


And packed it all in a small bag with a tiny pair of scissors.
I traveled with this project all summer, successfully getting through all airport securities without having anything confiscated.
I traveled on different modes of transport and stayed at different places without loosing any tools or thread.
 I was able to work on planes, ferries and in cars. It satisfied my urge to stitch on many occasions while travelling.
It is nearly finished, as is summer.

Doing Laundry

Over the summer I had several sessions doing laundry while it was hot and dry
- perfect conditions for cotton.

I soaked and washed a pile of domestic linens I had accumulated.
I hung them to dry until they were just damp.

Then steamed them dry and smooth.

They were added to my collection...

...waiting until their time out in the public eye.