the vat is still going, with a little addition of Hydros and indigo  to sharpen it 

even more cloth dipped and dyed yesterday - such a lovely stack of blue

piling up - there is a quilt in there somewhere

meanwhile

lavender harvest

an abundance of French parsley

Tiny Tom tomatoes growing by the table on the balcony

add parsley, thyme, chives, oregano, Greek basil plus

'cut and come again' salad leaves, all you need is a

plate and French dressing to complete a salad

just for the record

it is generally thought that us Brits are always talking about the weather

which is not surprising since we a get a lot of it in all it's varieties

just checking it out first thing this morning and the chart shows

a fabulous curve of sun and 26c - look no rain!

suits me just fine

indigo washing

agapanthus - a few of the twenty five flowers 

blooming lovely

blue heat

The whole country is sweltering in the heatwave, broken slightly by monsoon rains,

together with amazing thunder storms and dramatic lightening flashing across 

the sky.    In our little corner of England we managed to escape most of the 

storms, although the rain was much welcomed on our parched garden.

The gazebo made an appearance again, just in case.    Not needed after all,

just a few little showers to cool the air.    Hot and humid, perfect indigo weather.

Cloth prepared - stitched, tied, bound and clamped.    Soy wax resist.  Ready to go.

A few pix captured during a very productive day - and what blues?!!!

pole wrap with raffia - love the green 

old lace

soy wax resist - stars from the ceiling of an Egyptian tomb?

soy wax 'scribbles'

manipulated pole wrap

these are but a few of the most wonderful pieces produced on the day

and it was such fun dipping, dyeing and enjoying heat of the day, admiring 

the amazing blue cloth on the washing line - big smiles all round.

Next Saturday it's a Procion dyeing day.   Same effects, but in colour!

Looks like the heatwave will linger longer, which means the dye should

produce really strong colours, that's not to say you can't do pale!

There are a couple of places left.   If you are interested, contact me.

high summer

slowing down, not rushing

enjoying warm (hot) days

picking courgettes and beans

then eating them for supper

at last Saturday's workshop on Indian Stitching we looked at

banjara stitching

kantha stitching

Indian mirror work

and little samplers were started

which might look like this

I've read The Chemistry of Tears by Peter Carey - strangely wonderful

next up,  Rumi The Fire of Love by Nahal Tajadod, the story of the great Sufi poet

 and creator of the whiling dervish    I am transported to 13th century Arabia 

today I revived my two week old indigo vat    it's not often in that this 

can be done 'outside' without the aid of a heater of some kind

another indigo workshop this weekend - forecast hot and humid, perfect

now to water the garden and harvest a handful of beans

postcard

On Thursday it is 'last day of term' with my friends at the Mill.    We all contribute something for lunch and it is a foodie fest - delicious.

A new challenge this year was a fabric postcard swap.    A little out of my comfort zone, which maybe is a good thing?    Remembered yesterday, and, with a chill wind outside this afternoon, I got stitching.

with apologies to Matisse

and a note to self book tickets for the exhibition

fabric backed with Bondaweb is not as easy as cutting paper!