Been awhile

Summer Workshops over for another year.   I managed, by popular 

request, to squeeze in just one more indigo session.  A bright 

but chilly day.  A heater keep the vat up to temperature.

On Saturday six students came along to stitch their dyed cloth.

Despite two thirds of them not being familiar with a sewing

machine, by the end of the day all had a quilt top in the

making.  How good was that?!!

It's been a funny old summer one way an another.  I've been

busy taking workshops at home, and along the south coast.  

So many lovely students, and what fun we had.

In the spring my father in law became increasingly frail, 

his dementia really taking it's toll.  He lived at his home

just round the corner from us, with two carers calling 

in each day. Keith has been spending his days

between work and looking after his Dad.  Ted was

 admitted to hospital in July.  He passed

away peacefully this afternoon.  

Earth Colours

Sunday was such a lovely day.  Warm sun, blue skies.  Just had 

to take advantage of fine weather.  Last week seemed to herald

autumn, with this week's forecast of rain.

Old Man's Beard, a sure sign of autumn

We headed out to the coast.  A twenty minute walk down to the

sea, nibbling blackberries on the way.  Damsons and sloes

in their velvety purple coats just out of reach.

The sea singing on the pebbles

Colours in the cliff

Pigments

The 'Found'

A plank with a rust face, stones with holes.

and sea glass

A Breton fishing cap and sea string

Lost Fragments

My horoscope for today tells me that a gathering of lost

fragments allows you to connect to your higher self.  My

workroom is littered with fragments, lost or otherwise.

On my "to do list" for today is to complete two Journal

Quilts to meet the deadline.  Over the summer I collected

sketches and ideas for said quilts, well there's one set

of fragments.

Blue Pithoi

With remembrances of sunny days

in Santorini,  Blue skies and turquoise 

seas.  Museum full of pithoi and

fragments of wall paintings.

Bundi Bird

Looking into the file of pieces from the

mixed media workshop I took with

Cas Holmes at summer school.

More fragments. Images of Jodpur,

a piece of tissue with an embroidery

pattern found in Udiapur.   Fabric

buttons, who knows where they

came from.  Then the Bundi Bird, one

of several to be found on wall paintings

in the Palace at Bundi Rajasthan.

Time for lunch, and then to tackle the

seriously lost and found on the

workroom floor,

Jambo Kenya

The last of the summer events for families at Walford Mill.

They say travels broadens the mind, so I had to delve into

African/Kenyan images - printing fabric for flags.

On Saturday I had a real play day making stamps.

Recycled foam board (knew it would come in handy)

and sticky backed thin craft foam found in a charity shop.

Elephants, lizards, jungle leave and flowers, symbols, etc.

They all worked like a dream, even after being covered

in acrylic paint, twice.   Over fifty flags printed in two

45 minute workshops.   Oh, we did have fun, and the

sun was shining, an added bonus after the last two

weeks of rain.

Here are a few prints

My favorite

The stamps have been washed one more time.

I have scrubbed up, kicked my shoes off

and might just have to have a glass of red,

and relax.

Something completely different

On Sunday a chance to visit the Festival of Quilts.

I admired the quilts from contemporary to traditional,

the separate exhibitions from well known makers,

and groups, from all over the world. I wandered

through the traders' area.   Found there was a lot

of things I didn't need.

One exhibit I adored was the wedding blankets

of the Marsh Arabs of South Iraq.   Camel wool

base, embroidered with wool - chain stitch

using a tambour or ari hook.   They were joyful.

Blue Mist

Dyeing in tropical mist/drizzle, crazy.  The vat made up

in the Big Shed, kept warm by a heater.  Great vat, deep

blue.  Fortunately the excitement of producing indigo

cloth overcame the weather.   Too exciting.

An indigo string nest - perhaps it will hatch

next year.

At the end of the day, looking out of my

workroom window.  August - really?!!

Another washing line

Yesterday, Tuesday, dawned dull stormy and cold.

Not an indigo day at all.  Fortunately the children's

workshop was today, altogether better weatherwise.

It was warmish, with a little rain.  As we were in a

marquee, busily preparing t shirts, and the washing

line sheltered by trees, it mattered not a jot.

Eleven children kept me and Sarah my helper,

very busy, what with supervising various resists

and attending to two buckets of indigo.

I love the surprise and amazement when the

t shirts come out of the vat and are not blue,

then watching the change before their very eyes.

Photographs almost an impossibility!  

There were t's on washing lines, over bushes 

and laid on the grass.   Here's a couple of pix 

I managed to grab.

The usual method is elastic bands, with or without

chickpeas, t shirt on left.   The other has actually

been bound with string, which I think was pretty

good and not the easiest option.

Left t shirt over dyed olive green.  It looked great, and

the olive green stitching, which didn't take the dye,

toned in nicely.   The blue polo shirt fabulous -

note detail of circle in the middle of the pocket!

My last indigo workshop in the conservatory, 

possibly with the aid of The Big Shed is 

on Saturday.  Sun dance everybody, please!