Ah, India!

Four lovely relaxing days in Udaipur.   Meeting friends, copious cups 
of chai;  a little shopping;  walking in the Aravali Hills.   The lake is
looking gorgeous, full to the brim.   Not only are the fish jumping 
Samshu caught one for lunch.  Delicious.

Udaipur at night looks like a fairy tale.   I wish you could hear all the fireworks

and music in the background as the city prepares for the run up to Diwali.

Today we have a five hour drive to Pachewar, a small village with a huge

fort.   That will be our home for four days.  Built four hundred years ago it

looks amazing.    

Packing to do, breakfast to eat before we hit the road  in an hour's time.

pocket patch

last minute mending

a pocket patch for my favourite kurta

it has two big pockets, very handy

one had a hole in it, and now it hasn't

off to warmer climes for a week or two

Revisiting

Another three weeks have whizzed by without blogging.   I must have
been a) enjoying myself, b) really busy, or c) refining my juggling skills.
A mixture of all three really.

My workshops for the year are now finished.   Two shibori/procion days
extremely colourful.    The final on kantha stitching very quiet and calm.

I will be taking a Shibori in Colour workshop
on 20th January 2013.   For details contact
Walford Mill  Wimborne, Dorset





End of year tidy up - all those files, samples and notes redefined.   They
multiply through the year!    I am finding I do have space in cupboards,
once the 'on longer required on journey' stuff is discarded.

Paperwork almost done, and I can see surfaces again.    

To maintain some sanity I had to have some stitching to hand.   Of course,
on the wall is Blue Moon, a quilt I finished on New Year's Eve, 2009! 
It is constructed from recycled white fabric, gathered over months.  Dyed,
mark making with soy wax and over dyed.    Lack of time required machine
quilting, which I always intended to hand quilt.  It's time has come!

hanging on the wall along with Nic's illustrations

for our family exhibition Raw Talent 

from this

to this

via this

I am so enjoying the result.   This might be my winter project!   There is a

lot of stitching yet to be done.

Nic is on tour with The Paper Cinema's production of the Odyssey until

the end of November.    It could be coming to a town near you!   

a colouful week

First there were two workshops on Procion dyeing.  Oh the colours, and 
I have to imagine the results as the interesting wrapped packages were 
taken home by students.    I have heard from Joyce who is so excited 
with her dyed cloth, she can't possibly use it!

my summer 'very' slow cloth finished

   

It started off during a hectic period of disruption.   The small blocks stitched

in quiet times.   As the little pile grew, the blocks were joined and quilted.

flowers detail

the elephant

I thought I might turn it into a cushion with outrageous tassells, I am still 

undecided on that option.  For now it will be a tucked into my Indian 

Applique workshop box.  A very colourful sample for inspiration.

I can feel ideas for my winter slow cloth quilt emerging.

First, there is a great deal of cleaning and sorting to do.   Yucky dye pots,

plus all the paraphernalia involved with teaching.

Three more workshops to go this month, and then thoughts will turn in an

easterly direction!   

Indigo experiment no. 2

Two weeks ago I intended to process the indigo leaves.    Well, how 
time flies.

Instead I brought them indoors, with the threat of really cold nights.    
I have been nurturing them over the past weeks, hoping to at last achieve
a decent blue.  Amazing plants considering the non summer, bet they 
wished they were in India.

Yesterday I stripped the best leaves, simmered them for a while then
strained the leaves.   Aireated the brew, splish, splosh;  added the 
hydrosulphite, and the vat was ready.

Thinking it might not work
I grabbed a cloth of unknown
providence and scrunched
it with elastic bands

This piece folded and clamped

and the last piece 
loosely folded













Happy day.    The recipe I followed is from Jenny Dean's Wild Colour 
ISBN 781845-1-84533-569-4.   A book I would highly recommend.

The plants are now looking quite sorry for themselves, however......

at last they are flowering.
So, with a little tender care over
the coming months I hope to
harvest the seeds for planting
next Spring.

I must remember not to set the
seeds too early but to be patient.
I've learnt lots about growth
patterns and constant harvesting.
How free plastic forks are perfect
for layering the stalks, which will
then produce further growth.

It's been a real challenge, but
I got there in the end!

something different

I took a workshop this weekend with Martyn Brewster, entitled 
The Painterly Print.     A tad out of my comfort zone, but utterly
brilliant.  Silk screen monoprinting, and so much more.

I am learning to love acrylic paint (did I really say that?) 
Brain so full by the end of day one I couldn't even cut paper
straight.  Loved the process.   This could be the beginning of 
a new journey of discovery.

Mark One

Yes, I am still slowly stitching.   Border detail - Indian Applique

Then there are the indigo plants to process tomorrow.  
Their growth is slow this year, which has given me a little
window during a busy time.    I have been looking for signs
of the flowers emerging, they will appear very soon I think!

September Sunday

First thing, a little chill in the air as we set off to Portland Bill.

There were swallows and martins beginning to gather before setting of on their annual migration across the English Channel to Africa for the winter. Our weather wasn't kind to them this year.

The sun peeked out from the clouds, and although there was a little breeze it was very pleasant having a picnic sitting on the cliff top just gazing out over the calm sea.

The field opposite the bird observatory had been planted up with sunflowers now ready and ripe for a last feed before the birds set out on their travels.

After lunch it was time to visit the Harmonic Fields. "a sensory journey. An ensemble of 500 instruments played by the wind.". You might like to try this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-19484017. Strangely beautiful, especially as the wind is pretty strong on the cliff top.

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