happy new every day of the year

waking up breathing is a fine start to the day

everything else is a bonus [well, mostly]

make the most of each moment.

and thank you Sheila

for writing such nice things

about our meeting in May

on the beach

 

while some people somewheres 

may be making snow angels

 

here in the deep deep south

we're making drawings in the sand

putting it in writing

the host of the Goolwa workshop [planned for early February 2012] and i have received some interesting mail lately.
it runs along the lines of "yes, we're interested in the riverstitch class but 2012 is pretty busy so we'll do it in 2013"
well, sorry to disillusion you folks, but just for the record
the riverstitch class will be my only South Australian workshop in 2012 [i won't be teaching in my home state at all in 2013]
and
i'll be scaling back the teaching whirlwind from the end of next year - looking for some space and time to develop and make new work

New York, New York

if you're in New York next August...you'll have the chance to see my favourite dance company

Leigh Warren & Dancers

and with good luck and good management, i'll be in the audience too
reminding myself to breathe

playing the blues

my rule for myself is not to use imported dyestuffs. but i love blue. so when i was in France earlier this year and was assured by Charlotte Kwan of Maiwa that their indigo comes from a sustainable source and that the grower receives proper recompense for their trouble, i permitted myself an indulgence. and bent that rule.

so now that i have the luxury of being at home for a time i'm playing the blues. in the dyepot, at the cocktail hour and on my tenor saxophone. redgum ash and reject honey [yes, there IS such a substance] are the reducing agents, in a local variant on Michel Garcia's indigo methods.

and next year we'll be deep in blue and deep in the woods at the same time.

washing advice

i'm often asked for advice on caring for ecoprint cloth. my response is generally "treat it as you would treat your hair" because after all wool and silk are quite similar proteins to hair [wool particularly, being keratin] that ought not to be dried in the sun if it can be avoided.*

just as a day at the beach can turn your hair into straw, allowing wet silk to dry in Australian sunshine can make it quite brittle.
and sunshine fades things. black cotton Tshirts as much as ecoprint cloth.

for quite a while, Ecostore woolwash was my potion of choice but recently i indulged and purchased a bottle of Aesop A.P.C. specifically created for washing fine fabrics by hand. it contains petitgrain, lemon and cedarwood among other ingredients and smells like a redwood forest.

i love redwoods. 

 

although it's not inexpensive, the potion is solidly thick [ie you're not paying for water] and a little goes a very long way. i washed my landskin felt travel blanket in it today and BOY did it need washing. one of the drawbacks of felt is that it likes to make friends with all sorts of stuff, consequently three lots of rinsing water were needed to restore it to a more presentable state.

but back to those instructions. use a very small quantity of washing liquid, lukewarm water and le tthe item soak for a bit [i generally have a cup of tea at this point]
then gently squeeze the item in the washbath to help release the grunge. use the spin cycle of the washing machine to extract all the dirty water and then rinse in lukewarm clean water. hang [or lay flat] in the shade to dry.

* yes, before there's a flood of mail to remind me, i know sheep live in the great outdoors and get rained on and dry in the sun :>)