spring is in the air
and i am being tempted by this
a beautiful piece of kantha stitching
my friends will understand my dilemma -
an inbuilt reluctance to purchase unnaturally dyed cloth
on the other hand
it's all recycled
and has been purchased fairly from the makers
we'll see
spring is bursting from the bushes
and splattering on the ground
whatever berry that bird is eating
clearly reacts beautifully to the alkaline mordant
also provided by said bird
the dresses are nearly finished
last one went into the dyepot at dawn
wrapped tightly with Eucalyptus crenulata leaves
which smell rather nicer than the stench
emanating from the crazy neighbour's domain
it would be rather more pleasant around here
if only spring were in the air.
PS i keep omitting to say thank you to Lou Pardi and Ellie Beck both of whom kindly mentioned me in the current edition of Peppermint magazine, for which i am very grateful!
that looks like a white japonica, the only one i don't have, yet, the heralds of Spring. do we see the dresses when they are done, please?
ReplyDeleteone of our neighbours did that last week too, smoked out the whole valley, so i made an official complaint - that was a wasted phone call!...k.
spot on Kaite...japonica or
ReplyDeleteChaenomeles for the pedantic [me]. they're just gorgeous and grow very nicely from a cutting
as for neighbours?
island life; no, SMALL island life, beckons!
Though Spring usually smells good I would much prefer Autumn being in the air. (Spring can be pretty hot here. Looking forward to seeing your dresses once Eucalyptified. We are surrounded by Eucalyptus trees but I suppose there are many different types. One of these days I will try dying something with the leaves. Thanks for the onion skin and rust tip. (Still waiting .... though they said they had the books in stock I think my copy is on the slow boat from Oz)
ReplyDeletecan't wait to see those dresses..................
ReplyDeleteXXXm
I can understand your dilemma about that kantha stitched cloth; it looks beautiful. Can't wait to see the dresses when you're done; the glimpses you've shown are totally tantalising! :o) Julie
ReplyDeletei hear that King Island is asking for new residents...sounds intriguing to me in a few years time...k.
ReplyDeleteand on the other side of the planet we're feeling the cool creep ever so slowly in, and a tree or two with a touch of october. wearing socks this morning.
ReplyDeleteKing Island sounds good.
ReplyDeleteyay for socks [my friend Jo in Nelson knits the best socks in the whirled]
and i'll show the dresses in due course
but
i can't show them until they've made their debut in Paris
bear with me....
blog's looking different, good, a bit startling, though!
ReplyDeletei was trying to do a bit of spring-cleaning and somehow managed to blot the edges quite severely
ReplyDeleteah well
all part of being "that sort of bear"
...don't think I'd be able to resist that kantha...the COLORS, oooh lah lah like spilt merlot...or a bath in raspberry sauce!
ReplyDeleteThese days kanthas have become fashionable and have also strayed from the original raw silk template-I know women who want to collect kantha saris in every colour :-). They are amazingly sturdy though and worth buying. I still have quilts made from old saris that are beautifully soft. As also really old raw silk saris.
ReplyDeleteCan't stop it from coming... A few peeks here, back up a bit! -J
ReplyDeleteHello. My first time visiting. Beautiful blog! Warmly, Karen
ReplyDeletea pleasure and a privilege good lady! Lou
ReplyDelete