summertime

way back in January (when this blog was first unleashed) i was teaching at the Kapiti Summer School, run by Whitireia Polytechnic. i'm delighted to say i'll be back again in 2009.

not only is Aotearoa one of my favourite places, the region around the summer school campus is blessed with an abundance of flora suitable for botanical alchemy in the dyepot. it's also blessed with beautiful rivers, beaches and woods - with a magical patch of original Nikau forest

and next year will be special indeed, with a day trip to Kapiti Island (pictured above)

visibly risible

here's an amusing sign. i'll agree that suffolk are an excellent meat breed, and i'd happily stuff mattresses with their resilient and springy wool...but lingerie? we're getting into Billy Connolly's Auntie Agnes' territory here. particularly hilarious given Aotearoa's fame in the merino department (second only to the bigger southland a little to the west in terms of quality and itchlessness). suffolk wool is best suited to making socks for trampers and wayfarers (preferably worn with a merino or cotton sock on the inside) as it is inherently resistant to felting as well as being extremely durable.

the thought of it knitted into knickers leaves my knees knocking.

edgewater

the Waikane river beckons on this perfect day...rather like Goldilocks' porridge, not too hot, not too cold, but just right. yesterday's wild winds have blown away and blue skies smile. we wade barelegged into the water, trailing lengths of silk like seaweed over the stones. later, armed with our bundles, riverwetsilk wrapped around found spontaneous plants (more prosaically described as weeds), riverstones at the core we wend our way back to the studio, an aromatic haven full of steaming dyepots, perfumed leaves and jewel-like samples.