the flotsam dress

i promised my students i would show them how it turned out
so here are some quick images of the flotsam dress
now that it's dry and the shibori stitching has been removed

Kaz Madigan over at Curiousweaver has some shots of the bundle being undone [in the rain]

rather better images than mine
shot against the sun this morning

doesn't look too spectacular from a distance
the devil is in the detail

sea fossils on cloth,  perhaps

a last look at the Pacific [until May]

another splendid day for play

what shall i do today?
perhaps i need a bit of colour

i said colour...they look a bit brown.

now that's more like it...
the spectacular hues derived from bundling
Davidson's Plum

 

a  student from afar [Switzerland via New Zealand]

discovers the joys of Eucalyptus ecoprints 

[on wool cloth woven in Japan and acquired in NZ]

participants have brought in an abundance of plant material

- this climate is so plant-friendly i'm sure i could toss a cutting over my left shoulder and it would have grown roots by the time it hit the ground -

[if i lived here, i'd be planting Japanese indigo]

 

the  ecoprint above came from the plant shown below

 

 lovely pecan leaves

 i think of these as 'tagetes', locals call them 

'stinking roger'

 some of us worked harder than others.

at the end of the day

i betook myself to the Pacific Coast

where i found plenty more to do

loitering...in Taree.

 

these chaps are loitering

even though

the sign says NO.

at least i'm not being disorderly
well, not so as you would notice

just hanging about
gazing at the multitudes of fleurs
and the abundance of water
while on my way
to
play

heading to class
i saw a deer in the woods

i got mail!

today's mail has brought Good Things

Aesop have kindly supplied me with a boxful of their delicious Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm to take on my travels and share with my students - lovely on hands [and so gentle it can be used on the face], can even double as a conditioner for hair for those who like to travel light

and
there's a parcel from Alabama Chanin*
a length of their gorgeous organic cotton
for me to play with

 

in fact, i have a lot of play to do today

Martha thinks i should get on with it

 

* check out the JOURNAL on the Alabama website. full of wonderful stuff to read and to gaze at

rumblings

i am hearing/reading some rumblings in the undergrowth
about the cancellation of the Long Ridge Farm classes
that were to take place in August this year

it was not a decision that was taken lightly
nor was it for frivolous reasons

i hoped the four months notice would give folks reasonable time to make other plans
[at least it's rather more than most tutors are extended - many workshop hosts reserve the right to cancel the tutor up to four weeks ahead of an engagement]

i sincerely regret any inconvenience or disappointment
and hope the universe fills the gap in your calendar
with something marvellous and magical
as it so often does when things initially don't go quite to plan

although [that said] i have to admit i'm still looking for the silver linings
to some of the wobblies the universe has been bowling of late
must be there somewhere, i just have to polish my spectacles a bit better so i can see them


 the late John Lennon summed it succinctly when he said
“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”

and when you hit the wall and can't climb over it
-  paint daisies on it.

i'm off to get my paints and brushes.

of storytelling, magic and golden silence

firstly this treasure from TED
too delightful not to share



and
magic of a different kind
as we bloom from white

to something else entirely

dress sewn from 1.5 metres of silk broadcloth
[only unused piece of fabric being the neckhole
which should have become a pocket
but i needed a dress in a hurry..so much for slowness]

coloured with leaves gathered from a street gutter

lastly a pearl of wisdom from a chocolate wrapper

 

the English text is perhaps a little harsh

in this instance i find the French version more appealing

 

and the chocolate [Italian]
was delicious thank you


have a lovely weekend, wherever you are

jack dandy

i had occasion to go to town today
on a client visit
taking a shortcut to the hills again
i swung by an emporium on a quiet back street
and having a minute or two to spare
popped in to have a look about

i found this extraordinary treasure
a Union Jack
stitched together from carpet pieces
and not just any old carpet
they were pieces of Afghan treasure
so far as i could tell

i was mightily intrigued by this, so i had a little google-rummage
and came up with some interesting links
here and here
it's a lovely piece but somehow i can't imagine chopping up perfectly beautiful rugs in order to piece a flag...

clearing space

it pains me to confess that
in order to reach my bed
i was having to develop the agility of a mountain goat

while looking for the floor
i piled some of the books on my bed
here they are

that delicious cloth in the background
was stitched by my good friend Roz
who blessed me with it as a surprise
last year

'Sternenmelodie' is a feel-good romantic novel set in the Vienna of the Austro-Hungarian empire. i reach for it when i am too tired to think

'the Curly Pyjama letters' by Michael Leunig are [to quote the dust jacket] " a small fragment of the vast correspondence known to have taken place between lone voyager Vasco Pyjama and his friend and mentor Mr Curly of Curly Flat"

Stephen Fry writes deliciously. the "Ode Less Travelled" is both entertaining and instructive.

'Pilgrimage' by Stuart Kestenbaum, poet and also Director of Haystack Mountain School of Craft. it's the current "morning dip" book

'The Devil's Horn'- a history of my favourite instrument, the saxophone. Nancy Zeller kindly alerted me to the existence of this book

'Here & There'....A.A.Gill is a marvellous writer and this is full of bite-size stories about wandering. [note to self : there goes a suitable title for the autobiography. sigh.]

i discovered 'Finding your Way in a Wild New World' after Roz [see above] kindly sent me an article about 'making" and while i can't locate the original at the moment here's a link to a related quote
Robyn of Art Propelled asked me if i'd come across it [the book]. Beck talks about mindfulness, wordlessness, stillness, oneness - all practices fundamental to the way i cope with the whirled - i'll be reading and re-reading, i think

'One Day' - heartily recommended for a trans-Pacific flight!

i'm studying 'Some Plants are Poisonous' [along with the thumping great volume on diseases of animals written by Hungerford...the on-farm bible] because i have been given the task of preparing a talk on [surprise] Poisonous Plants [with specific relevance to dyeing, because we don't wish to be dying....just yet] and i have learned that indigofera species are poisonous. which leads me to wonder if it is really safe to be standing in a concrete pit full of water and indigo leaves as part of the extraction process

so 'Indigo' is feeding my need for more knowledge of blue

'Centering'  helps me with my inner balance and is a much-treasured gift from my friend Desiree Fitzgibbon . suspect it helps me in my stone-stacking too.

'The Hare with Amber Eyes' was recommended to me by Jenni Worth.

and lastly 'Slow' magazine. i rarely buy magazines but this one has lots of interesting reading, gorgeous pictures and interesting things to follow up in it


...now to get the pile off the bed
so i have somewhere to sleep tonight.
meanwhile
a thought for today

"that which knows doesn't speak, that which speaks doesn't know" 
Lao Tzu [from Martha Beck's book, see above]