THE CELERY HEART

Audra and Alden are here for their summer visit (Tom's daughter and grandson). We had a fun "ladies night" party the other night and Audra put together an appetizer plate of celery with cream cheese. She chopped the stalks away from the heart and called me over to see it. I immediately knew what I would be doing the next day.

I prepped a fat quarter by soaking it in soda ash and drying it. I had some dark brown print paste waiting to be used, so I rolled it over the heart and started printing away. 

 The next day I mixed a green thickened dye and applied it with a credit card.

 Here's a close up of my finished piece. Celery hearts are sturdy and show good definition. I wonder what I'll use it for?

I don't have the "heart" to throw this away yet...

THREE DAYS OF DYEING

Not three FULL days of dyeing. Just a simple dye job every day for three days. Three days of dyeing.

I finally set up my studio. It's a converted woodshed with a great sink area and large work space. Just spending about 20 minutes in the studio for a wee tiny bit of dyeing felt great! Three days of dyeing. Here's how they went:

Day #1

On all of the three days, I was overdyeing. I began with rather uninteresting pieces from days past. I mixed up one cup of "new black". On Day #1, the original pieces were pastels. I soaked them in soda ash, formed folds into them as they set on a large try (establishing hills and valleys), and poured black in the tray to soak up into the folds. The orangey piece on the right was wound around a wine bottle, then squeezed down and placed into the black dye.

Day#2

I just dyed one piece on Day #2.  This is part of a larger piece (20"x30'). The full piece looks like a storm at sea. A real storm at sea, NOT the quilt block. I promise to show it in its entirety on another blog. It's very nice, but the section I am showing above is my favorite part of it. It started out as a blue/gray ice-dye.

Below are three results from Day #3. Each piece was folded and clamped in multiple spots, then dipped into the black dye.
I am happy with all my new pieces!

Day#3

CROSSING OVER

I crossed over the Straits to get to Canada and have crossed over the civilization line as I returned to Refuge Cove...my little haven of nature. I've been here exactly one month, and that's been one busy month of transitioning a summer home, a garden and big yard that had knee high grass when we arrived. The sewing machine area has been up and running for a week. Just yesterday I began dyeing fabric again in my outdoor studio (once a woodshed!).

I escaped Refuge and its full-bore responsibilities last weekend with my friend Corrine. We boated over to Cortes for their annual "Studio and Garden Tour". Among the dozen places to visit, there were some interesting fibre (I'm writing from Canada!) art scenes.

Brig has a wild, productive garden that she inherited from a friend who passed away a few years ago. On this property is her natural dye shop for wool. Such a body of knowledge she must have. She's also a mushroom expert and I'm sure she uses some in the dye process, along with lichens, barks, roots and flowers.

Lee memorialized her mother's passing with a show of her fantastic knitting collection (many wild Kaffe Fasset sweaters). The pews in the tiny Anglican Church in Whaletown were laden with these many colorful and beautiful crafted items.

 I tried one on...it was huge, and so cozy! (Wish I had that picture!)
Across from the church lives my friend Jan Boas, a quilter who does amazing work with batiks! And we were treated to delicious chocolate chip cookies! (No picture here either...)
I was inspired and enthused to get back to my little slice of heaven at Refuge Cove!

GYPSY QUILTING

For I am just a gypsy quilter,

Needle and thread in tow,

I stitch my stories as I travel,

Across this land I go.

Yes, it's that time again...moving time. Transitioning. Packing up and heading out.
Tomorrow we head north to our summer spot in Refuge Cove. Four days later we'll arrive. There will be friends along the way to visit, and familiar places to enjoy. And lets not forget all that last minute shopping.

I have these three little story quilts from my "Signs of Life" project ready to go. Thank goodness I don't get car sick. I can stitch away mile after mile, ferry ride after ferry ride.

Refuge Cove, here we come.

AND MORE BIRDS

I just finished a job for a woman in Victoria. These pillows have been on order for almost 9 months. They've been "gestating" in my mind during this time and finally made it to cloth in the past month. They are done, finished, and ready for the drive north in a few days to pass them on to her (and to head to Refuge Cove for the summer).

 

I really can't get enough of these birds!

 

JOURNALING AND MORE JOURNALING

I've been doing a lot of that lately...journaling. Cloth Journaling. For two different purposes:
1. My Cybre Fibers group
We have 12 wonderfully challenging themes this year: Underwater,Victory, Balance, Reflections, If Pigs Could Fly, Wisdom, Finally, Ritual, Faces, Intersections, The Humble Bumblebee, and Crystal Ball. Now that's a mouthful, and a full and delicious plate of journal topics to play with. Here are some I created recently. Can you figure out which themes these are????

This is a sweet little poem about TRAVELING by James Reeves.

 

I really love this little piece, along with it's message.

 

 

My sweet little birds.

 

 

The name of this one is Glacier Bay.

 

 2. and my recent Signs of Life Project: Since November, I have been journaling my travel experiences. This gypsy quilter has been on the move this year: Jacksonville, Mazatlan, Kentucky, Guatemala, Guadalajara, Colima, Seattle, and points between. I've been journaling on cloth (in the same format as my Cyber Fibres group) throughout my journeys and telling the story behind them. It's an immensely fulfilling and motivating project.

Stay tuned!

SISTERS OF THE CASTOR BEAN

The recent news of letters tainted with ricin being sent to high officials (Obama being one) is a bit problematic for our group of traveling friends. Just because ricin is an extract of castor beans, which can then be administered in very small amounts to kill someone, doesn’t mean we’re in on the sadistic side of it.

It was just a silly passing comment, perhaps aimed at an annoying woman or uncooperative spouse, that castor beans could be the solution. After a few more references to the power of the castor bean (all in fits of laughter of course!) we quickly claimed the name for our traveling partnership: Sisters of the Castor Bean!

Each year a group of eight women (with members floating in and out with life’s demands) travels to a Spanish speaking destination. Our tie that binds us is that we all spend the winter (or longer, for some) in Mazatlan. AND we really like each other and have lots of fun together. So far, we have been to Michoacan, Oaxaca, Mexico City and surrounds, Chiapas, Guatamala, and next year to Costa Rica.

Last year we were greeted at the airport in Guatemala City by our van driver (sweet Guillermo) holding up the name of our group. It was the perfect beginning to another fabulous trip.

But now this castor bean/ricin attention is not good for our group. Do we need to hide our identity just to stay on the safe side? Is it like joking about bombs and guns when you go through security at the airport?

I think Sisters of the Castor Bean should carry their name with pride! Think of it this way…if the FBI shows up at our doors, we’ll all go down together and make it another great trip!