Pizza for breakfast

The weekend was stacking up to contain some possibly

wild weather,

forecasters detailing a big cold front headed our way

gliding down from the frigid Fraser River Valley in B.C.

One never knows living out in these islands

which way the winds will end up blowing,

if an "event" will or will not actually happen,

so yesterday while a few flakes drifted over Little Pond

I took some photos.

That cluster of bare alders in the center is a simple armiture this time of year

but gives a welcome view deeper into the woods.

I love how lichen puts a fluffy blanket on the willow grove back there.

Then, this morning there was this.  It's wet & sloshy but oh, so pretty.

I ate leftover pizza for breakfast [gluten free & spicy],

drank strong coffee

and decided to not do the laundry after all.

It's that kind of Sunday

and I may not get out of my sweats all day either ...

Upstairs,

I'm working on my piece for India's celebration book & this is a good thing

because [you know I have this problem with completing things]

she's set a deadline ... March 19th.

Maybe with an end date I will actually  finish  something.

I'm a little nervous

although forging ahead with great determination.

I hope she receives a tidal wave of submissions

so the book will be very

FAT.

And if you're reading about this for the first time

& happen to be one of her former students,

the details for participating can be found  HERE.

What a wonderful project for her to offer everyone ...

:::

Lately I've been filling my head with poetry before going to sleep.

Here's one I like from last night:

What The Dog Perhaps Hears

If an inaudible whistle

blown between our lips

can send him home to us,

then silence is perhaps

the sound of spiders breathing

and roots mining the earth;

it may be asparagus heaving,

headfirst, into the light

and the long brown sound

of cracked cups, when it happens.

We would like to ask the dog

if there is a continuous whir

because the child in the house

keeps growing, if the snake

really stretches full length

without a click and the sun

breaks through clouds without

a decibel of effort,

whether in autumn, when the trees

dry up their wells, there isn't a shudder

too high for us to hear.

What is it like up there

above the shut-off level

of our simple ears?

For us there was no birth cry,

the newborn bird is suddenly here,

the egg broken, the nest alive,

and we heard nothing when the world changed.

~ by Lisel Mueller ~

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What would grandma say?

~ canning class, Home Economics, photo courtesy of University of Chicago Photographic Archive ~

Most domestic functions I learned from my grandmother who stayed home with me

while mom worked.  A single parent, mom struggled out in the corporate world

and I swear, if it wasn't for her sense of humor

I'm not sure how it all would have turned out.

I fall back on humor as an antidote to this day while the skills I picked up from grandma

had a somewhat more practical use [not that humor isn't practical, of course].

Mom couldn't even sew a button or hem a skirt,

but she wrote shorthand faster than the wind.

Grandma could darn socks, crochet lace edges on pillowcases and rewire a toaster,

yet you'd never find her leading a meeting or typing legal documents.

Interestingly enough,

of all the skills I remember about my grandma, I don't recall that she ever canned food.

Sort of odd, considering she concocted the most delicious candy from scratch

and baked up a storm ...

~ girls learning to preserve food ca. 1909, photo courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives ~

I've often joked that I'm the last American woman of my *certain age* to remain

unknowledgeable in the arts of canning.  Somehow this particular practice escaped me.

Or perhaps I took off running

because I thought it was too much like chemistry!

Which I failed in school, by the way.

So it's not surprising that it's taken a simple, straightforward presentation of the subject

 to, at last, venture forward ...

Meet Bubbies, Classico and Mezzetta,

charming chaps who are my first foray into the   easy   art of canning.

Thanks be to India Flint, who has successfully

nudged me into one of my last remaining domestic unknowns.

Still, you may notice that the following recipes do not adhere to,

shall we say,

what you might expect from a "food" pantry

but are preserves of a very different kind ...

Bubbie's recipe:

* toss some iron bolts into the bottom of a jar

* bundle frozen black [dark purple] violas, madrone bark

and 4 rusty landscape pegs into a scrap of pre-wet

old linen shirt

* stuff madrone bark peelings around the edges

* sprinkle with aprox. 1 heaping teaspoon of fireplace ash

* fill with water; let sit, then top off to within 1/2 inch of lid

* close lid tightly

Classico recipe:

* bundle dry purple Norway leaves and metal bits inside pre-wet scrap of old cotton shirt

* repeat with cotton eyelet blouse front & stuff both into jar

* pack the edges with additional dry maple leaves

* fill jar with leftover dye bath from lobster mushrooms; let sit, then top off to within 1/2 inch of lid

* close lid tightly

Mezzetta recipe:

* Add 1/4 cup of year-old copper/vinegar mordant to jar

* bundle rose leaves & metal bolts inside of pre-wet 60/40 cotton/silk blouse

[note: rose leaves were frozen/defrosted/re-frozen before use]

* stuff remaining rose leaves around bundle

* fill with water; let sit, then top off to within 1/2 inch of lid

The rest of the process can be found in this little treasure of a book,

stuff steep + store

and for those who might ask,

I did not pre-mordant any of the cloth.

~ 4-H canning club members, photo courtesy of Michigan State University Archives & Historical Collections ~

Now, to wait.

I may wait as long as six months before opening the first jar ...

textile archeology was not made in a day, as they say.

In the meantime, India has set up a virtual pantry OVER HERE.

You may wish to peek at all the interesting stuff accumulating on the shelves.

One of the plaques on the 4-H shelf above reads,
"Keep canning and canning will keep you."
Why yes, I think it just might ...

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A surprising language all their own

During the Victorian era, it became especially popular to attach significant meanings
to flowers and plants.
Also known as floriography, the language of flowers
was a very useful means of relaying important messages ...

Pine Cone (Pinus)  . . .  Conviviality, Life

Mullein (Verbascum)  . . .  Take courage

Poppy (Papaver)  . . .   Fantastic extravagance

Often, the meanings were positive and affirming,
but some were not - quite to the contrary, in fact.

Clematis (Clematis)  . . .  Poverty

Pansy (Viola)  . . .  Think of me

Lavender (Lavandula) . . .   Mistrust

The next time I assemble a bouquet I certainly won't be viewing the arrangement

in quite the same way as I did before reading this book  ...

The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, had been on my library "To Read" list

for so long I'd almost given up hope of getting my hands on it [perpetually checked out]

so I was ecstatic when I found a used copy at the thrift store.

It has been much loved with many dog-ears & now I can understand why.

Every now and again a book crosses my path which feels like its my

destiny to read.  The best writers can make their readers feel this way, I think.

Without giving too much away, the heroine of this story is Victoria, a young woman

who's been in and out of foster care her entire life but has one all-embracing solace ...
a deep love of plants.

As a child she learned this Victorian language of flowers -  an era when every blossom was

assigned a deeper meaning, then used as a way to express sentiment and romantic emotions
since more outward signs were restricted - and since Victoria can't [or won't]
express her emotions either, flowers become her vehicle.

That's only a tiny nutshell of a description ... the story is beautifully complicated.

Filled with symbolism and filled with historical references,

I've barely been able to put this one down.

Amaranth (Amaranthus)  . . .  Immortality

Victoria decides at one point to assemble her own reference collection,

 so she carefully & methodically teaches herself the parameters of photography [film, not digital]

and sets out to capture her subjects with great dedication & perseverence.

The book is set in the San Francisco Bay area of California

and she visits many spots familiar to me

such as the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park,

along with other locales I know and love oh so well [and miss to this day].

   

At the back of the book the author has included

Victoria's Dictionary of Flowers

and as I was perusing the list, recognizing many names of plants I've grown in my own garden

at one time or another,  I got the crazy idea to take a backwards gander at my own photo files

to see if I could find some items from Victoria's list.

If nothing else it would be a fun exercise in learning those elusive floriography terms.

I soon discovered flowers that one might expect to have, well, a more "positive"

emotion attached to them, 

but do not at all ...

like these two.

Currant (Ribes)  . . .  Thy frown will kill me

Rose, yellow (Rosa)  . . .   Infidelity

I just love books like this

where I'm introduced to a whole new way of looking and thinking

about something otherwise so familiar.

Rose, purple (Rosa)  . . .  Enchantment

Rose, pale peach (Rosa)  . . .   Modesty

Scabiosa (Scabiosa)  . . .  Unfortunate love

Dog (Canis lupus)  . . .  Undying devotion [my floriography]

oh hi.  how'd you get in here?

Just making sure you folks haven't fallen asleep in the petals yet ...

[chuckling happily]

Cherry blossoms (Prunus cerasus)  . . .   Impermanence

Of course, I'm a tad partial to the next one

Sweet pea (Lathyrus odorata)  . . .  Delicate pleasures

and as it happens, I have quite a lot of this next one in my garden.

Yarrow (Achillea)  . . .  Cure for a broken heart

Hmmm, what can it all mean?

I'm looking forward to spring and making that next bouquet ...

: : :

Wishing all of you who stop by here a most lovely season

of joy and beauty

P.S.   WAIT!  Have I got the holiday gift for you!   Just as I was finishing this book-related post, 

my masterful dye friend, India Flint, announced that she has put together a NEW BOOK ... 

In her words:

"it contains a technique you can do even in the smallest of apartments

and that I think you will want to do over and over again."

stuff, steep + store

Go see ~ there's a preview & you can buy it now ...  over HERE on Blurb.

I treated myself to the hardback  ;>]

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Texture Tuesday ... getting there

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... the making of 'Summer Rain'

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If it weren't for her love of beads ...

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Beaded bezels and oh, so much more!

If you think you might have trouble being taught some beading skills

by a fella ...

or if you have any sort of allergic reaction to  C O L O R 

then do not and I repeat, DO NOT

take a beading workshop with Thom Atkins ...

for a fella he certainly is, and he is most definitely

not afraid of color.

Not one little bit.

Every year the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum, WA,  holds a fantabulous Quilt Festival,
a week-long event that includes special workshops by visiting textile & embellishment artists.
Thom was part of this year's talented contingent ~
and so was his very talented and beadiful sister, Robin Atkins!
You may like to revisit my January post where I wrote about them during Thom's one-person exhibit,
"Ten Year's of Beaded Quilts" to see more examples of his work.

For our "Beaded Bezels & Borders" workshop we were given
design kits filled with fun fabric by Laurel Burch and multiple baggies
filled with coordinating beads ...
I enjoyed this approach a great deal for it pushes you away from your comfy spot
and tweaks your thinking into a whole new realm.
It's always good to visit new & unexplored places.

Here's a couple examples from my yet-to-be-finished sampler ...

a "fence" with a lacy edge and a

peyote stitched bezel around a flat-backed cabochon.

Here's my shisha mirror *loudmouth* bezel ...
I can see myself there on occasion.

Thom is looking very serious, but in actuality our workshop was filled with loads of laughter.
Here he's clarifying one of his methods,

patiently answering the dozens of questions we fired at him.

The demo table was covered with examples of his own samplers ....
be prepared to swoon.

Shisha mirror cab at the top, flat-backed cab on the bottom.

We learned how to stitch the rope edging as well ...

This detail was from his cat piece ... 

I loved the flouncy effect of all those beads around that cab.

Fearless with color, that's how I'd describe Thom's work.

And this is the sampler that almost disappeared  into the bottom of my bag.

Isn't she a BEAUT?!

If you ever have the opportunity to learn firsthand from Thom,

oh, I do hope you'll take it.

In the meantime, his bountifully beautiful new book has just hit the streets,

"Beading Artistry for Quilts: Basic Stitches & Embellishments Add Texture & Drama."

Check it out.  Many more samples of Thom's work are viewable online.

And then there's this ...

included in his bio, a most interesting excerpt:

"Some 30 years ago, his sister, Robin Atkins, taught him the basics of bead embroidery

on fabrics.  He's been fascinated with beads ever since, but sewing beads onto fabric and

making stained glass didn't produce a decent living.  He was also tired of the fragility of glass,

so he went back to college, where he learned about welding, forging, silversmithing, and

bronze casting.  Bronze casting gave him back the tactile surfaces and the subtleties of

three-dimensional curves and negative space.

A car accident terminated his career in sculpting in bronze.

While recovering from the surgery to repair his wrists and thumbs, 

he thought about sewing beads onto cloth in such a way

that the beads and the fabric both had a say in the design.

He's been working with the delicate balance between beads and fabric in his designs ever since."

Making the most of our human condition.

Isn't that the best of what we can all hope for?

: : :

Thank you for visiting today ... I hope you have enjoyed all the 

C O L O R

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Texture Tuesday...heat

We have been bathed in heat.

The grass has, at last, stopped growing ... bye bye, miz mower machine, enjoy your vacay.

 One thing is certain ... the beans have loved the heat.

Remember that trellis I built?   It's all but disappeared beneath beanie leafage ...

it's a proverbial jungle out there.

This was the just the kind of heat we needed for bundle drying a couple weeks back ...
dry heat to prevent mildew.

Instead,

they were banished to the warming drawer in the kitchen (not an optimal choice).

We do what we must do, taught as we are to scorn the black, spotty stuff.

Oddly, it does create some interesting marks ...

I'll show you everything in my next post.

PROMISE.

In the meantime, I've been lying underneath some whirling blades

reading the most stupendously marvelous book.
You know you've found an all-absorbing tale when thoughts of it follow you throughout the day,
willing you, enticing you, to read     one     more     page.
Ahab's Wife, by Sena Jeter Naslund, has wrapped me in its watery spell.
Woven in and out and around the sea for 704 pages, it is nothing short of masterful.


My sweet companion ~ who neither swims, nor reads ~ finds other ways to stay cool

and claims the last shady spot nearest the pond.
Must keep a lookout, you see, should any wayward duck decide to land in HER territory.

On another trellis the sweet peas are running riot, but they won't last much longer ...
they are ephemeral beauties, not fond of heat
so I enjoy every moment I have with them.

They are, after all, my namesake and the reason I came to write this blog in the first place.

: : :



Linking up this week for another Texture Tuesday over at Kim's place.
Our challenge?  Anything goes ...
so I went for it:  texturizing layers of grunge, blurs & special effects using the Snapseed app.
Mosey on over and see what the rest of the crowd got up to ... so much inspiration!

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Little list of lovelies...

The garden is receiving a fine soaking today.  This, of course, provides

the perfect guilt-free excuse for indoor pursuits.  

I've donned my prettiest  frock  sweat pants for you and settled myself into the comfy chair.

Shall I share a little list?...let the birdie out of the cage?

Portrait of  Elizabeth de la Vallee de la Roche

~ by Michel-Pierre Hubert Descours, 1771 ~

courtesy of  The Bowes Museum, England

Each of us has our own treasured supplies that we can't live without, those ingredients

so necessary to our craft or pursuits.  Oftentimes, we bestow on them the

very unglamorous name of "stash"

but it IS stash of the greatest importance.

And on that note, here are a few things that I currently can't live without and would

love to share with you... 

#1.  TEXTILE SCRAPS
[UPDATE 2015: Karen from Stitching Life wandered off to achieve her PhD
& her blog / store are no more ... we wish her all the best!]

Would a mountain of them be enough?...in all honesty, I have added a large cupboard to my corner

upstairs to hold the masses that are accumulating.  Now tell me,
have you gleaned some of the lovelies on offer from Karen, at the Stitching Life Big Cartel?
She has the most delicate sensibility when it comes to fabric,

choosing dye colors & textures with great care.  This is a collection of
cotton & linen on offer at the moment...

perfect for my weather, called 'storm'...

photos courtesy of Stitching Life

I have a great number of Karen's silks...they are so beautiful.  Recently, she has started to offer

"scraps packs" containing 25 to 30 different types of 100% silk, both commercially dyed and hand dyed, your choice...bits and pieces from new silk, but also (my favorite) from recycled silk clothing.

These have proved invaluable for boro work and free piecing.

I can't depart the Stitching Life shop without mentioning the threads....but you must be quick

as these are flying fast.  A little birdie told me that Karen is barely able to keep up 

with the stock requests for these and her dye pots will receive no rest...

go peek...you'll see why.

Carry on with the pleasure and pay a visit to Karen's blog where she describes all these goings-on

with her newly updated shop and also, shares her own stitched-to-perfection creations...

#2.  BEADS

My addiction has been well documented
so there's no need to delve into the *whys* of THAT subject.

But to find a reliable, generously stocked supplier with an unbeatable penchant for
topnotch customer service, now that is a topic I haven't mentioned before.

So who is my Number One go-to for all my beady needs?

Fusion Beads, in Seattle, WA

Cubes, triangles, rounds, Delicas, hexes and cuts, bugles, drops and magatamas,
tilas, peanuts & pearls, shells, wood, gemstones and mixes.

And that's just for starters... 

Seldom do I make it down to Seattle to shop in person but instead, have enjoyed

great shopping experiences through their online store...very easy to navigate, the colors represented

in their photos are true (it is rare to receive what I didn't expect) and the shipping is free.  

As one of their loyal customers for about seven years, I can respectfully submit there's no end in sight...

Do be careful if you explore their  Inspiration Projects  page...
you'll find free downloadable instructions for all kinds of

 fanciful pretties to clamor for your attention.

#3.  BOOKS

I must share my most favorite book stash!
This past weekend I joined a small, merry band of textile lovers for a get together over dye pots.  We've been practicing shibori stitching techniques & this was the next step.

A couple of homemade brews of natural color sloshed around in the back of my jeep and with India Flint's two (very important) tomes tucked into my carrying basket,
off I went to share what little I knew about eco-printing with anyone who was interested.

I don't know the last time I have been so smitten with "how-to" books...oh,
but they are so much more than that.

Eco Colour: Botanical Dyes for Beautiful Textiles
and
Second Skin: Choosing and Caring for Textiles and Clothing


Full of the flavor and fine humor of their maker, these books can
easily become bibles for any of us wishing to make our own special marks on cloth
in a safe and sustainable way.  The passion in India's life work is infectious
and the lure of her botanical alchemy is strong....

the tools are simple...

the results, stunning.

Reviewers have spoken about these books far better than I...visit here, India's website, to read more.

Should you wish to fill your mind and eyes with even more "ruminations, murmurings and scribblings" from the alchemist herself, her online journal, Prophet of Bloom is one click away...

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