Tree question, stitching updates and planting

Cold but bright sunshine today, good for walking.  

 

Dogwood lovely against the bigger trees 

And further down the walk, is this sapling a young black walnut? There are nature ones close by,  self propagated, maybe with the help of squirrels.

And stitching is moving along happily 

Also I've been wanting to plant and the weather's been too cold to put in seeds, but today I planted potato eyes in a container for my annual two meal harvest.

The qtips are squirrel deterrents. Soaked in essential peppermint oil, not the baking essence, the real thing, and stuck around the pot, squirrels won't dig. 

Here's the kit, the bottle marked Not Food, and kept away from the spice cabinets.

I saw a squirrel burrowing away in the pots I haven't planted yet and staying away from this one.  It doesn't hurt them. They just avoid the scent.

No Friday knitting group today because our fearless leader was away and I felt a bit tired anyway. So I did a bit of walking and planting and stitching and reading, back with Elizabeth of York, in the middle of which I seem to have nodded off and missed a couple of battles and exiles. 

Happy day, everyone, try to stay alert for the main plot of your life today.

Stitching, renovating, Misfits and cabbage

Early morning start on stitching today and I really enjoyed just doing whatever suggested itself. I've left the book fabric intact for now, so I can see the different pages as they emerge. 

After trotting up and down a flight in search of floss, I finally brought down some of the floss drawers to where I was working on the sofa

Picture is sideways, and the little rug you see on the left is that piece I wove a while back, which saw me nicely through the winter.

While I stitched I listened to Norman Baker, former member of parliament and cabinet minister, examining the finances and secrecy of the British royals. 

The title refers to one of the classic questions put by royals at receptions, to their guests.

It's a good analysis of the general economy of the country and the extent to which the royals seize income and gifts, while spending carefully. 

This surge of stitched book interest is the result of getting some artworks sent out into the world, some on their way soon to blogistas,  when I get to the post office. 

I've picked out a couple of things I think you'll like. The mental space they're leaving causes new energy and ideas to flow, so thank you. 

Misfits came, too, minus a couple of items, but I'm not near starving. The swiss cheese was going on top of the second cabbage casserole, the cheddar into it.

The chocolate covered almond bits are highly nutritious (!) vital dietary component.

Later, here's the casserole 

The top was browned and it was pretty good. That's the cabbage sorted.

Later Gary came over to bring me in to see his latest renovation, or endless renovation. He seems to be rebuilding the entire fireplace wall now. Not sure why, it may be one of those one thing led to another situations that happen to him.

Happy day everyone, I hope good things happen to you today.

Tab and slot book, ANZAC Day

Thursday is ANZAC DAY, which I mark every year. If you're not familiar with the tragedy of the Dardanelles in WW1, and the blunders which cost so many young Australian and New Zealand lives, Google is your friend. Today we honor all the women and men in combat, and veterans.

As a mom I make ANZAC biscuits (cookies in north America) and give them to friends to honor that courage. They're based on the cookies that ANZAC moms sent to their sons in combat. They were a taste of home, they shipped well, long voyage in those days.

I omit the coconut the authentic ones had, and use honey because golden syrup isn't available here. But they're still good 

Chewy, good stuff 

I also got on with my fabric book, making the wall hanging into a tab and slot deal. 

Top page shows tab, meaning slits top and bottom, bottom one slot, which enables the tab page to slide through and sit with tab and slot working together .

Next shows the spine, all the pages seated.

Here I'm turning the pages 

This was a nice experience. I know how it works now 

Then I went on to new stitching, prepped unbleached muslin for upcoming book, ironed it into sections without cutting.

I also made a cool discovery. I accidentally made indentations into the muslin when stray threads got ironed in, leaving tracks.

This is a great way to plan a design without markings 

So I put down a piece of twine and ironed over it. One side makes an indentation, the other side an embossment.

So I embarked on a new stitching, why not, using the indentation as a channel to lay the thread I couched down. .

Just random stitching, trala. Really enjoying this.  This might end as another slot and tab, don't know yet. It might have some Indian quilt techniques. Maybe beading, I feel an attack of beading coming on.

I do know that Ann Wood, check her website,  is a model teacher of process.

Gary has been busy helping a neighbor dig her garden last couple of days so I haven't seen him other than a flying visit to ask me about ants on a houseplant cactus! 

Happy day everyone, and be sure to spare a thought for everyone in combat of all kinds right now and their families. 

New friends, Textiles and Tea

This morning was about stitching my pages, just folded back wrong sides together, and stitched around with embroidery floss.  The slot and tab thing happens later.

Here are three pages, one side then the other 

Then the afternoon was Tuesday Knitting Group, and since school was out today, we had the pleasure of a little girl starting crochet, while her mother looked on. 

Another knitter taught her the start of Granny squares, and I found a sample of them in my bag, to show her, this notebook with gs covers, seen from both sides 

It's my purse notebook, made when I had a surfeit of embroidery floss.

And while the granny squarers worked, 

the mom and I had a great convo about Indian textiles. She knew quite a bit about the kawandi I'm interested in, also kantha stitching and Gujarati stitching, the kind with the tiny mirrors embedded, so we were very pleased with each other. She took a picture of her daughter with me before they left, very cool 

Other chat ranged over young people starting crafts, artists and musicians finding everything new all the time, how knitting is not work, it's entertainment, wire jewelry,  and more. Cheerful, no apocalyptic chat. 

Then home to Textiles and Tea with Demetrio Lazo,  a wonderful weaver and dyer from a long family tradition in Oaxaca, who teaches as well as makes massive rugs in traditional and newly creative designs. He has children one of whom is already committed to a career in weaving in the family business.

He teaches weaving and dyeing workshops, as well as producing sought-after work of his own

look at the size of this rug loom. He says its really a dance to manage the harnesses. A rug takes about three months.

This makes a person want to sign up and rush to Oaxaca to do this dyeing workshop. Natural and synthetic dyes, including cochineal and indigo, which grows in Mexico.

and the last entry here is a reference book he uses and approves. It's the one you see above, open on the loom to the design he's working on.

I have to cop to falling asleep and missing a bit, cup of tea in my hand, narrowly averting a spill, but it had been a busy day one way and another.

Then supper, which looked pretty good considering it consisted of odd things lying around. Sweet potato tortillas under a  bed of steamed spinach, poached egg on top, roast potatoes.

I find a great way to get potatoes tender inside and all crisp outside is to microwave them whole till tender, then dice and roast them in the toaster oven. Seasalt, black pepper, olive oil great.

Happy day, everyone, mine was wonderful.