Foraging, flower id needed

Yesterday was about experimenting with fibers. My walking was dominated by searching for likely grasses for weaving.

Also I need a plant id if any blogistas can supply it. This purple flower, found in dampish ground at the edge of a belt of trees

I tried starting a grass coil basket, ran into ineptitude problems, started over several times. 

Grass doesn't seem to wear out with handling, and I eventually realized I don't actually like woven grass baskets. I'd got carried away with Sally Pointer and her lavender basket, because of the new skills I could learn.

So this grass material will become cordage instead, a different experiment.

And the cotton warping yarn I'd been using to try coiling with grass will be retired, in favor of silk thread, very unobtrusive, to make this 

I'm really happy with this start. As I use up cordage, I'll make more. This may be a basket. Or a table mat for a hot dish. Or a coaster! TBD .

It's like when I spun the yarn for that vest of many colors, just spun more when I ran out. No need to know ahead of time how many yards of yarn I'd need.

I was asked several times while I was spinning for the vest,  how I had estimated how much to spin. 

This mindset is the result of patterns and shopping where you stock up on enough ahead of time, as instructed by your pattern, full of dire warnings about dye lots. and being sure to buy enough yarn at one time.

But, when you're making what you need as you go, from your available raw material,  you don't even need to know.  That's a  modern tech-driven assumption. 

The other great point about making cord is that it's a form of spinning and plying. You twist the upper bunch of fibers clockwise, spinning,  bring them down over the lower, which then becomes the top bunch, and that's plying. 

This is how you get a stable cord that won't untwist if you let go. It's spun in one direction, plied in the other, just like spinning knitting yarn. 

And, since you're working with damp fiber, it's the equivalent of setting the twist in wool yarn by soaking it and hanging it to dry. The fiber tightens and stabilizes as it dries. It's a very strong string.

I really love the physical movement of making cordage, and my skills are definitely improving. It's benefiting from my spindle spinning and plying experience, a lot of the same hand movements, but your shoulder gets a rest from the constant piston-like movement of spindle spinning.

So that's us today. Starting Week Three of the eyedrop regime, blessedly down to one drop per day. 

However before this eye is finished with drops, the pre operation schedule for the other eye starts. Then I'll have two charts to use, one per eye. 

I'm already trying to get the drops for the upcoming need. As usual, supply chain issues, out of stock, back ordered, anxiously hoping I'll get them in time.  This is the most stressful bit, really. 

Interestingly the drop rx my doctor subbed for the out of stock one last time is now itself out of stock. This suggests a knock on effect, where increased demand used up supplies of the substitution too. But I started early, so I hope I can get it resolved.

Meanwhile I'm cording in short bursts. And so grateful I can see well enough to cord and stitch.

Happy day everyone. Happiness is a piece of string when you need one. Sounds like Peanuts.