Tuesday, knitting group, Textiles and Tea

But first, my horoscope explains my downfall

Guilty, guilty, guilty!

I can't claim to be concerned, though.

Yesterday I trimmed a low hanging bit off the Japanese maple that kept catching my hair, and here it is, in water, raising the tone of the joint.

Next to it is a bird's nest Gary found in his downed tree. It has ribbons and bits of paper woven in. Not sure what bird made it.

And Accidental Afternoon Art in the living room

 

The weaving is one I made years ago from yarn I'd spun and dyed.

This morning I decided on a new approach to krokbragd. I ditched the YouTube teacher, switched from the frame loom to my lovely handmade handheld Hokett tapestry loom, and found a much better YouTube teacher 

She's speaking in Spanish, old video, no translation, so I'm learning Spanish at the same time. It's not the Spanish you learn in class though -- I'm learning weft and warp and threads and design and other weaving language. 

Here's the result, much better 

As you see, the flower motifs are appearing.

The Tuesday knitting group was short a couple of members but still lively with a brand new person wanting to learn crochet 

 

Here she is with her first chain

Downstairs the beginning crochet class members exhibited their work which looks advanced to me, after half a dozen lessons 

Home to Textiles and Tea with a great person, fizzing with energy and making everything with great skill. She's also a beloved teacher and supporter of artists. 

She's credentialed in book art

Also she's endlessly ready for fun

Here she's showing two extremes of making. 

Left a silk dress -- she designed the fabric-- had it printed by Spoonflower, then made it from an old Simplicity pattern. 

She  contrasts it with LMEM, a robot figure about a foot tall, with movable parts and a door that opens. She created this real life figure as advertising for an AI company! They went with the real thing.

eyeglass cases with embroidered appliqued animals

She's written and produced children's books, the illustrations being her handmade animals

And this dress she designed, to show how to create a complex image from simple beginnings. The design started as a stack of random papers arranged diagonally showing part of each, then mirrored, and manipulated with software to create what looks very complex. Printed by Spoonflower

she makes boxes using fiber art techniques on paper components.

These dresses were in a museum exhibit, all made from six inch squares of paper

with Spoonflower she literally wrote the book! Now out of print and needing a search if you want to buy it.

This was a breathless and exciting episode with one of the nimblest, most inventive minds I've ever encountered. She has such talent and she's also a happy person!

So that was today. I had egg 'n chips (roast potatoes) for dinner and danced in the kitchen while I waited for the potatoes to crisp up.

Happy day, everyone, a very pleasing one for me, I hope yours was good too. Or at least okay.

Fall may be here

Today 

Yesterday was another cool day Sunday, with the Japanese maple showing signs of coloring, and a squirrel noshing wildly on it, swinging about. 

Flowers still appearing. I've been getting a lot of pleasure out of this little wild corner, with stray flowers showing up 

And just look at the beautiful structure of that bud. I've come to appreciate zinnias much more since I've been growing them.

Still bringing in a few flowers, soon I'll stop picking, in the hope they'll go to seed and reseed themselves 

Lunch was holiday fare, slices of chicken breast with roast potatoes, dash of red chili oil, dessert a piece of plummy snacking cake, fresh plums and chocolate chips.

I noticed when I came downstairs that Gary must have been here 

It's twofold: he gives me a chance at using his glass jars before recycling, and he's strongly hinting it's a long time since I made jam and he'd like some...

Today's matinee was a luscious production of Emma with excellent acting, beautiful sets, costumes, scenery, on Freevee.

The picture is dorky, but the movie is worth seeing.

Happy day, everyone, find an old movie, preferably period, with all the sets and costumes. Some of Emma's coats, pleated, kick opening, were great sewing and construction. They were worth the price of admission alone. Bill Nighy as Mr Woodhouse, had the best threads evah!

These images were fun to create, many layers, saves, 3D effects, gridding.

Maggie Rudy salutes fall with woolly bears

On other sites I'm careful to use alt text when I post images, for the benefit of  vision impaired people who need to use readers. 

It just occurred to me that I need to ask if anyone reading here would appreciate that, too. Let me know and I'll do it. I don't have the alt text function, but I can add a description to each image. 

  

Nutgrass, design thoughts and Freecycle

Yesterday I pulled this, I think nutgrass, which I plan to try as a cordage material. 

I think it's a sedge. I can't find any references to it as a material. All I can find is How to Kill It.  

There's something wrong with obsessing about killing plants, I really believe. If it's invasive, don't lose your head and act as if it's a deadly danger. It's the deranged lawn lovers mainly. Lawn Derangers! 

Anyway, I've hung it to dry and I'll try it out.

I haven't done any work on my little cordage basket recently, needing to spare my neck, but I'm between sewing projects so I think I'll do a bit today.

I ironed the muslin, which is three yards plus of 27" wide -- the other strip became the curtain lining in the bedroom -- so it will need some thought, about other fabric to go with it for a summer robe. 

This is on hold, however, since I'm waiting for a Freecycle kind delivery this afternoon.

It occurred to me to ask for bedsheets, to use as fabric, on Freecycle, and I got a quick offer. The location is a bit far from here but they very kindly offered to deliver! Way beyond the normal you want it you come get it procedure.  Arriving this afternoon, so we'll see what shows up. If they're well used, they'll be good for hand sewing.

Meanwhile, this year the Japanese maple has put on such a growth spurt it's casting enough shade to sit under.

The views from under the tree 

Cool morning, the temp in the 60s, where you wake up early, open the window and draw the quilt up, to lie and listen to the mourning doves.

And here's a Sunday puzzle

Happy day, everyone, gardeners, too, don't get nuts over nutgrass!