My roots are showing

Around now it's birthdays and feast days, my aunt Kitty, Shakespeare, St George, patron saint of England. So

Yesterday's Misfits arrived early and welcome. 

Prices are up enough that the minimum order is now a weekly, not biweekly event. And some common items are either not available, like yellow onions, or might as well be, like apples, at those prices. Nonetheless we eat okay around here. Thankfully.

The Friday evening salad includes some garlic scapes from the garlic you saw me plant. All the sections are growing, and it's pungent and lovely.  Dressed with a few crumbs of blue cheese. Dessert was blueberries and walnuts, a sprinkle of cane sugar.

Current cookbook to see if there's anything I fancy in here

Often cookbooks have only one or two recipes that interest me,  but good general ideas. I like her fearless slinging together spices and changing old traditional recipes. 

I think I'll try her savory Welsh cakes, and definitely veggie pancakes.  Simple ideas, and the kind you wonder why you didn't think of them yourself. 

Speaking of which, I thought of this in the middle of the night: using some of the sari silk I showed you when I got the cut price sari for the fabric, to line the denim vest. A statement!

It took a few minutes to locate the silk because I was so used to seeing it as a portiere, that I'd forgotten it was meant to be fabric. Duh.  There's still yards hanging in the doorway, saris being very long.

And I'm lining the pockets, too, bespoke touch.

The fence is complete, I put the bird feeder up and just now here's a female red bellied woodpecker breakfasting, yay. 

That cheered me up no end. If the birds can handle it, I can.

Here's one of the latest paintings from  Dave Flitcroft's studio, selling as a benefit for Ukraine.

I love his loose flowing style. He's painted a series of sunflower studies, all fresh and different.

Happy day everyone!

Earth Day

 Today we celebrate our big blue marble

And here's a series of paper mosaics by young  children in Darrell Wakelam's classes

And closer to home, balancing, more or less, the destruction of our lovely old weathered cedar fences, the roots of a felled tree across the street were removed yesterday, and a lovely new flowering tree planted in their place. 

Mary, I thought of your grandchildren when I watched these boys with toys at work. They'd probably have been asking to help.

And, my own little bit of up cycling, here's the first fitting of the vest, to check my shoulder seams.  

I'll be cutting more from the armholes, armscyes to posh seamstresses, before I settle on the side seams. Depending on how the pockets work, too, I may shorten it before hemming. It's a work in progress.

Aren't we all.. happy Earth Day, everyone.

Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of orchids, socks and books

Update on the houseguest orchid. I did get the plant, rammed tight in the pot, out, over the sink, just as well, and found that there was an inner plastic pot which took a hook and cursing to remove.

Just as well I did all this because I found the poor thing was sitting in water, the last thing an orchid needs.  So I drained it, then replaced it in the inner pot which I boosted up with a bit of fiber underneath so it can be removed again next time it's watered. I think she's looking more cheerful now.

And while I was there, I noticed my small collection of cookbooks had got into frame, so I thought you might like to see what I think is important enough to own.

Considering I'm always going on about food and my attempts to make it. It's a small collection, and I use all of it.

One time back in petcare days, I did a series of drawings of client desks,  since that's a good bio of most people. Book collections are, too.

Here's my textile section

And the group of books that have helped me keep going st times

Mental health, physical health, artistic health, it's all there!

I do like squinting at other people's book shelves, particularly when I'm encountering them on zoom, and want to ask them to move over so I can see more titles. Never mind what they're talking about..  So I thought you might like this too.

Then, to prove that I remember the dinosaurs, here's my collection of DVDs

Mysteries, comedy, and for a change, comedy mysteries.

I'll leave you with three views of a sock

It needs to be finished, that is,  ends woven in, and pressed, then it will look presentable.  After I make the other one.

Candle by AC.

Keeping Ukraine front and center in thoughts while I knit for the Sock Ministry.

New day, new idea, and Textiles and Tea

Yesterday I was thinking about what sewing to get involved in next, also if I could Freecycle more clothes. One idea blended with the other and I found old thriftie jeans, always too big despite the number on the label, and realized I might as well make them into something or other. 

Old, faded nicely, three great pockets with sparkly stuff, so I set to work.

Decided on a vest, and for a pattern used the jacket I made without a pattern (!)  using a lovely piece of fabric woven by Joanne, thank you, J.

I know it works because I've worn the jacket a lot, just needed to adjust the sleeve bit.

And in forty five minutes I had my next bit of sewing set up ready to thread a needle.

I think this will be good.  I need to seam the shoulders and sides then finish the edges with bias tape. Attach the pockets, insert keys, ready to go. New life for old pants.

Yesterday's Textiles and Tea featured Heather Allen Hietala, who paints on her weaving. 

She wrote a book about rag weaving under the name of Heather Allen, which is why I inserted the middle name, in case you go in search of it.

She spent the first couple of  minutes talking about alopecia, total hair loss, which she has had for years, how traumatic it is, how loss of eyelashes is particularly difficult, no protection from grit and dust. She gave info on the alopecia organization, too. Very good public service there. 

Then she showed us some painterly weavings and discussed modern rag weaving, which is a lot more sophisticated than you might think.

She's done all kinds of dyeing, among other textile adventures, which continue.  Behind her on the studio wall, lined with Homasote, which you can pin things to, are  items, passing ideas and reminders in tactile form, plans for future work. 

She's done textile restoration and copying, some of her work in the Biltmore home of the Vanderbilt family, now open as a museum.

She has a great feel for receding planes, which you see in her designs, ambiguity, the hallmarks of the twentieth century European painter. Her name is Finnish and she's spent time in Scandinavia, which you can see influences her design.

Bear with me,  I forgot to crop, but I don't claim photography credits. I think the gist is there. Certainly she's worth even my humble efforts. 

I'd like to see her book, but my library system doesn't show it. It's far from new, maybe a second-hand pursuit will be called for.

Another time I'll tell you about my own hand dyed and worked rag rug on burlap, depicting an Aztec war god,  and its reception by Handsome Son, then Handsome Toddler.  Yes, it's funny.

From over fifty years ago, been dyeing and designing and just trying stuff for a loooong time.

The putrid man has decided that if he can't get all of Ukraine, then he'll have  Donbas, so there. Meanwhile we've got a lot more aircraft on the way for the Ukrainian air force. Maybe P will not have such an easy time after all.