Washing Line

Part the first.. Reds, purples, darks, and blues to come

And the next Accidental Face

Well, while I was out..

I left some dyebaths on the table, and pulled the drop cloth up over the trays to keep the public out and the wet in..Here are the trays

I have made rainbows on a variety of fabrics, then laid treated (with soda ash) fabrics on top to absorb another part of the dyes. Then I put these under the edge of the drop cloth

And went off to teach Trees all day in Suffolk.  Nice class, nice Trees, lovely hall.. Nice lunch.. What more can one ask for..
I am really going to enjoy washing these out tomorrow..
More images when done

The drop cloths are 100% cotton sheets, treated with soda ash and dried, then laid on the big table whenever I do anything the least bit messy.  When the white sheet is (almost) no longer visible, I wash out the cloth and use the fabric.  So far I have made one every two years and they are fantastic.  Here's a quilt I made with one piece, screen-printed and stitched on top of the accidental marks

It's about 3 feet wide and is very simply quilted, mostly irregular lines from top to bottom, with a hand-embroidered sun

Time for bed..

Accidental Faces 2

Milling machine..  This one is Animal not Human, I think..

Accidental Faces 1

Hope this will be part one of an occasional series.. I see faces everywhere, it's part of the way the visual cortex works in humans from the very beginning of life

Roadkill 3, Tattered Strap

I have long been fascinated by the accidental detritus of the road.  As a cyclist, I look down more than as a motorist, to preserve my tyres and my position (preferably upright, thanks).  For a long time I had a massively flattened, bent, and samurai-swordish bicycle pump hanging on my wall.  Other treats have included a whole white sliced loaf (almost a whole street's-worth), a frozen chicken, and many an odd shoe... The local dustbin men drop big sinister red rubber gloves all the time, but I have resisted collecting them..
This little piece of strap had fallen from a supermarket-trolley.  I don't know what the security guys by the door made of my photographing it, but I got some seriously old-fashioned looks..

Roadkill 2

Sad small hat

Roadkill..

..cardboard cannot fight back

Sunday in the Snow

My Circle Garden in the snow..
I walked home last night at dusk, in a breathless and sacred silence broken only by the drumming take-off of a partridge.  I saw two tawny owls fly from the oak trees.  Utter perfection.

End of the Week of Colours, Conclusion, and Stars

Only one image today - this experiment with interlocking stars.  I didn't invent this, and I did it very slowly while thinking about my Week Of Colours.  And my conclusions?  The week was pretty hard compared with last year's Week Of Trees (see label/link at the bottom of this post to find the entries for that) - it was hard to put stuff down because it wasn't today's colour, and although I have got lots done, I have not finished enough to make a display, which I would have liked to do.  There is a big pile by my chair waiting for hand-finishing on the bindings, and a further huge pile layered and ready to quilt.  And a huge mess in the workshop.  I spent a while today sorting out the Blue Box which had exploded on Saturday and would not go back on the shelf.  So I sorted out all the stuff I no longer want from it and I'm cutting it up to make charm packs and the like.  I think I should do more of this, as the stash has got silly.  I was amazed just how many unlikeable fabrice were in the box, and how glad I was to be able to get the lid back on.
So, tomorrow I have to teach and rehang the shop, sort out the rent, and wash up..
And think about the next "Week Of..."

Thanks for reading

Oh, and the stars come from Here

Sunday is Indigo and Aching Legs

So, Indigo.  I have a box of Japanese fabrics with quite a lot of indigo-dyed stuff, and this delicious lacquerish red which goes with it so well.  The bottom panel is a wierd fabric which I suspect is either silk or horsehair, and has a most beautiful delicate print. The dragonflies seemed to go with it, and the green panel will have some hand-stitch.  Pins, as it is layered but not quilted yet.
I layered a lot of half-made pieces from earlier parts of the week.

 

Then I made this one, with more indigo and rust. After I had sewn down the right-hand tree, I found this little bird perched perfectly in the branches

 

Then this one.  This is the first piece I have made all week that I really don't like.  Might get scrapped, but I'll wait awhile in case inspiration, or a rotary cutter, strikes.  The central fabric is Names of Fishes in Japanese.  It actually looks better on screen than in life..

And this one, which is Not Indigo, but was hanging around making me feel faintly guilty.  Screen-prints on a piece of fabric which I had used to clean out a paint-jar.  I'm not sure the inner border is defined enough, but it may be OK when quilted.  The outer border I really like.

I'm really tired and I hurt a lot.. Slow evening, maybe a quiet week