The Bundle Book

Did you know that the marvelous, wonderful India Flint has put together a new small book on ecoprinting for those of us addicted to her work? It is available through Blurb, the easy link is http://au.blurb.com/books/5423526-the-bundle-book
I ordered mine as soon as she posted the info and it came in the mail today.

It is full of inspiration and ideas.

I went out this afternoon and foraged in the yard and made three bundles.

Many Thanks to India who finds the time to put together nice books for her followers while travelling around the whirled. She makes our world a better place!

Yardage update

This is the beginning of the yardage. I'm finding that the hardest part is staying with cotton and light yarns - weight not color. My inclination is to do everything in wool, but I want this to be light enough to wear between seasons. 

Saori Links

Thought you all might enjoy getting to know the Saori community a little more. If you are on Ravelry there are a couple of Saori weaving forums. The one I belong to is Weaving in the Saori Way moderated by Nicolena aka Jill Sanders Here . She also runs an etsy shop that is the easiest way to buy some of the books and looms (although you can use any loom - the books are expensive and hard to find) Saori Santa Cruz Her blog is a delight and can be found at Centering With Fiber You can spend hours enjoying vicariously her beautiful studio and stories of her students.
Be sure to also check out the mothership for Saori Weaving at Saori No Mori which is the official site in Japan that explains the philosophy and background of this fascinating and liberating movement.

Is it autumn yet?

Instead of ranting about how much I hate summer I'll show you what I'm working on this week to beat the heat-blues. 

This is a cotton warp that I'm putting on the four harness floor loom. The yardage is for a vest. As I sit in front of the AC I like to plan what I might like to wear this fall. The plan here is for a Saori style vest. 

The black, brown and orange are easier to see in the cross. 

This is with the reed sleyed at 10 dpi it is 26" across and the length is four yards. 

Check back to see how I'm progressing!

Break

Vacation is a state of mind. This week while Kym is visiting our nations capital and the store is closed I am weaving near the air conditioner. It is a good thing it is Kym and not me who is in DC today as I could not possibly keep my mouth shut about the Supreme Court ruling against women's reproductive rights. I'd probably end up in jail with no yarn in sight. So I'm weaving a boa instead. Please note that all the yarn used was hand spun and Did Not come from Hobby Lobby. 

I will post a picture when it is done so you can see what this tangled mess looks like. 

Stay cool - wherever you are.

A little spring gardening

There is such seduction in planting in the spring before the summer heat sets in. The winds have stopped - at least temporarily. This morning I've been out putting in some tomatoes and a couple of basils.

This is an olla. It is a fired but not glazed terra cotta pot. 

The idea is that you put the olla in the ground or the pot with the plants to help provide water in this dry hot desert. 

This is the pot where I'm going to bury the olla. The top of the olla should be just above the dirt level.

There is just enough room to put a couple of tomatoe plants alongside. 

Here the rest of the potting soil is filled in. 

The stone keeps things from falling into the water. It will also help keep us from growing our own Mosquitos! By the end of the summer those tomato roots will have wrapped all around the clay pot. It is a good method for growing plants where it is so dry. 

Solar dyeing part two

Who wouldn't be inspired by all this spring color?

From the previous post - the roving was Corriedale with some mohair locks thrown in for good measure. I am a kettle dyer most of the time so the solar dye process fits in well with my expectations. I love how the variations in color turn out. I also think there is less chance of felting the fibers.