Color in cold blood

I have the time and the weather is with me, but I confided in a friend that, although everything was ready and right, I had no feel for color today. Vacuuming floated to the top of my to-do list. A very deep level of ennui.

Instead, I downshifted, no clutch, and found a place of hard, scientific analysis. Instead of frenzy, I measured. Wiped up spills, protected myself, gloves and masks, indoors.


Then I remembered...
All in all, the dyes don't care.

It was overcast and mid-80s when I was setting up. The moment I sat down, the clouds parted and the sun got really harsh. Right after he took this, Colin brought my hat down. 

At this point in the process, I worked the way I always have. I got a chip of kosher salt in my eye. That kind of slowed me down.

There was a lot of thread prepped to dye. A LOT. More than a hundred skeins. I lost count.

At the same time, some smaller pieces of cloth joined the fray. 

The colors evolved as I worked. Looking over the results, I can't see a trend. But I was too tired and overheated to do any peeking.  Everything is out there, cooking in the heat. 

I'm hoping it will rain tonight and save me a lot of rinsing. 

As soon as the last piece of cloth hit the deck, I jumped in for some emergency cooling. I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes from this batch. 

broader strokes

I've decided to stop bitching about it and see how I can go about using fabric more like paint. There will be  a lot of false starts with stitch so I've basted this one loosely so the end wont have little blood stains all over it.

Most of yesterday was given over to finally getting my hearing tested and confirming what I suspected - that I am hearing less than half of what is said and have worked out a complex of methods to work around the loss. I really didn't realize how much I was depending on visual cues in face to face conversations.

The phone is another big issue. My job entails listening to incident reports over the phone and I depend a great deal on the fact that nothing much new and strange happens on a daily basis...repetition and anticipation, sort of human predicative spelling. I have reports typed out before people even finish dictating them. How many stupid ass ways can one slip and fall or burn oneself in a commercial kitchen anyway?

The doctor couldn't say if the tinnitus was a separate issue from the hearing loss but it certainly compounds the problem. I really miss stone cold silence. My range of hearing is narrow and odd and hearing aids are called for as soon as possible to prevent further loss/damage. They may or may not help the tinnitus. When it's at it's lowest level, I can pretend it's only cicadas partying hearty on midsummer's eve. At it's worst, a jet's engines revving up just before take off...only it never does. A new element cropped up the other day -- a mercifully short low toned hum, not unlike the reverberations of a really big bell ..it came creeping in my left ear like a fat fuzzy brown caterpillar, and then thankfully slunk away. Sometimes it's hard to hear my own thoughts.

sunday prayer flags

that's EQ5 above and EQ6 below


I love it when solutions, or just new ideas, come in dreams.

these are three of the cloth burritos quick stitched into prayer flags and strung in my crepe myrtle grove out front. My dog walking neighbors thought I was taking a novel approach to decorating for Halloween....

I machine basted them to cotton strips just so people could get a better idea of just what was in one of those rolls. Scale is still an issue...most of these pieces are 7 to10 inches wide.

one of the October burritos....they are down now, safely back in the house.

a book arrived yesterday..I leafed through it a bit and am kind of afraid to read closely, sponge brained as I am...

grace moons

this whole group spent the night basking in the full moon. I'll know more after they've been through a machine wash and dry.

These are the Grace Moons, each different but all from the same mother cloth, a section of heavy drapery cotton. Strong, soft and full of weave. These may become part of a larger whole.

almost home

Jimmy was sort of half sprung from the hospital today. The medical doctor cleared him to leave pending the surgeon's approval but the surgeon was too busy running through the halls with a chain saw. He finally popped by after I had gone home promising to spring my man in the morning. I nipped out in the middle of the afternoon to come home and see what had become of a batch of damasks that I had pushed into a stew of soda ash the day before Jim's surgery just about a week ago. What was I thinking? When I opened up the container I half expected 20 gallons of mush but the cloth seemed OK so I went ahead and sugar dyed it all. I have a "what if" in mind for some of this fabric. Nothing fully formed, just a notion. I was busy elsewhere so daily life has taken a back seat. My pool has been sadly neglected this past week and all manner of strange things just came out of the skimmer and dip net. I just hope I can get back in the water to do the real cleaning. The water has cooled down a lot and hurricane Fay will be drenching us in a day or so.

making them last

I've been missing my Mom lately. She can't answer the phone easily anymore so I can only speak with her when someone else is visiting. This fabric flower is silk and metallic organza and cotton. I'll post another picture when she puts it on. Today we rounded up Jinx & Voodoo for their annual trip to the vet for shots and such. Had to knuckle under and buy that nasty crap for flea prevention (the collars were an expensive joke) and now NONE of them are speaking to me.

Christmas in April

I have not mixed one bottle of dye and the temperature has turned sweater cold and greasy for lack of a better word to describe mist mixed with pollen. I have spent the entire morning paying bills, filling out forms and contemplating (just contemplating) getting our taxes done. Grim stuff. There's a knock at the door- it's the mailman with three packages and right behind him, the FedEx guy with a really big box. It's fabric from Testfabric by way of New Smyrna Beach, and an outfit I scored on Ebay and a really heavy box. Imagine, if you will, that you walk into a new fiber store. One that is stocked with the most amazing array of prints and hand dyed cottons. Drool provoking rainbows of light and texture.Generous cuts folded precisely, colors and patterns in love with one another, bundled together in tiny towers and tied with various exquisite lengths of iridescent ribbon and lace. Your eyes wander, your fingers fondle, you take mental notes coming back to your favorites over and over. Then, the gracious shopkeeper hands you a 20 inch square box and says "Pack carefully, fill it full and take all you can carry." How strong are you? What does it take to respond to such incredible generosity? I have an angel who has just made this reverie come to pass. Thank you A., from the bottom of my heart.

FOF08 - Lawrenceville Frankenstein Dyeworx- day 1

All right folks - daylight's awastin'. I know my awfully early ways aggravated my immediate neighbors at FOF last year but for me, sleeping in is not an option. As I begin my own studio week, one of the things I'll appreciate is having my assistants close at hand. If I can get the Black dye the way I want it, I will be making some cloth in Karma's honor. Such pretty patterns. I did this yardage last night while watching the Braves home opening game. No idea what becomes of Sharpie markings through the rest of the dye/discharge process but I'll find out. The first order of business this morning will be making a big tub of soda ash solution. We are expecting thunderstorms here all day so I'll be inside working the soy wax at the kitchen table. There is also a bundle of cloth, vinegar and rusty frying pans outside that has to be opened and inspected. Is color taking a back seat this year? I dont' think so. Although I have been in a black/grey state of mind for a spell, I'm counting on the dyes to bring me back to myself. C0lor mixing begins later today! Thunder and lightning be damned.