Constant companion

Hatching a fat baggy

 Not bad for one take, right?

There are now two fat baggies left including this one that I just repacked (without taking a shred for myself). They are all pretty much the same, content-wise. Once I have a nice mix I make a point of not hand-picking. I just grab and stuff until I run out of cloth or bags. Equitable, I think.  

Three bags shipped yesterday, these are all that's left, but once dye season begins, there will be more.  I'm going to be looking for some silk, gauze, and cotton lawn to fill out the collection of damask table linens I have lined up for the first dyefest.

things to come

In a small act of faith that the will of decent people everywhere will prevail, I'm hoping to resume international shipping come summer.

No, these aren't new. A few shots from last year's harvest, but a perfect representation of things to come.

Some changes, though. 

Each skein will still be 11 yards, but I won't be winding them onto the cardboard bobbins anymore. Even though the "wind off" was my favorite part of the process, the final reveal has become too labor-intensive for my tired paws and eyes. 

I have a lot of cardboard bobbins and will include them with each order until I run out.  You probably already have your own method,  but I'll make a little video of how I transfer the loose thread to a bobbin with the least amount of snagging or knots.

So, same Dirty Threads, just a minor change in presentation. Yours to do with as the muse moves you.

The weather is coming around. Preparations are ongoing. 

Email me if you want to be notified when the shop doors open.

                                                  

 

 

digital learning days

Yesterday, we had what his school district is calling a Digital Learning Day.  Ready or not, it may be the wave of the future, for us at least. I really need to get my math understanding up to speed.  I didn't really get proficient in arithmetic until Jake was in 4th grade. It was one of the gray areas of my education that got overlooked because I was good with words and read beyond my years.  I showed him how I add and subtract three-place numbers and he showed me how he had learned to do it. We agreed that there are many ways to arrive at a correct answer, no calculators need apply.

Then he became completely besotted with some vintage technology. This Walkman was my Dad's. He was Charlie too. The tape we found inside it was something Colin copied from a local radio station back in the 90s. Charlie was quick to figure out how to use the Fast Forward button to get past the incessant commercials.

It was a beautiful day and we were alone at a nearby park so I decided it was a good time to release another art quilt into the wild. Charlie did not really approve but wanted to come back after lunch to see if it was still there. I have to make some real tags instead of what looks more like a ransom note!

World and domestic news developments have left me incapable of much else beyond this most important activity. Caretaking the most precious. 

color recall

 

It was so warm yesterday, I cut my sun time short. A scorch was setting in. Mid 70s? The frogs and the other singers around the pool have been tuning up. 

But today, it's gone back to the typical cold and damp of a Georgia Spring. Soon.

This whole week has been a slog of graphs, numbers, and waiting. In other words - book marketing. The necessary evil. Took a lot of notes. Learned a thing or two. There is no formula for breaking in with a novel that does not stick strictly to genre norms. It's going to be 90% hard work and a stroke or two of luck. One thing for sure, I won't be doing another promo week until book four is born.

Summer is coming and I'm going to make the best of each day.

I'm not a believer in that sense of the word. To whom does one pray for Karmic destruction to visit greedy, evil, old white men?

This bit of thread presented itself yesterday. Turquoise and gold.

Ukraine. Be strong.