Sunday

There was a brief thunderstorm midday and after it passed, the light was just so.

I brought the river basket out onto the high deck to see if the cloth had anything to say to me.

Too much.

I need to empty it out and put all these beautiful things away, out of sight for a while. I'm tempted to make a garment of some sort which will mean that no one will ever see them.

I'll give it time. They'll star another time, another place.


The heat and humidity have the gardens in glory.

Add caption

I corralled a couple dozen tadpoles. They eat lettuce and broccoli and when they get legs and leave the bowl, they'll live out here in the houseplants.

Solstice++

I know. It was a few days ago, but I've been busy. Up to my ears with Life, including family, work, and art - like everyone else!  But Summer is well and truly here. Those of you who have come around for a while know this scene well.
This summer marks the twentieth year of this magical place.

I was beginning to worry that, due to a combination of circumstances, it might not happen this year. But Colin got it done including rescuing a half-million tadpoles that had been conceived and born during the delay. Bucket by bucket, he took them down to the creek. Froggy resettlement on a huge scale.

There was an infrastructure fail that allowed about half the new water to sneak off down to the creek, but we got it fixed and refilled.  I don't want to think about the upcoming water bill, but I will be working a little overtime in the upcoming weeks - and it will be worth it!


We moved into the house and before changing anything else, Jim made this happen. There had been a small financial windfall as a result of a life-changing, on the job injury he suffered and he decided that this was the best use of a good chunk of the settlement. We never regretted that decision.

Yesterday, I went in for the first time. For fresh from the ground water, it was refreshing, not freezing.  I have to remember to bring my hat down there and am shopping for a floaty. Also have to set some time limits. Nah, that's crap!

Every time I get in, it's like church and I have Jimmy to thank for it.

going dark

The level of inhumanity on FB has reached a level of toxicity that I can't take. The problem is that it's really not about FB at all. It's the news from the so-called leadership of this country.

 I can't even call it my country anymore because I don't recognize it.  There is work to do and none of it happens on social media. You can leave word here, email or call me.

Please feel free to copy this graphic and use it any way you want.

Charlie Tuesday

a surprise Charlie Tuesday and will rerun it tomorrow until this new medication gets his ears back on track.

I need to start taking some audio because he says the most remarkable things.



I've been waking up with nightmares about what is happening in our country.

more from the 'verse

Another unexpected, wonderful gift. 

My friend spent months at her childhood home sorting the wheat from the chaff of her family's life. Knowing my predilections, she brought this back for me.

My very first typewriter was a Remington, a behemoth, not a portable like this one. I closed my eyes, placed my fingers on the keys and the touch was so familiar it was eerie.

This was the first thing that occurred to me:

spiral

Another fistful of day gone haywire. I just don't roll with the punches the way I used to, but it's not all bad stuff. Just stuff.

A few days of Charlie being off because of ear infections. (he's on the mend now)

My self off because I've allowed myself to become as sedentary as a walrus and the longer I let it go on the worse it will get.

After days of some high powered shopping, new laundry machines were delivered and installed today thanks to the generosity of a dear, kind soul who saw my need and set things right. I will be forever grateful!

The process of taking things out of the closet until all the favorite stuff is dirty is instructive. After three weeks, give or take a day, of handwashing undies in a bucket and hanging them on the line, I still have a bunch of clothes in the closet. If I haven't worn it in the past few weeks and won't wear it come winter, it's going to Goodwill which was most likely where it came from in the first place.

two simple souls from Sears

respite

It's been a hectic week. Too much going on that I had zero control over. I need to get over that.

After several weeks of dreary wet weather, we've had a string of roasters and the plant people have gone bonkers.

That pot is three feet across now sporting one mutant purslane, a couple of rescued marigolds, a lavender and one stalky grape tomato that'st going to need a stick tower soon.

My pool is still icky green and filled with polliwogs - there are only so many hours in the day, Colin tells me. But today I spent a chunk of my hours at a friends pool. Hard to believe that this place is almost always deserted. What is wrong with you people? 

Nevermind, the solitude is heavenly.

Neutral magic

These are up for grabs here

If y'all like 'em, there will be more.

Who knew all you color freaks could get so excited by some b&w, like I can from time to time!

the special days roll

It's been a very long time since I've had two consecutive days off from the Whine Mine. I'm still not used to the luxury of it. Offset that with by Friday night I'm ready to tell someone exactly where they can shove their concerns. Enough of the day job, I still have 24 hours of freedom!










Saturday was Charlie day this week. Jake's birthday was 6/2 and if it wasn't for his brother, I would have forgotten!! We went on a pilgrimage to Bass Pro Shop to further outfit Jake's tackle box. The fish have finally found him and he's having a ball. Colin pitched in to help.

June 2, 1985. We couldn't wait to get the fresh one home.

the weekend

Two new rounds of Dirty Threads were hatched out despite the weather, but it's gonna be a while before I do this again. You can grab some up here:



Everything step took twice as long as usual. Tedium is not a good creative partner.  Come some real summer weather and I'll think about doing it all again. Maybe.











I had some sleepover company Sunday night! We watched junk TV, made art, ate junk food and generally got up to no good, but a good time was had by all.

monsoon spinning

It's been a hectic week. Cooking up thread, editing/writing and dealing with house crap. We finally passed inspection for the insurance (I think) and, in response to my money-saving efforts, the Universe said "Hah!" and my old Maytag finally up and died. Colin and I conjured up some fix-it magic a year ago, but this fail sounded ominous.

The machine was a gift from my folks when we first moved here. Twenty-four hard, abusive years. Mom & Dad, I sure got your money's worth out of this one!  Time to drag it and its mismatched partner, the Dryer from Hell, to the metal scrappers. Time to start a new tip jar.

There was some innovation too!

no nests

I left this hanging outside on the high deck. Since no bird elected to call it home, I've brought it back inside. Fill it with quarters and call it a vacation fund. Should buy me gas to get to Destin and back.

Magnolia Rains - updated

I did some very different things with this latest batch of threads.

I put took them out of the sauce in small groups, six or eight at a time, ensuring they were pretty wet when the dye struck.

 The salt/sugar mix was very humid - clumpy. I chose some pretty antagonistic colors, including things that I had been avoiding, like Avocado, hot pink and Hard Red.

The neighbors magnolia trees are blooming and it was threatening to rain. Atmosphere + chemistry.

At first, I was worried that I had knuckled them too much. (just what it sounds like) and then the skies opened up after they had only been batching a few hours. I left them in the rain all night long. The first rinses were very murky, then this happened.
it's a magical batch!


More hot, wet days ahead so I'm going to take another run at getting those golds, aubergines, and limes before this batch is available.

Dye fest!

 This years table-mopper (so far). It's a big piece of what I call "spanking" cotton. The kind that snaps when you shake it right. Sturdy, not vintage. I'm going to use it all season to see what it can become.

It's going to be hot and humid today and I'm all prepped for a new batch of Dirty Threads. They will probably get the last rinse in a thunderstorm.

What colors do you crave?
Comment and let me know.

breakfast in good company

Jake and Charlie stopped by to take me to breakfast. Do I look tired? For a string of dumb, self-inflicted reasons, (I was writing) I only got about three hours of sleep last night and I'm facing a regular working Saturday. I may sleep right through Sunday.

And don't ever make one cup of iced coffee with two spoonfuls of Cafe Bustelo unless you plan on running a marathon.

Rain and cloth

the annual miracle

We are late this year. I've tried getting in the water as early as May 15, but the fresh water was always much too cold, even for this Yankee seal.

As late as this is, we were still way ahead of the Annual Frog Fornication Fest. There were no tadpoles for me to round up and relocate this year. They've been noisy at night but slow to get busy. Maybe because the water level was too low?

Tomorrow, Colin will crawl under the deck and replace one of the large delivery hoses. The entire water-carrying infrastructure has been in place since 98. That's the original liner! The deck needs some work but there WILL be swimming this season. Splashing, paddling, drifting and dreaming. The bones of my next book will be born in these waters.


Jimmy was so smart to make this investment.

Mothers Day morning

I sat with the morning light and tried for a little stitch but it didn't hold me for long - I had scenes to revise. And the studio is heaped with a lot of raw material right now, all of it nagging at me quietly. I'm thinking I'll shove it all into the closet and close the doors until the next rainy day.

Or have a big damn yard sale.

I've been working on the high gardens - redoing and replacing the dirt in the long boxes and clay pots.
This diffenbachia was a wedding gift from our friend Donald. We named it Louie years ago. With almost no care, Louie persists, but a repotting was long overdue.

Way down at the bottom was a thick old stem and a tangle of roots.

I've given it a fresh start. We'll see what comes of this.





The peonies continue their fabulous, stinking riot!!

milestones

The current run is sold out!
For everyone who placed an order as of yesterday, today is shipping day. International friends, I'm getting quotes from the Man Behind the Counter and will email you the bitter results.

It may be a couple of weeks before I can commit to another run, but it will come.  In the meantime, there are still plenty of hand-dyed scraps.

On a most personal note, those of you who see me on FB are probably familiar with Charlie Monday. Yesterday was the last official Charlie Monday. (yes, you heard a sob). Of course, I'll still have him for chunks of time on the weekends, and all the Mondays that schools are closed. Still...nothing stays the same, least of all puppies, kittens, and babies.

He's a little young for explanations, so it was business as usual for us. Not so much for me, but we cracked each other up so often that I didn't have time to get broody. At Publix, he asked the deli man if they sold Monkey Butt Hair Pancakes. The gentleman was sad to report that those were only available on Sunday.  Charlie's life is going to be filled with people that he has charmed just by smiling and saying hello.

I fully credit this little being (and the trust of his parents) for throwing me a lifeline after Jimmy left us. We will continue...

sweet saturday

 Jake and Charlie were here early. The pickup has been languishing for a couple of months. It's been needing a new fuel pump. Mission accomplished. Now, all I have to do is figure out why it doesn't have a current registration sticker!  I know we celebrated back in October when it passed the necessary emissions. Jake tells me that lowlifes will steal the stickers right off the plates! Let's hear it for the lowlifes and hope that's the case.

Meanwhile, I got to watch another artist's process. He's very interested in the names of things, like marigolds and bluebirds - the one who pooped on my car!

We had a fun few hours.

Later,  a friend with a chainsaw came by and those massive hedges in front of the house have been pared back drastically. Long overdue!

round 1 - the locals

I feel like an old spider, spinning. There's a whole new batch of Dirty Threads ready to ship. I'll hit the PO shortly and again come tuesday.

I'm experimenting with some 'close cousins' colors. Just the warms this time. Lots of blue or green based heathery ones. Mostly mid-tones.

The process is in place. Now I can focus on the color variables that I want to play with. As things are now, no two of these are alike enough if someone wanted to use them in a project that called for more than ten yards.

If you are interested in more, email me and we can discuss custom orders. It's an unpredictable process results-wise but that's not to say I can't make a whole set of the same results.


purchase info 

I've had to bump the price a tiny bit. Postage has just gotten ghastly!

first of the season

It was HOT today! The first time (that I've been home) that it was hot enough to break out the dyes. I had a lot of thread prepped and ready to go. 
There was every intention of some restraint, colorwise. Hah! I made the twin mistakes of taking down the umbrella and forgetting my hat. My brain fried and I went wild, color-wise.

After pictures tomorrow.

There was also a trio of vintage huck tea towels in the mix. Wonderful hand!