woad and recycling

Part of a shawl i've just finished,using old lace etc and dyeing all of it with woad.

It has involved several trips to vide greniers and brocantes and a lot of digging in my scrap bags ,but the end result is worth it.Very satisfying to have something nice which is having a new life.

Another view.Some may recognise pieces of my bathroom curtains!It always surprises me how many shades of blue come from one magical dyestuff,depending on the fabric involved.This has been a good summer for woad and rust and the temperature today is still soaring-too busy for woad today though.I'm off to teach at FELT IN FOCUS in Denmark next week and really looking forward to it,as i haven't been there for about 30 years.It will be nice to re visit Copenhagen for a couple of days,before going on to Odense to teach.

Finally,look how low this lake near us is-partly due to water being used for irrigation,partly lack of rain.Should be level with the trees.Still very tranquil and not a soul in sight except us.

Exhibition at St Avit

Took a trip to St Avit,to the Palissy museum to see an exhibition and having walked up the hill to the village(finding walnuts on the ground for dyeing which was a bonus) we found that the exhibition is only open in June on a sunday!Never mind, i did take some photos and i will go back,plus i have already used the walnuts and have a lovely warm brown on silk.

This is the door to the church in the village,which seems not to be used any more-no seats or evidence of people.It is all very atmospheric and slightly musty smelling.

These are the faded wall paintings in the church,which would look fabulous if restored,but still gorgeous as they are.

Finally,one of my best accidental photos ever,a view through the window of the exhibition we couldn't see.I,m not sure if these pieces were put here because they were inspired by the church tower in the reflection, but it certainly makes a dramatic image.

making books

Have been making lots of little books to sell,using my monoprints,at the same time as making a booksmart book on woad and rust  dyeing -this will go on my etsy site when i finally get it up and running.The internet is still very iffy and at present seems to work when we are making a phone call-how ridiculous is that?

Blogger wont turn this round!

 Or this one!
Finally,a glimpse of the peace and quiet in our village.

What could be better for creativity?

dip dyeing my waistcoat and other things

Yesterday was a glorious day so it seemed a good idea to make a woad vat,to finish my waterfall waistcoat,amongst other things.Here it is,after 3 dips.

And this is my progressing rust fabric patchwork piece-not sure what this is destined for.

This is so uncharacteristic for me, but I have finally mastered the rust on cotton-previously my successes have been silk fabric,so now I can start work on all that fabric from brocantes and vide greniers, which has been stored away in my wardrobe-my squirrel area! 

more work,more internet problems!

We are having lots of prblems with the net at the moment so this is a quick post while it lasts.The weather continues glorious so rusting and woad dyeing are the order of the day,and i'm busy making a book with prints made from natural materials picked up on my daily walks-more of this later.

 This waterfall waistcoat is now waiting to be dyed-sorry about the car in the background!

This is my wrap,made from old lace from a Brocante,scrim,silk scraps and ,finally,printed with a lace screen to pull it all together.I love lace, but not quite in the same way as others.More below.

Finally back on the net

We've had great problems with our internet over the last few days and it's only when you are without the facility that you realise how much it is needed.Hopefully ,back to normal now.
In the gap,I've been rusting fabric prolifically as the weather is very warm here and have even managed to sew some fabric together for new sofa cushions.

This is the fabric ,basking in the sun and dyeing quietly!

This is the beginning of one of the cushions.

I love the colour it's possible to achieve with such a simple process,but generally use silk for the base fabric.This time,I have used a variety of old cotton cloth, bought from local Brocantes, which adds an extra recycled element-always good to feel that things are being given a new life

Snow queen on her way to Denmark

Finally posted my work for the exhibition in Odense connected to the Felt in Focus week in July.I seem to have been working on this for a long time ,on and off and it felt strange to go into the studio the next day and not see it hanging/lying there.

The studio has sneaked into this picture.

This is the story roll which has digital images,screen printing and lace cut out techniques and ,as you can see, is Looooong.I'm never pleased with things i do, but sort of like this.
I'm now using the weld i grew in the meadow to dye anything and everything-there is so much of the stuff.Given that i don't much like yellow,it's a problem, but i can always overdye.The smell of weld in the slow cooker is all pervasive and this year, the yellow seems very bright for some reason.Never mind,woad will knock it back and also some of my rust liquid will go in there this morning.