nemo ignorat

indigo season opening

Thanks to my new studio I was able to open the indigo season quite early this year. Nothing's nicer than building your vat while the cold rain is playing its steady rhythm on the roof and you are inside, relatively warm and very dry. And there is even warm water to wash your fabrics and not freezing your hands off. What a luxury.

I started my vat with three mokume shibori scarves I stitched over the last two weeks. Mokume takes a lot of time but I love the result so much.

already stitched and beginning to pull in

the same scarf pulled in

 

when dyeing this tightly pulled in fabric you have to be extraordinarily careful to let it oxidize. otherwise you won't get a good base layer for all your following dips

 

the finished scarf in the last light of the day

The scarves are made of vintage cotton, softened by time and lots of washing and have a size of 120 x 35 cm (47 x 13 in). As soon as I can muster the courage to ask the price they deserve, I will put them up for sale. Though I am playing with the thought of adding a few simple blue stripes and sew them into a quilt top, keeping them.

And these are the other two scarves. Same cotton, same size.

waves

moonphases

 

moonphases detail

well, that was easy

Hubby's jumper is finished.

It turned out, the arms were much quicker to knit than expected. I caught up with some reading while knitting (reading on a screen while knitting is much easier than reading from a book) and got it done. It fits, and DH is happy. And in time as well. We had snow tonight.

Meanwhile in the studio

The warp is - well - warped.

7 m of the most sticky and tangled warp ever. It will not become my favourite. But, now it's warped and the RH loom is prepped and ready to go.

I suppose, handspun tussah singles should not be warped without sizing. The tangling was almost as bad as with the one chenille warp I used many moons ago. Live and learn.

Oh, my OLG festive exchange gift arrived at it's designated place and I got mine, so I'm free to share pictures. The topic of the festive exchange was 'pincushions'. Something everybody can use. Very nice.

I got these lovelies

Two tetrahedrons. One made from her handspun yarn and another one from an old jeans. So cute. Everything was wrapped in one of her shibori dyed fabrics. Which was really funny. She told me when she unwrapped my gift, she had a deja vu. Cause I wrapped mine in some shibori cloth as well. AND I used geometrical forms. My exchange partner and I had a rather similar thought process.

I took the form from Zentangle Stitches for Quilters and Fabric Artists. They are the pincushions from the cover and honestly the only really interesting thing in the whole book. Really. The rest is meh. But these shapes are super cool and DH already said, he could envision some larger cushions in this shape. Well, I can too and the pincushions were a nice try out.

I never was much into cushions, (nice) carpets and (nice) blankets (not only the practical ones that wash well) -  having cats and dogs who liked to chew and do other things to them. But with only one dog left, who just - well - sleeps on cushions without maiming them first, and who does not have a habit of puking on carpets or chewing on blankets, I am really looking forward to make some more textile things for our home. Make our sofas maybe a bit more comfy, even weave a carpet or two? That would be nice. Not just making textiles and giving them away but actually keeping and using them.

Shirt tatoo

left shirt has shibori on front

and back

I'm getting along with my goal to sew my own clothes. They are both made of some organic cotton sweat shirt fabric, stitched and dyed in my new indigo vat.

When I opened the stitches I spontaneously thought of tatoos. Shibori as a shirt tatoo - I like that.

And more roses from the garden. Mme Louise Odier is about done for now. She tends to bloom a second time later. But the Veilchenblau, Raubritter, Albertine, Alexandre Girault and my dearest Paul's Himalayan Musk are in full bloom now. O I love May and June.

Raubritter

Paul's Himalayan Musk

Paul's Himalayan Musk in a different stage of blooming

Albertine

Roses are my weakness. I love the old English Roses and I stuffed too many into my little garden. Especially since a lot of them are ramblers. Never a good idea. But in May and June I simply love them.

I'm not really into flowers or flower arrangements. My roses live a life on their own, I just occasionally trim them so that they don't overtake my garden or the neighbour's. Funny thing is when I was in Japan, part of our workshop was doing Ikebana. Everything is connected in Japanese art. As is flower arrangement. I felt a bit weird but in the end it was fun. Moving out of my comfort zone ;o)

"my" Ikebana arrangement

The little tits and the sparrows are almost grown now. Only a few days ago their parents were still feeding them on my balcony but now they are all on their own here dining.