every day is spent in the garden - despite our crazy, erratic weather it is a glorious time of year
although we still have raging forest fires and the interior of the province had snow last night
in the last six weeks I've completely blown my annual book budget - and there is still six months to go!
I've looked at this book online but when I saw it in the local bookstore the temptation was too much -no shipping, which has become excessive
Wild Textiles by Alice Fox - lots of fun, funky, crafty things to make using materials gathered from the wild - although it does recycle some plastics
this is not a "how to" book - no instructions - the cover is cloth and feels like flannel ( delightful to hold)
it sent me back to an old book Baskets from Nature's Bounty by Elizabeth Jensen
it has 22 detailed pages listing plants - wild and cultivated - that are good to use for making "things"
and clear, detailed instructions for making all kinds of baskets
so, back to Wild Textiles - while weeding and thinking ( they go together very nicely) I gathered some leaves
and started stitching - rhododendron leaves on the right - a good first choice as they were very well behaved
bay leaf (left) which smelled lovely but a little more tricky
having a month long rest from spinning is frustrating so, inspired by the work of Sarah Swett
she writes a subscription newsletter the Gusset on substack - sarahcswett@substackcom (I'm not sure how anyone accesses it but it is delightful)
I decided to try spinning paper yarn using coffee filters
a little spinning was necessary to make sure my filters work but then I planned to spend the month cutting paper
the tiny top skein was spun on my wheel, it is firm and fine but has absolutely no stretch
it was easy to warp the pin loom but weaving is impossible - the thread breaks while being pulled under and over the warp threads
it would be possible if a person wanted to go up and down/under and over each individually warp thread
I'm not quite that crazy!
the even smaller skein was spun on the drop spindle and is a little loser - it might work - I will cut the paper ready to experiment next month
and on to something a little more serious - the scarves are finished - all the materials came from another weavers stash over the years
there is a little bundle of silk thrums for stitching but they are only 10 inches long
and now it is time to stop this silliness and pull some weeds
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