Spirit Cloth

a lot of feathers

and this isn't all of them...thank you so much. keep them coming.

to dip or not to dip

in the walnut pot ?...or the oak pot? that is the question. stay tuned for the answer.

continued from here....

later this same day:

what's that smell she was wondering?

i opened the walnut pot...

this is a sign. walnut it is.

i'll be back.

so a bit later:

the walnut vat is not big. and i have used a lot of it already.  so the first issue was dipping the jacket in the pot which was not going to happen. so i asked myself what if i paint the dye on. and i had a moment of cold feet. so i pulled out a sample i had hanging around with some weaving on it and i tried it.

i was going to let it dry and then see how much color remained. because usually i lose about 50% after washing, but hey, i couldn't wait.

 

so then there was no turning back. i must have looked funny out there in the rain painting my jacket brown. it was thrilling to watch all the different cloth suck up the dye differently.

i am definitely going to lose color after washing. but i will let it dry and soak in for a while. some dye is settling to the bottom and making  the hem darker. but that could be cool. it stopped raining for a bit. and it will get rinsed when the rain starts again.



i will let the day decide.

alternative audio link if you see no player

 

the rain has stopped again. i am looking.

hurricane leftovers

 
i didn't want to waste the rain water in the bucket. so many oak leave fell in.

and now i have an oak shirt.

a momento.

cotton takes the color lightly, nice.

there is a urine indigo vat brewing in the big pot.

into september

we are in between.  power will be up and down through tomorrow.

walnut over indigo. nice.

and oak gifts have begun.

i will try to load up some of the feathers i just received in between power up and down. in between stitching. and fixing.

holding many moments without deciding

 
is deciding simply continuing ? 

could it be that simple?

today we fixed some things that needed fixing, and now i am suspended. looking. 

 and comforted by things fixed.

the walnut shirt -part 2

it always annoys me that the facing on the button hole side of a shirt isn't stitched down. and how it wrinkles up after washing. so i stitched it down. i think i thought about that for 15 years or so. some things take time.

i like the way it has given the edge more weight. and stability. the linen touching the linen. the thread is walnut dyed cotton floss. i don't like stitching with linen. linen thread is stiffer and harder to control the tension of the stitch. silk thread is nice but adds drape, softness i think. for the edge, this functional edge, the cotton seems just right. gentle body.

the walnut shirt

a long time ago my son decided that this old linen shirt of mine should be his. and he wore it to school all the time. and then one day the school bully picked a fight and tore the pocket off the shirt in the process. my son was suspended from school because of the fight. the policy was that both parties be blamed. and so it goes. i dyed it with walnut. and patched the holes. funny how one patch seems to have taken the shape of a pocket... the ghost of a pocket past? 15 years later, dyed and mended. and once again on its way to being my favorite shirt. maybe after i dye it again. and a few more stitches.

day 6

the day started the same way, with flashlight and morning light welcomed.  the big oak lies a few inches from the house. she fell hard but spared us. this morning we have power. power that will be up and down for a few days as they repair damage. but power all the same. so i am here to say that we are ok. and to thank you all for all the kind words and concern. we are inconvenienced but lucky really, my heart goes out to all those who have been displaced by the storm. we have our home, leaky as it may be, we have home.

it was the oak... and the mending of its spirit that inspired a hurricane cloth.

i will be back to normal online goings on in a day or two, as soon as the power becomes stable. and it is september.

i have missed many emails , i know, a bit more time is all i need....