Rainbows of Happiness

          Thanks for being patient while I got all of these fat quarters ironed so that I could take proper pictures. For those of you who are just tuning in, I took a class from Vivan Helena last weekend in the scenic foothills just south of Yosemite. We learned how to hand-dye fabrics.

          I chose to experiment with two kinds of fabrics--mostly because I already had a huge stash of PFD (prepared for dyeing) Kona cotton yardage that I had bought online many years ago at a very low price. I was a little concerned since the fabric had a slight cream tint to it, but the results were lovely:

 

          The Kona cotton dyed a little lighter than my second fabric, but there was more mottling with the pure aqua as well as with any of the mixes that contained aqua. In my book, that is a good thing. After all, if I had even entertained the thought of learning to dye fabric so that it was a uniform solid color, I would have just simply bought it ready-made. I prefer fabrics and colors that are more artistic and original.

 

          I was thrilled with the mottling of the yellow dye. It swirled beautifully with the red.

 

          The yellow also made sort of a floating greenish patina on top of the aquamarine.

 

 

          These are the fat quarters I dyed using the very white Hoffman PFD cotton that is used for batiks. The colors turned out a little more intense with this fabric, and the mottling was more defined in the reds, yellows, and purples.

 

          I was pleasantly surprised that I had a little bit of the white fabric still peeking through since those fat quarters were the ones that were completely submerged at the bottom of the dyeing jars. However, I had been very careful not to stir the contents of the jars, or poke the fabric down with the sticks Vivan gave us.

 

          As you can see below, the greens are not all that different from one another.

 

          The warm tones were extraordinary. I will definitely be doing more of this hand-dyeing.

Llamas, Llamas, Love Their Mama

          Vivian has all kinds of cool things going on at her house. Besides all her artsy, craftsy projects, she's got llamas. Yes, I said llamas. Four of them. I couldn't wait to get there and get my llama fix.

 

          Here is Vivian feeding grain by hand to three of her brood. I don't recall their names, but she let me feed the dark brown one that is standing behind her in the picture.

 

 

          As you can see, this one has quite a coat. Vivian has used some of the fibers in the past for various projects, including dying some of the lighter wool. I do believe she waited until the coat was no longer on the llama before she did that. :-)

 

 

          This llama was more interested in posing for all the cameras than eating grain. Quite a ham!

Scrunch-Dyed Tee Shirt

          This is a little last minute goodie I made at the class I took on Saturday. I was running out of time, so I just tossed this previously white tee shirt in a zip-lock bag with some red and blue dye.

         Ta-da! My yoga friends are going to be chasing me around trying to get this one.

 

Flapping in the Breeze

          Just a few pictures of some of my hand-dyed fat quarters from Saturday's class hanging on the line. This fabric is Kona cotton and was originally a soft cream color. I thought the cream tint would dull the final results, but it sure didn't.

          This was also the batch of fabric that was placed just inside the top of the dyeing jars and not fully submerged in the liquid. We all presumed that I would end up with some white mottling, but I didn't. I really love the variation of the colors, though. Especially in the yellow and purple.

                                                                                                                                                                                                         

          I haven't had time to press yet or take pictures of the other fat quarters I dyed using a whiter fabric. As soon as I can, I will post proper photos of them all. These are close-ups of some of the Kona cotton fat quarters.

Seven Artists Playing

          These are more snapshots from the fabric dyeing class I attended this past weekend. There were seven of us, including our teacher.

          I worked with these two nice ladies at the "beginner's" table. We were all active or retired elementary school teachers. Go figure.

          They were very diligent in making sure that we followed Vivian's detailed instructions. Wow! That was a lot of measuring.

          In the background, you can see the three ladies who worked at the table for more advanced dyers. They were making some really neat tie-dyed tee shirts.

          After a morning of dyeing fabric and tee shirts, we were ready for some lunch. Here we are all sitting around the table. Our fearless leader, Vivian is third from the right.

          Vivian has also posted some great photos of our class on her blog Vivian Helena Creates. They can be seen at:

http://vivianhelena-creates.blogspot.com/

Jars O' Colors!

          Today I had the most wonderful time learning how to dye fabric. I took a road trip up to the foothills south of Yosemite for a delightful class with Vivian Helena. We all came home with twelve jars of fabric--each containing a different color. After pouring the dye into the jars, I pushed in two fat quarters of fabric--one white and one cream. I didn't poke the crumpled fabric all the way under the liquid in the jars because I am hoping for a mottled look when the dye process is finished.

          Tomorrow, I will take the fabric out of the jars and see what I've got. I can't wait!

The Great Bean Experiment--Part VI

          Just a week or so has passed since the last report, and so much has already changed in my garden. The Royal Burgundy snap bean plants are even taller.

          They have purple blossoms all over them.

          The Northeaster pole beans have climbed all the way to the top of their trellis

          Now they are doubling back down again, looking for support. I love how they twirl around each other.

          The Blue Lake Beans in front of the wooden trellis have white blossoms. The black-eyes in front of the wire cages are still growing right along.

          The Red Noodle yard-long beans are growing slowly, but steadily up the inside of the wire cages. They seem to be the late bloomers of the bunch.

 

          All in all, everything looks healthy and right on time. We do not usually get a frost or bad weather until November 1st. If there are beans, they should be harvested by then.

 

 

Late Summer Roses

          With the intense heat of summer, the roses in my garden are few and far between. I did find a few lovely ones to share:

 

Pinwheels are for the Birds

          Yesterday evening, I planted all sorts of new seeds in my autumn garden: Kale, turnips, arugula, cilantro, onions, carrots, mustard greens, and beets. Of course, no matter what I do out there, it never goes unnoticed by the birds who call it home. So, while I was at the grocery store this morning, I bought a few little sparkly decorations.

          I think they are pretty. The birds do not like them. Thus, they stay out of my vegetable beds and do not eat the tender little sprouts as they are just making their way out of the ground.



          Within moments of poking the staffs of the pinwheels into the soil, they went right to work.

Getting Ready to Dye

          Next weekend I will be taking a class in making hand-dyed fabrics. Years ago, I had seen this moment coming. (Not via a crystal ball, my dear friends. I simply wanted to learn how to dye fabrics and hoped that, eventually, the opportunity would present itself.) To make a long story short, I just happened upon an online vendor who wanted to unload yards and yard of PFD (prepared for dying) white fabric at a very good price.

          That has been such a long time ago. So long, as a matter of fact, that I am not sure of the manufacturer or brand. I believe it is Kona cotton, and from that way it cuts. I am fairly sure that is true. The fabric has been sitting in the closet for so many years, though, and is looking rather dingy. My teacher thought it might be a good idea to give it a rinse in Synthrapol before trying to dye it.

          I will also be dying some PFD white fabric that is typical of that used to make batiks. My teacher has that waiting for me.

          My first task was to cut my own fabric into 12 fat quarters. Since the fabric is 60 inches wide, I actually cut "fat sixths", which are 18 X 20 inches.

          I am also dying a tee shirt as part of the class. Since, I look terrible in regular crew neck tee shirts, I went to Ross Dress for Less and picked up this Jones New York boat neck half-sleeve tee for $13.99. The MSRP was $38.00. (I think you know by now that I do like deals.) It should make a good top for yoga classes.

 

          As you can see here, the tee is more of a snowy white whereas the cut fabric is a little on the creamy side. I am not sure how much that will influence the final look of the hand-dyes. We'll see.

          The next step will be to rinse the tee shirt and the fabric in a Synthrapol bath. With items that small, I don't bother to fire up the washing machine. I just mix up a solution of Synthrapol and water in a huge mixing bowl designated for that purpose. Then I rinse using plain water in the same bowl. I like this method because it takes less water, it saves electricity, and my fabrics don't get beat up and frayed in the washing machine. After rinsing, I hang everything on the line to dry.

         I am really excited about this upcoming class. I promise to post pictures.

It's Raining Red Peppers!

 



  

          As summer draws to an end, the cayenne pepper bushes in my little garden are heavy with fruit. Heaven knows what I am going to do with it all. Some I will dry for later use in cooking, but there are more than I will ever need over the course of a year. I did read that it is possible to make a natural garden pesticide using cayenne peppers. I might give that a try. Stay tuned!

 

Asparagus to Zia



          This spring I planted my largest raised bed with alternating rows of asparagus crowns and tomato seedlings. There were many reasons I did that. First of all, I had previously tried raising asparagus and had no success at all. I believe the soil in the other bed was too hard. Secondly, I knew that the asparagus was a long term project and wouldn't mature for two years. Maybe I could squeeze in some tomatoes while I waited? If worse came to worse, and the asparagus came to naught, at least I would have tomatoes.

 

          During the summer, as the tomato plants grew to be about four feet tall, I could see the occasional wisp of an asparagus frond here and there. I wasn't sure how many were down beneath the tomato foliage. I had planted everything fairly close together.

 

          At the end of summer, I pulled out the expired tomato plants and was surprised to see that 10 out of the 16 asparagus crowns had sprouted. And once they had the raised bed to themselves, they flourished. Below is a picture, but it is difficult to see the plants because they are so feathery and delicate. The spears are about three feet tall.

  

 

          Here is Zia, or "Zee", lounging in the bed now that it is relatively empty. You can see the asparagus foliage a little more closely in this picture. 

 

          I will plant turnips between the rows of asparagus this autumn. Maybe some bok choy, too. With an small urban garden, every little empty space must be utilized.



Whimsical Sky Applique

          Layer by layer, I am continuing to applique my whimsical sky. This is my own design, so I don't have the luxury of simply cutting and stitching someone else's pattern. As a result, I have to do a lot of planning between every piece. I am enjoying working with these soft fabrics. They make hand applique a pleasure!

 

The Great Bean Experiment--Part III

          It is hard to believe that I planted all of these beans exactly one month ago.

          The Royal Burgundy snap beans are robust and putting out tiny purple blossoms. It won't be long before there are some tiny bean pods if all goes well.

          After a bit of a worrisome start, the Blue Lake bush beans in the foreground seem to be doing well. No more of the plants have been gnawed down by hungry pill bugs.

          The Northeaster pole beans in the back of the bed have surpassed the top to their trellis and are now doubling back or looking for something else to climb. I am trying to keep them from meandering over the fence into Neighbor Tony's yard.

          The black-eye peas are also coming right along. I have noticed that their leaves are a little lighter in color and smaller than the bean plants, but they look healthy and normal. The Red Noodle yard-long beans, which had me confused as I wrote the last progress update, have answered my question. I had assumed they were climbing beans since they were going to be growing yard-long beans, but they were not putting out any climbing tendrils like the Northeaster beans. I had put wire cage supports up for them, but they were just sitting there acting like bush beans.

          I am happy to report that although the Red Noodles had been taking their sweet time, they now have tendrils. They are definitely climbers!

Finishing the Satin Stitch

           I feel like I have been satin stitching on this wall hanging forever!

 

 

          With the decorative stitching finished, this top is almost ready to be sandwiched with a batting and a backing. There are several things that need to be done first to ensure that the satin stitching stays in place.

 

          First of all, what can we do with those messy thread ends? I can't write or "say" this loudly enough: DO NOT CUT THEM OFF! If you get in a hurry and clip them from the front, the satin stitch will unravel. If you pull the thread ends through to the back and clip them short, the stitching will also unravel. It might take a little while, but your hard work will come undone. 

 

           There are two different methods I use for keeping the thread ends hidden and the satin stitching intact:

 

          1. If you are working on a top that had not yet been sandwiched, gently pull the thread ends to the wrong side. Sometimes, you might have to thread them on a needle, then pull them through to the back that way. Next, dab a dot of Fray Check right where the thread end comes through the back to keep it from working its way back out. Let the Fray Check dry, then clip the thread about an inch and one half or two inches away from the fabric, leaving a tail. Don't worry about it dangling there. It will eventually be sandwiched inside your quilt and no one will ever know about it.

 

          2. If your quilt is already sandwiched and you need to get rid of the loose thread ends, thread them onto a needle one by one and bury them horizontally in your batting for several inches. Then push the needle out of the batting, exiting on the back of the quilt. Clip off the tail of the thread. If your thread is exceptionally springy like rayon and looks like it is still threatening to unravel, you can also dab a little bit of Fray Check on the ends of your rows of satin stitching. You may need to do this on the front of the quilt, but be extremely careful. Dip a toothpick into the Fray Check, then apply it to your stitching. Don't try to put the Fray Check directly on your work using the plastic bottle that it comes in. Friends of mine have literally had to throw their work away when the product comes out much, much faster than was ever intended.

 

          That should secure your stitching. I will give you another tip to dress up your satin stitch in a future post.



Your Toadstools, My Treasures

          Yesterday while I was visiting the ranch where I board my horse, I spied two magnificently huge mushrooms. Their caps were at least eight inches in diameter. More importantly, they were completely intact.

          Briefly I scolded myself for not bringing my camera along.

         It wasn't long before I ran into one of the ranch managers, though, so I just asked him if I could have the toadstools to take home, photograph, and use as inspiration for my art work. He was absolutely fine with that since most customers who talk to him are wanting him to clean their horse's stall. As a matter of fact, he acknowledged that the sizes and shapes of the mushrooms were all so different and interesting. He smiled. He didn't even look at me funny.

          After I finished my last quilt, "It's Raining Mushrooms In California", I really thought I was finished with using any more fungus--no matter how delightful or varied--as a subject matter for my art work. I guess not. The minute I saw those mushrooms yesterday, my creative mind was off and racing.

           

 

 

 

 

Mustard is Up, Down, and Under!

          On August 13, 2012 I planted Pacific Gold Mustard seeds in one of my larger raised beds. For those of you who might have not been following my blog at the time, the mustard was planted as a cover crop rather than to eat. The mustard is supposed to control nematodes, which are a microscopic worm that plagues our soil here in the Central San Joaquin Valley of California.

          By August 16, the seeds had sprouted.

         Today--less than a month later--this is what the bed looks like. The plants are about eight inches tall with a roots that go down about six inches.

 

          Today was the day to dig up the mustard and turn it into the soil. As I shoveled, I found lots of juicy earthworms--a very good sign of healthy soil. I always feel terrible about turning their little homes upside down. As a yogi who practices non-violence, or ahimsa, I always make sure the uprooted worms are put back onto some soft, moist loam where they can resume digging their tunnels.

 

           In a week or so, after the mustard plants have begun to decompose, I will plant some root vegetables in this bed. If the veggies thrive and have roots without knots, it means that the mustard has controlled the nematodes.

   

 

           While I worked, Panda kept a look out for those bossy scrub jays who love to tell us how to run "their" garden.

 

 

          Zee, who is supposed to be going for a walk every day as per doctor's orders, just hung out on the grass and looked cute. 

 



 

          At least I got MY exercise!