during this gift of time that i gave myself
avoiding traveling and instead doing some necessary things
i've cleaned.
cleaned out the intensely untidy
and overstuffed closet in my studio.
which has lead to other things
as many cleaning projects do,
the bookshelves that hold equipment,
the unders- and overs- that also stashed "supplies"
mostly fiber in the form of
raw or prepared fiber
cloth
paper.
i found this little bag of madder root
that i bought from Trudy Van Stralen
the author of Indigo, Madder and Marigold
and
owner of Hilltop Wools
back in the 80's when I worked (briefly) for her.
Trudy died in 2015,
her business lives on run by her son, i believe.
i soaked them overnight or so
and then cut them up a bit and then soaked more
and cut them up again
nothing was longer than 1/2 inch by the time i was done,
i could have chopped them in the blender but i was tired of this work
and besides, i wanted to dye.
i'm not sure but i don't think i've ever done my very own madder dyepot.
i was once told by a *famous* (unnamed) dyer that madder goes bad after a while.
so i sent my newer bag off to a friend with good wishes for her to use it.
so in the ethers both tim mclaughlin and sarah swett recently became enamoured with madder.
i indulged myself after finding this old bag of 250 grams of madder.
i cooked on low heat, well under boiling,
but i don't have a thermometer
(well, i do, but can i find it?)
but it was a lovely color blood orange sanpellegrino
stained the paint strainer bag
one little swath of kozo i just dipped in for a bit
part of my quest was to find fiber to dye so i can use my new tapestry pipe loom
with wool
before i try the other stuff
(do it proper first, gurl)
it was really almost red,
but has oranged out some now.
meanwhile this was happening in the dining room
while i unburdened all the containers,
while i unburdened all the containers,
closet from hell,
under the tables and etc.
there is an abundance that i wish i could be
somewhat unburdened of.
this closet under the stairs is actually organized now.
this is the next big step after the fiber--
much fiber went to places--
the paper mills at home and at school,
some to recycle,
some to compost.
that box of bottles under my studio table is 40 years old
each bottle a lichen vat dye.
gifted to me by jean reynolds from cranberry lake.
in about 1980.
and my lovely partner has made a wagon from our trees he
marked for harvest
cut and hauled last winter.
the sawyer came and made the boards
and it's now been screwed into a usable and "free" wagon.
a huge accomplishment.
home work
homework.
the best work.
