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,

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.

i received two men's robes

both cotton indigo that my friend found in japan

i promptly washed them.

the lined one had accumulated years of dirt and dust which

i washed once

and rinsed at least a dozen times.

both pieces dried on a very hot day in a very

short time.

are scented now with north country summer

not dust.

the ikat patterning on the lined piece

and the lining

nearby

the chimney brick with the lichen patterning sits in the sun

it has become the perch of some bird--lots of what we as kids used to call bird-do

but still color that inspires me.

i have been making some contact prints with the square flax sheets

and cloth, this is old cotton

here you can see a flax square

and the red daylily spent blossoms.

the flax square still wet

concrete steps are the perfect background, if narrow.

and i made some more linen paper.

justaposition:

a. plain raw flax paper b. linen fabric, my sister's pants by Flax

c. two sheets of the above with fabric inclusion d. linen paper (made solely from above

cloth

i decided to travel to maine

and then i undecided

and took a happy walk yesterday evening

overlooked by luna

below that sky was the july harvest baled for the neighbor's cattle.

first time i ever remember it being cut almost on time.

evening shadows.

two pair of little ruby throated hummingbirds played at the feeders

this morning.

i'm wearing cotton socks on my feet today,

celebrating happy respite from the humid heat.

over on fb i found a photo of two of my favorite australians

that i just had to share.

colleen and brian

collen of the astonishing hair, brian enwrapped in a hat and scarf,

probably needled by colleen.

and the title above?

i was going to maine today.

but i decided not to. i love my maine family

i wanted to see them and

see the ocean and

visit the arctic museum

but

i wanted to stay home,

with the round bales and the hummingbirds

and the cresent moon

and the blessed cool weather, more.

i am off to make more prints and paper

and hang out my laundry and go to town

to resume mail delivery.

i'm home for a while.