Blue and green

 Working on the mojo.  Don't you feel sometimes like if you just cleaned out a kitchen drawer or the bathroom closet or SOMETHING that you feel a little more in control?  I get that with my stash.  There are so many small pieces that just can't be scraps yet but are just...small.  But I'm tired of moving them around.  What I discovered is I really, really like pairing things that are just weird by themselves. 

I decided to take those on in two colors.  The nine patches are mostly greenish and the sawtooth stars are mostly blueish.  And then put them together. The placement is not finished but the rows are put together because I decided it didn't matter about placement. I am most decidedly NOT that kind of fussy. Scrappy is scrappy.  It's in the name.  As I walk past this I smile so it seems to be working for me.  I have sawtooth star blocks for two more rows and then I have a decision to make.  Bigger or move on?  Who knows?

Changing leaves

 Just in case you think I've abandoned the tree, I didn't.  But almost did.  June and July got away from me and suddenly it was middle of August so I thought I'd better do something or it would soon be October. My pattern has been to collect about two weeks of temperatures and then stitch but I let two MONTHS go.  I'm still not happy with the colors.  What are some of you who are doing this tree going to do with your piece after it's finished?  

Truth be told, I have not had any desire to pick up a needle of any kind for weeks.  Sometimes I go through a no-mojo spell and just leave it.  When that happens it can take a lot for me to get back into the mood.  I read something the other day that advised "just take one step forward" so I did.  I picked up the tree.  It's so not anything like the pattern but tree leaves are sort of all over the place anyway, aren't they?   Taking that step worked for some piecing, too.  I haven't even thought of fabric for the whole summer but while it's hot and humid....again....and I'm cooped up inside for most of it there was no excuse.  Beats purging closets. 

There are three little red ground squirrels who will NOT leave the bird feeders alone.  I even bought two new ones that have weighted perches but these squirrels are so little and they learned how to bypass and just gobble the food.  It's a constant battle.  I think a little red squirrel needs to be in that tree.

Grands are making their back to school plans.  This side of the state starts next week Tuesday, the east side of the state starts Sept. 2 this year  Labor Day is early.  College kids are back now. 

The shadows are changing and lengthening, so fall is starting, pumpkin spice is everywhere but it's still hot and humid and I long for some relief.  Staying out of the stores because I can't look at Christmas creeping in yet. 

To Dye For

 One day each summer our museum holds a day camp for kids, each year historically themed.  This year it was the fur traders who set up trading posts along the rivers in Michigan.  

The idea is to do a craft project that might reflect the theme.  This year we offered the kids dyeing with natural stuffs, painting a small canoe - the mode of transportation for the traders, making a leather pouch and dipping candles.

Friend Laurie and I did the natural dyeing project.  We read up on natural dyes, the process, the suggestions.  The more we read the more confused we were.  Are blueberries a dye or a stain?  What about black walnut hulls, would someone with a nut allergy suffer?  You can get really pretty colors from avocado hulls and the seed but they take lots of time in the dye bath.

And what to use for the dye pot?  The dye is supposed to be a hot bath.  I had a eureka moment at our thrift store when I saw these old coffee urns for $2. each.  We ended up with marigold flowers, which are a fool proof dye, onion skins, another fool proof option and we had a smaller amount of red onion skins but I thought "why not?"

Friend Laurie helped the kids tie their shirts 

This was the dye for the yellow onion skins.  I've used them for Easter eggs and they come out brown, these shirts came out a golden fall yellow.

The marigolds ( I used only the yellow flowers ) came out a beautiful lemon yellow.

Now, the directions for dyeing say the item should sit in the dye for about an hour.  The kids don't have that kind of attention span we discovered too late.  They were "dipped and done." 

We didn't have access to running water so set up a rinse station.  Four buckets, each coming out a little lighter with each rinse.

And here they are, hanging to dry on the pickle ball fence.  I was more concerned with getting all seven in the photo than showing their individual designs and the designs were quite subtle anyway.

We had time to kill.  Lots of time. LOTS.  So for a just in case activity we brought flowers, mallets and hammers and pounded flowers.  

It was a learning experience.  Some flowers gave no color, some gave a lot. We learned to take the flower apart and put it back together face down on the cloth, building the flower back again.

They tried leaves, found red roses gave a purple, hydrangeas gave no color, pansies were perfect.

We had one shirt left and some dye in the pots so I dipped the top half in the yellow onion dye and the bottom half in the red onion pot.  The fun thing was the red onion skin dye turned green, a beautiful olive green when it came in contact with air.  Even knowing this, the kids all chose the marigold pot with one little guy choosing the yellow onion skin pot.