A photo post to catch up on my posts.

I started this blog as a way to help me remember what I have been doing, as well as a way to share my work with others. I have been lax with posting these aide mémoire so I will do a kind of photo album with captions as a way to catch up without spending hours writing. I hope the photos will be enough to help me remember the events...that is if they have not already faded from memory. Thank goodness for cameras and other recording devices. 
I don't keep up with my posts in the summer because I am outside working on the garden and yard whenever it is not pouring rain. Hard work outside is a key to happiness for me. This year I harvested enough strawberries to eat, freeze, and to make a double batch of jam. Picked 16 pounds of black raspberries, some of which got frozen; though many were eaten over vanilla ice cream! SO YUMMY! 

 I canned many jars of tomatos, sauce, and soup stock. I havested vegetables in the evenings for dinner. It makes me feel like I have something to contribute to the household since I am not finacially able to do much. 
Along with the harvesting I did a lot of collecting of plant material for dyeing and eco printing. Here are some examples that I have not shown here before. Marigold petals and cosmos from my garden gave good color. Plum leaves gave that gorgeous plum purple. ;)

I experimented with mordants...

The photo above is of the same piece of cloth premordanted with alum. I then dipped different sections in copper water, vinegar, and washing soda.

In August I needed to get back to felting for some up coming craft shows. Some bags got finished...

 

and a wine bottle holder...

a scarf or two...

 

and some jewelry. Most of the jewelry was made in a fantastic workshop with Judit Pocs. What a sweet person and a superstar feltmaker. I am SO glad that I had the opportunity to take her class.

I took advantage of some nice days to wash fleeces.

The grey Border Leister/Shetland was used in the grease to make my purse. It did not need much washing. The brown Icelandic however....smelly dirty, but such a pretty color, some of it is almost red.

I finally got around to making the fall jacket I wanted. I have had the fabric and wool for well over a year...just waiting. First I made yardage and then tried to figure out a way to make it wearable.

 I wore my jaclet at the Southern Adirondack Fiber festival where I helped my friend Robin Blakney-Carlson with her booth. I demonstrated how I create a landscapes to promote my upcoming class at Robin's studio, while Robin showed her great skill at Nuno felting. I was interviewed for a newspaper in Glens Falls while I was covering for Robin who was teaching a class. My landscape was a flop. I didn't have a reference photo, all my colors of wool,  and the lighting was bad...how's that for excuses. Oh well they can't all be winners and I find I learn more from the mistakes. I decided that it will make a cool tote bag if I fold and sew it.

My current projects are two pieces that I am doing for the upcoming Granby Land Trust Art show that I try to enter every year. This years theme is about agriculture in the Farmington Valley.  I am working on a felt landscape of Cherry Brook Farm in Canton, CT. Here is the layout.

I am also working on a piece in colored pencil. I am actually enjoying drawing again.

Next up will be preparing to teach at Robin's in November and down near Washington, DC. at the end of this month. I want to do a bit of dyeing for those classes. I also have to frame some things for this years show and sale at Wesleyan Potters.

And of course I am still visiting the garden.. I had no idea that the Morning Glories would grow enough to cover my folly.

I love Morning Glories!