The Height of Summer

 With many new projects on the horizon, 

pausing to enjoy a few summer pleasures is just the ticket.

 A backyard camp fire with Jeff,

 brewing up sunflower dye (before they're gone!),

and cooking up scrumptious 

Strawberry Vanilla Jam. 

In the Studio, wool felt is the current material of choice

and I'm designing some beautiful, quick-sew projects! 

Kits will soon be available for sale in my Etsy shop. 

Stay tuned for details!

Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion 

in last week's post about art and education in America. 

It's an important topic and I truly 

appreciate your thoughts and opinions. 

Here on the blog, I'm keeping the door open to discussion 

and sharing ideas about delivering creative 

opportunities to young people. 

Interested in workshop ideas, I'd love to hear about 

your favorite workshops with young people. 

Wishing everyone a beautiful week!

Ever Expanding

 Drying mushrooms for exciting dye experiments.

 Over at the pot, after steeping for five days, 
two bundles were unfurled...

Silk, ferns, iron, linen.

I can hardly wait to show you what is coming of 
all of these experiments. 
I can tell you that my horizons are expanding. 
My imagination is soaring.
My hands are working the needle, 
all of which make my heart very happy.

More to come from the Studio, 
but right now, I'd like to introduce you to a few artists 
and a hot topic (to me.) 

The serendipitous meeting of fiber artist
 Christine Mauersberger 

on a woodland path at Squam two months ago 
has led to, among other things, my awareness of 
Cat Bennett. 

I found Cat Bennett by way of Christine's blog.

While these are not my own words, 
 as an artist I can definitely get behind the message,
especially during a time when art programs are 
being cut from our public schools. 
  Following is an excerpt from Cat Bennett's website. 
Please click this link to read her complete post 
and to see the video on Huffington Post Live:

The show was inspired by an article on The Huffington Post about Andrew Bott, principal of the Orchard Gardens Elementary School, in inner city Boston, which was rife with disorder and low test scores when he took over in 2010. Among his interventions was replacing 80% of the teachers, firing the security staff and hiring art teachers instead. The results were a dramatic reduction in mayhem and much higher test scores.

So what exactly does art do? First, even with minimal skills, people are able to express themselves, an empowering experience. We all have a deep desire to simply be seen and heard.  (Please click the link above to read Cat Bennett's full post.)

What are your thoughts about art and education in America?

Pies and Prints

Introducing July's "Personal Pie Challenge" pie:

(irresistible) Blueberry Hand Pies!

I'd definitely make these again because 

they fit in your hand and the fillings are unlimited. 

Fun, versatile and very satisfying to make...and eat! 

Click the link for this classic taste of summer: 

Blueberry Hand Pies 

The eco-printing bug has bitten! 

Here are a few results from my first adventure.

(Silk habotai and alum mordant.)

Fern from the woods. 

I think the rosie areas are echinacea petals
which were sprinkled on after the previous photo was taken.

 I had to try the rose leaf. 

And yes, it's every bit as satisfying to peel back  

those spent leaves as I thought it would be.

It's easy to imagine sewing just a small scrap

to a favorite soft T-shirt or skirt, hand stitching around

those sweet leaf shapes.

 Next, I took a few uneventful pieces of silk from earlier experiments
and sprinkled lily petals all over the surface. 
I wadded up the silk and mashed the bundle with my hands.
With all that squishing I felt like a kid again! 

The thin dark strip of silk is the result of rose leaves
embedded in concertina folds, then steamed.
Once steamed, I bound the bundle between two pieces 
of iron and dropped it in a jar of hibiscus tea. 
I let that sit in the sun for a few days. 
I'm happy with the results from all of these experiments, 
and continue to turn my wheels on ways to 
incorporate them into my own garments and quilts.

After a breakfast of fresh blueberries and peaches, 
I'll head out the back door to gather plants
and make some bundles. I'll share the results next week!

Under Summer Skies

After a relaxing family getaway at Keuka Lake, 

I returned home and fired up another dye pot:

Yarrow

The silk habotai & silk-cotton thread shown here 

are much more acidic in color than any example 

I've seen in books, and I'm very pleased.

For me, half the fun of dying is not knowing what will happen.

The last photo shows hibiscus (deep pink) 

immersion-dyed silk gauze and silk-cotton thread. 

I especially like the mottled pinks in the thread!

So much is happening around the Studio 

that I've got to spread it out over a handful of posts. 

 I'm having a blast working on my pie baking (yes!), 

 some hand sewing for my wardrobe,

drawings from the garden 

and bundling eco-prints. 

I'd love to hear what's keeping you busy this summer.  :)

Full Tilt

 Last weekend, the studio was at full tilt! 

I had tons of fun - pounding, wrapping, solar & immersion dyeing.

Above: pounding peonies and violets in silk habotai, 
Lac immersion dye for more silk habotai & silk-cotton thread 

 ...resisting on itself for stellar stitching. :)

I'll share more results as solar and wrapped dye experiments

finish cooking over the next few weeks.

In the down time between dye methods, 

I whipped up a batch of pea shoot pesto.

 Dwarf Pea Shoots in the garden: 

pinch small, tender shoots for salads, sandwiches & pesto!

Pea shoot pesto and chicken salad.

I made up the pesto based on what I had on hand:

A few bunches of pea shoots, fill the food processor

2-3 garlic cloves, peeled

2 generous handfuls of sunflower seeds (or walnuts)

A generous pinch of salt

I didn't, but you could add parmesan cheese

Whirrrrr it all together in your food processor

and slowly drizzle in

4-6 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Keep whirring until it looks like pesto!

Store in an airtight container in the fridge, 

or longer in the freezer.

Delicious and packed with nutrients, 

this pesto is a winner at our house!

If you try it, let me know what you think.

Before I sign off for the week, I have to be 

honest about the pie recipe I made and shared 

with you last week. We dug into it Sunday night, 
and sadly it turned out to be a flop. 

From what I could tell, the wet fruit filling 

prevented the topping from staying dry and crumbly, 

turning it instead into hot goop. 

Too bad, because I really had my hopes up for that one.

Well, there's always July's pie... 

Lemony-Buttermilk Pie or Blueberry Ginger Pie?

Leave your vote in Comments!

Red, White and Blue

 Here's what's happening around the house & studio today:

I started this Alabama Chanin-inspired cotton jersey flag 

last summer and am only picking it up again now. 

There's something special about hand sewing the American flag; 

between the stitching, the meaning of our flag 

and the end use of this piece, 
it continues to be a very satisfying project.

 Little experiments...
ready for steeping over the holiday break,

a bit of India Flint-inspired silk-cotton thread wraps.

Thread and silk gauze steeping in rose hips. (Wow!)

Today's grand finale:
Making good on this month's personal pie challenge,

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Ginger Crumb Topping

Providing the rains hold off, tonight we'll slice into this beauty 
and savor it around the camp fire.
With cinnamon in the fruit filling and ginger in the buttery 
crumb topping, I have a feeling this is going to be outstanding.

If you try any of these pie recipes (one a month) 
let me know what you think. Pies are fairly new 
territory for me and I appreciate tips, tricks 
and darn good recipes!

Summer has indeed arrived, and if you're looking for 
summer reading suggestions head over to 
Tracy's blog, My Retiring Life for a fantastic list.

Here's to our Red, White and Blue! 
Wishing everyone a safe, fun and festive 
Independence Day Celebration.

Pleasing Pinks

I don't know about you, but June is one of those months 

that sneaks up on me. BAM! The days fast become a blur.  

Thankfully, during the first week of June I can always 

look to these gentle giants, Japanese Tree Peonies, 

for a sense of calm. 

 Despite June's frantic pace, yesterday 

I managed to start a dye pot following ice flower 

dye instructions from India Flint's book, Eco Colour. 

After 24 hours in an Iris and Peony concoction, 

the roving (gifted from my dear friend Marjorie) 

and tightly bundled silk habotai & silk gauze 

achieved a light pink. 

Feeling their color wouldn't get much deeper, 

I moved them to a shallow tray containing the 

liquid remains of a jar of pickled beet juice (above). 

  

Tomorrow I'll check their progress.

I really hope the roving's color will wick

from deep magenta to light pink. 

Cross your fingers for some beautiful summer spinning!

At our house, pink yarrow is flourishing.  

Darn my luck, another dye pot in my future.

 French Breakfast Radish.

For eating, not for dyeing. ;)

While they're milder than round varieties 

we've grown in the past, their tender small 

leaves certainly spice up a tossed salad.

 I'm hooked!

 I've got a few more natural dye experiments

up my sleeve that I'll share right here 

over the course of the summer. 

I have a feeling this month's pie challenge 

recipe is one you won't want to miss: 

(not just any) Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. 

Come back next week for the lip smackin' results!