a whole week poured into one post




 How overwhelming the blogging becomes if you don't keep at it and feel there is so much one wants to share, for although I've been home for the most part of this week (just two short trips into town) I feel a lot has been happening; thanks to the absolutely lovely summer weather, not too hot, warm enough to prance about in a bikini whilst being very active. As a result we, meaning myself and our youngest son, managed to get loads of odd jobs in the garden done (I made a list lest we forget what I felt was imperative)
We cleared out a very messy border at the back, just outside the north facing kitchen window, where I intend to sow a mixture of grasses and meadow flowers, 'easy to maintain' she optimistically said to self; we pruned the hazel bushes along the entrance path to a reasonable height, letting so much more light shine upon the cars and of course those entering the garden! we started cutting back the ivy along the east facing fence, still a long way to go there; we cut away all the superfluous ivy on the entrance bower, now looking very trim and proper; we tidied up the paths by pulling up the plants I don't want growing between the cracks; furthermore there was endless sweeping of leaves, sweet chestnut (Castanea Sativa) catkins, linden (Tilia) fruit and the gathering of poppy seed heads for yet another Interesting Project; we also kept the areas where we had done our whacking tidy by throwing the green stuff onto the compost heap and driving the other junk over to the council's recycle-station; I even vacuumed the porch all over, yes you read it right, more or less dust free now; cleaned the down stairs windows, indoors and outside (in fact, did quite a lot of house cleaning).....ah the glorious feeling as the sun shines through once more....how satisfied one feels with all the chores accomplished, for a while at least
 


 despite all the horticultural activities I also went for walks with Django, dyed and over-dyed several items, looked at, admired & smelled the blooming roses and thistles, rubbed-for-scent and nibbled many herbal leaves, enjoyed both shade and sun, read a marvelous novel 'Music and Silence' by Rose Tremain a gift from my mother, who being Danish must have thoroughly enjoyed this particular book as it is mainly situated at the Royal Danish Court round 1629, I certainly did; I then started reading 'the Seed Collectors' by Scarlet Thomas - with wonderful cover - another book I bought in the lovely bookshop in Biggar; cooked easy food: summer stew









rediscovered this poor bird who had managed to fall to his death in the heart shaped tray

in amongst the uprooted plants from the border was this strange root ball, what is it?


one bed done...



....another one still awaiting a face-lift


yesterday (Saturday) we had a storm raging over the country, it had blown in from France, to be fair it wasn't nearly as bad has had been predicted, 't was supposed to be the worst since 1901 or some such year

this morning in the woods we noticed just this one huge willow branch had succumbed to the winds, for the rest mainly leaves and twigs were strewn about 

a light and airy result: bundle from the copper pot with onion skins and avocado peels, coin&washer clamped; it had been in the red dirt dye, however all of the reds disappeared, even with a soy mordant no luck, will have to do more research in that field.


this is surely 'the landscape' cloth (it reminds me of Japanese water colours), it's the piece in top pic wrapped around the copper pan, which had been left wicking whilst we were in Scotland and then the bottom half was steeped in same pot for a couple of days for an over-dye as it hadn't had enough I felt; the images don't do it justice I'm sorry to say




here a tiny piece, sewn this week in the evenings sitting next to himself as he watches the telly, with between the layers curly wool gathered on our hike along Hadrian's wall

I have a habit of wrapping delicate stuff I find, in this case birds' eggshells, in leaves, here the drying leaf has shrunk and folded itself so completely you can see the outline of the egg and it is just so beautiful I will leave it as is (bird drawing btw was made by eldest son 11 years ago)


river-clay vessel turned out to be a useful receptacle for the collection of egg shells 


'landscape no.2'
I was going to make 4 of these, one for each family member on our travels in the U.K; it consists of two layers with stitched 'pockets' created by following the shibori demarcations, filled with stuff I found on our journey, such as the aforementioned wool, and a yellow flower from Hadrian's Wall - which left a yellow stain on the 'back' -  and clematis leaves I took from the walled garden in Argrennan and pressed and sewed in top row; however as I got to stitching I lost the desire to make four of the same and ended up with one; I haven't washed this piece as there is also a trickle of the Red Dirt and I'm not going to wear this or incorporate it into anything that needs washing



lovely shop in Edinburgh where I chose (and he paid for) this necklace by Stephanie Cole (blog in sidebar)

....and still it feels as if most of what has happened remains untold


Comments

Anonymous said…
today your blog pictures are like a lovely walk through a beloved place , the 2 pic. are like scotisch heath hills ( close my eyes and inhale the smell ) and that on a cold / wet 26 juli evening sitting before my p c . The necklace is perfect made for you ; i remember the rabbit water/paintings a few months ago.
great isn't it .
groetjes M.
Mo Crow said…
wow what a full week Saskia! is that a globe thistle in the photo next to the rose? that's a weird mutation on the uprooted border plant... perhaps it's some type of insect nest? have you dissected it? love all the subtle colours and lines from your dye pot
Dana said…
I am in awe of your industry...it does feel good to straighten up when life feels messy. Your dyed cloth is exquisite! Your necklace looks great on you...what a good souvenir.
Nancy said…
Perhaps I can feel inspired to get something done today...you've been so productive! I love seeing your world through your eyes. Such beauty, sigh. I know just how you feel about having lots to share, but not getting to it. That's what I've been going through too. Love the 3 feathers. DO you know what birds they are from?
Debbie said…
You are obviously on a roll, what a lot of work, lovely photos, beautiful cloths, love the landscape one.
THANK YOU!!! for all of this and more of your wizardry of wicking....

all such Beauty for me here in this desert morning....

LOVE
Marti said…
The wrapped skillet, I can't tell you how many times Saskia I have gone to look at that one photo although all of these photos in this post are wonderful. Still, when I look at that skillet, I see a landscape that reminds me of where we were yesterday. Rich and I went to a county fair in Cuba, about 60 miles from our home. It rained softly and parts of the mesas were misted and looked foggy and ethereal and I see that in the skillet photo. The land there is filled with fir trees, deep red earth, sage and so much more green than down where I am. Cuba is 7000 ft elevation, here I am at a little over 5300 ft...so this is all by way of saying Saskia, that although we live many, many miles apart, different geographic worlds, in this one instance, in the photo of your cloth wrapped copper skillet, I saw home...
Anonymous said…
I know what you mean about the days going by and feeling there is so much to relate and not knowing how to begin or finish -- and yet, you did an admirable job here! Love your dye experiments and the rows of stitching on pale blue... I found a dead bird in the garden this morning and am wondering what to do with it. Another rests in the freezer. That necklace IS perfect for you!!
Liz A said…
I am here to thank you for the wicking inspiration ... and to say I miss you. That said, you still have your sons at home and I truly don't know how you find time to blog, too.
Julie S said…
hoping all is ok there
Saskia said…
hi to all:

yes i'm still here and all is well; had a week off and was extremely busy: guests both weekends and am now off to amsterdam in a couple of minutes.....a lot of reorganizing upstairs with the eldest moving out and stuff needing to be rearranged.......studio being fixed in places, and so on and so forth, blah blah boring

tungsten

tungsten

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