Yorkshire Dales

first holiday breakfast on British soil, in York; gluten-free bread rolls of course!
the husband and self enjoying a week away in the UK....we sailed from Rotterdam to Hull, drove to York and from there to Aysgarth in the Yorkshire Dales, such an incredibly beautiful landscape, empty, just like we love it

in York we visited several bookshops, where I noticed this little gem, however did not buy it (why not?? I now think, maybe I'll find it somewhere else)

love their sense of humour

yup: that's him

my kind of art

and finally: our escape to the countryside; a lovely walk through fields and along the river, a churchyard and finally a restaurant: food and wine at the end of a long day

 impressions of the various walks, these past couple of days plus yet another photo of scrumptious GF cake: Courgette&Lime this time, I could get used to this

 the weather has been exceptionally hot, dry and sunny for several weeks now in Northern Europe, as are the Dales so we have been very fortunate in that respect; I do wonder what it would have been like if the weather had been 'normal' i.e. drizzle and mist....we met a couple of Texans who were rather disappointed they didn't get the fog and rain experience they were hoping for, haha

tomorrow we head on South to the Peak District where apart from hiking and more sightseeing, we will also be visiting friends.....

it is what it is.....

hanging out to dry

huge walnut leaf

to be perfectly honest (and why wouldn't I be?) I was very disappointed with the first results: hardly any kind of imprints; so back to the drawing board, and more willow leaves were rolled into the bundles (from the grey willow rather than the yellow one which I first used, haven't yet sorted out if that makes a difference) and hydrangea flowers from a friend, as they happened to be wilting in a vase - have I mentioned it is deliciously HOT! over here, a dry heat, very summery indeed - and then some cloth strips were refolded and wrapped around copper pipes ; all the bundles went into a stainless steel bowl together with an old alum mix from 2016 I found at the back of my dye cupboard  for good measure; I added a teaspoon of alum and a generous measure of copper/vinegar, also rediscovered in the dye cupboard; I am pretty sure the aluminium pot first time round contained old colours, which is why the oak apple mordant gave such rich tints, instead of being neutral.

I am quite satisfied, although not completely over the moon with the final, very subtle results and say to self 'it's the process that counts not the end result'

However I have not made notes and therefore will not be able to replicate exactly, hmmm so much for my initial determination to act with forethought and a system! it is how I do things

best cloth, as it as leaf imprint, walnut, and several shades of brown

I like this one as you can actually see the leaf veins, walnut again, in this case a huge leaf, i.e. larger than my hand

willow outlines