Baskets and Such

Well you can see that I have a load of basketry materials. I bought these at a yard sale some 3 years ago for a few dollars. I've had them in my design studio all this time, today I'm hauling them down to the wet studio, where I also moved a sewing machine to live, and will start in on my collaboration pieces.

I finally got caught up, except for the dyeing, in anticipation that the surgery would not go well yesterday. Skin Cancer. It went really well. So today I'm going to get caught up on my dyeing and am going to work on my collaborative pieces as well. I have to have something to do while the dye pots are going.

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Old towel


Here's an old towel, that I bought in a box with some old linens, and now that I think about it I should go through that box, I think there's some aprons in there too. The box had old lace, linen napkins and lots of damask table clothes and dinner napkins.

I really like the chicken tracks red stitching around the edge of this towel. It has a lot of stains, foxing, and rust spots on the piece. Overall the stitching is quite fine on a piece that is designated to the kitchen.

Those are silk ladies hankies you see off to the side.

Pink Apron


I"m not sure which style this apron falls under but I bought it because it just screamed "adorable". The pink umbrella just spoke to me I guess. I've been looking for the rest of my aprons, I have lots of them, just not sure where I put them. One of htem, that I shredded, is still hanging in the closet. I should take a picture of that one. It's one of those impossible sheer numbers. I suppose an apron such as that would have been worn on New Years Eve or on ones anniversary.

More Felted Sweaters

I'll have to do some serious picture taking tomorrow, but I bought and felted, shrunk, 6 more wool sweaters. Yes these are for making mittens and hats from, why I need so many? I'm not sure, I think I'm obsessed with shrinking things.

I finally found two more red sweaters, so I can now make myself some red mittens. Some of these are cardigans, and have some pretty spiffy buttons on them. Buttons to add to my growing button stash.

Aprons

I'll have to post some pics of my collection later, but I secretly love aprons. I even love making them. So the question has to be anwsered why don't I wear aprons? Well for one thing when your shaped like an apple they don't stay on well. I have having those things around my neck as well, though I've made several of them that are incredibly frilly. I wrote all sorts of things on them, some not so pretty, you know about the average house wives arch nemisis - June Cleaver.

I really love collecting the older ones, they are often sheer and decorative. I have one of my grandmothers aprons, she passed in November, I'm sure the really well worn ones have been pitched by now - the kind I would love to have. These aprons tell a story. Nanna always wore an apron, she made her own, and she always wore a housedress that she made herself. In fact I may have a pic of her in one said outfit. Cotton, very simple, very comfy, my kind of clothing.

What not to do

I've only been married a little of four years now. Being married to me has probably been a shock and exciting for my husband. I'm a dyer, an natural dyer to be exact. And if what I'm cooking doesn't smell like a cow barn then it probably smells like dinner.

Poor guy.

I have my own dye kitchen now, and have had one for almost 4 years. Lesson, if one is dyeing yarns and fabrics in ones regular kitchen do so well before hubby comes home from work, or at least wait until AFTER he has been fed. It can be torture for a guy to come home, after a long days work, to smell something wonderful, pots bubbling away on the stove, thinking he's going to get dinner. Only to hear you say "where are we going for dinner"? What go out? You mean that's not dinner? Well not any dinner I'd ever want to eat anyway.

Such tactics however will garner you lots of suggestions on where to put your dyes and dye pots, and it's NOT in the kitchen.

Survival Kitchen

This blog is not as insideous as it sounds, unless you are like me of course and your just trying to survive your kitchen. I'll have to post some pics later of my kitchen floor, that I'm hoping to get the rest of the asbestos flooring removed and several coats of poly something or another onto before I have to close the house up for the winter.

This blog is also about cooking, in addition to cleaning, and on keeping a pantry. Keeping a pantry is in vogue again, I'd love to have a larger pantry but one can only have what one has the space to store.

And also what does one do with all of those gadgets and appliances anyway?

And are my dishes breeding in the middle of the night or something because I swear there are more dirty dishes in my kitchen now than there were when I went to bed!