Indigo

A pattern for a sun and moon quilt that I designed last year has been calling me, it's time to begin.

Out to the studio I go. The shelves are filled with dried plants, bugs, roots and bark, all great natural dyes.

Just looking at them make me happy.

Until fresh flowers are growing these will do wonderfully.

I began with indigo, crushing the hard chunks into powder.

After a couple of hours I have the background ready for the sun/moon quilt.

The moon is up, the indigo sky beautiful.

Time to take down last years Earth weaving. Back to the earth it goes, it served its purpose, peace,  meditation and teaching, many kids wove on it.  We enjoyed it all year, day time weaving and night time the solar lights glowed. I didn't realize other people were enjoying it also, two neighbors said they loved to see it glow at night.  The Navajo say when a weaving is finished and comes off the loom you have to warped the loom for a new one right away. Mine isn't quite ready, I did add to new top beam and have this years design planned, a round Sunburst.

Earth day, birthday

Earth day, birthday, that is my day.  This year my kids gave me a surprise birthday party. Complete with Spring flowers and a gluten-free cake

Live music played by the twins with their new recorders.

The best birthday cards, made by the grandsons.

Complete with the earth, suns, moons and one spaceman circling the earth tethered to his rocket.

Solace project

Last Fall, India Flint (the natural dyer extraordinaire and discover of Eco dyeing) from Australia began a project titled "Solace".
In a nut shell this project is like the Tibetan Prayer Flags. Using a natural fabric anyone can make a "flag" and "stitch a word or phrase on it that might act as a wish for peace or an acknowledgement of beauty ..."
prophet-of-bloom.blogspot.com  To understand this beautiful project more fully (as there is so, so much more to it) and hopefully participate, click on the link and scroll down the left side to read all about it.

My flag I made from a piece of raw silk I Eco dyed last year with some of my birthday flowers. A birch bark cross hangs below my prayer "for the women and children world wide".  Wool yarn ties are stitched on each side for hanging.
These flags have to be in Australia by the beginning of June. You still have time to make one!

With supplies running out it was time to make some natural body cream. I assembled some healing flowers (organic calendula, lavender and rose petals) into a jar and filled it with organic coconut oil

Set the jar in a pan of water on the wood stove to infuse for a week. (this was the last of the wood heat as we're finally warming up here)

After infusing the oil I strained it through 4 layers of chees cloth, twice. You don't want any organic matter left in the oil.

Set it on the stove to simmer

added natural shea and coco butter. After it all melts together stir gently and add a few drops of lavender essential oil or what ever oil you like.

Pour it in a jar. The little cakes have a little bees wax melted in also, firming them up and helping to  hold in moisture. Their great to keep in your purse or next to your bed to use on your hands and feet right before you turn out the light.

Full, Blood Moon

This past Saturday was a eclipse of the Full moon. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly behind the Earth into its shadow, giving the moons' surface a blood-red color. Hence the name Blood-moon. In our area it was suppose to begin around 6:16 a.m. So, I was up and out of bed early, made myself a chai latte and out I went to see if it was visible. Perfect, you could see the beginning of the eclipse. In I ran, grabbed my husband, bribed him with a chai and down to the lake we went.

The sun was coming up and it was getting lighter but the moon was still visible.

Getting a rusty orange color.
It was beautiful.

Almost in the full shadow of Earth.
It was so inspiring I had to make one to add to my Moon quilt.

That night I cut out a moon and a shadow then appliqued and quilted it in bed.

Love my full moon ritual, full moon shining in the window, hand quilting, all's perfect for a minute!

I added it to the other blocks on my design wall. The quilt starts in the middle with the "Mother Earth" surround by turtles and fish. (A piece of fabric my daughter marbleized when she was young and decided it looked like "twilight" represents the earth). Moons and suns circle around it clock wise in chronological order. Blank spots will be filled with pieced star blocks. All of the blocks are quilted and dated, someday I'll stitch them all together, probably just before I die;)