Making Birch Bark Cloth

My stock was getting low and to do the piece I've been thinking about I want some long pieces. So outside to the garage with a meter sq. of white cotton and black paint.

First up was to splatter paint the whole in black and then a lesser amount of orange. After this dried it was ironed to set the paint.

Second go around entailed wetting the fabric with a spray bottle and then spattering heavier blobs.
I let it set or partially dry for about five minutes . After standing the frame on its side I resprayed the cloth heavily in some areas, to encourage the paint to run.

Whole metre above and below, about 1/9th, the bottom left hand corner.

After it dried the whole piece was re-ironed. This is now permanent.
Now when this is cut vertically into strips, the dripping becomes the horizontal bands on the birch bark.

New Inspiration and an old Recipe

I spend hours looking at photographs on the internet, waiting for that spark when I find a view/photo/art piece that I says  " DO ME! "Some of the time it's a waste of time, but other times I multitask.
SURF and BAKE.
Sounds like a child's toy?

I've found this photo and fallen in love.
When I consider the hours and days and sleepless nights that usually accompany my new works ( not to mention my crabbing to hubby......He SWEARS I do this ALL the time ) I have to love the idea.
I'm committing here big time.
Here is the next one.

I've already spent hours deciding the hows and discarding other ideas.
Yes, I have a quilt to finish ( which I'll do today) but I spend a lot of time looking at my stash (one of the reasons I sorted it the other day) and deciding on size. (I'm thinking this one will be a full 3 ft tall, the width of the canvas roll.)
I need to make more birch fabric, I may paint or dye to get the vibrant yellows.......

But while I was sitting here this morning... I made granola.
I LOVE MY granola.
It's half rolled oats and half everything else. Nuts, coconut and fruit.
As it takes up to 2 hours to prepare and bake ( I always make a double batch as hubby has begun eating it as well,) I spend the waiting time surfing.

So here the basic recipe: adapted from Alton Brown

3 C rolled oats
1 C slivered almonds      ( I vary the nuts all the time sometimes using pumpkins seed, walnuts etc.)
1 C cashews
3/4 C shredded coconut
1/4 + C brown sugar
1/4 + C maple syrup
1/4 C vegetable oil
3/4 t. salt
1 C + dried fruit

Combine all but the fruit and bake on large trays or roasting pans @ 250F. for up to 1+1/2 hours stirring regularly.
(I usually wait till I can smell the maple syrup.)
Out of the oven, add the dried fruit of your choice. Personally, I use only cranberries. Too much raisin bran as a kid.

Store in an air tight container. This is enough for a couple of weeks...for us.

Then EAT..topped with yogurt (hubby makes ours)

ENJOY every morning or anytime RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX !
LOL
( All done.....now I can sew!)

Off the Frame

So this lovely Autumn shade quilt is off the frame. I will need to spend most of a day picking off the paper. Usually I do it as I go but since I was only placing it in the border I let them remain.
Get a nice cup off coffee. put on some music and pick paper!

Very Productive Day

( Did I ever mention I have this ScotsIrishEnglishProtestant  Work Ethic that drives me nuts?)
I've been between major projects for too long now.

Can't sit still for long!!

Started the day working on the Stepping Stones quilt. Its half done now. I'm happy with my design.

So to take a break I decided to FINALLY sort my scrap bag. I'm taking a couple of them to the workshop next month so it was a good reason to colour sort them. There isn't a bag for every colour though that may come in the future. For now there is one for Black, White and Grey, one for Brown, Tan and Gold, one for Red, Purple, Orange and Yellow, one for Blue and of course, one for Green. That should hold me for a while!

Then I turned back to my Walnut/Shibori style cloth.

I wasn't impressed with the delicate nature of the brown/pink colouring so I folded it into my RUST box with nails scattered in the folds. It only sat for a few hours, but the results were thrilling. So here it is, before and after.

This has been washed and dried. I don't think I'll be able to cut this piece, so I'll have to work on an idea to use the whole metre.

I spent the rest of the day working on that scrap bag, about three hours. Like a clown car the scraps just kept coming out. (I think at one point I had stood in the bag to compact it.) So now I have 5.

It was like a family reunion as I went down through the layers. I remember each and every quilt made from the fabrics. And of course the person who received it. 

Less is certainly more!

Harvesting the Urban Garden - Before the Squirrels

This was the first year we got a good crop of Filberts. After consulting the world of Google, I picked them all and now they will ripen in a box. Might actually get to eat a few. They are smaller than the commercial variety but Hey! They grew right under my nose.

We bought a slip at the annual sale held by the university arboretum. I think this bush is now 5? years in the ground.

They grow singly, in pairs or triplets, encased in a green "paper". When this browns and falls away they are mature enough to eat!

So they're in the house..SAFE from those pesky squirrels and chipmunks.

PS. Wait till you see the crop of Quince!