BirdBrain Designs

Birdbrain

grass and sky dyeing

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It’s hot here, but not too humid, so fine for dyeing in the basement in a frying pan. I dyed this group yesterday (using the wool pictured in yesterday’s post). When you start with coloured wool, pouring colours over loosely wound pieces works really well and results in a array of analogous colours which blends well. The blues and greens were done at separate times.

I used 1/16 tsp each of Aljo Military Green, Majic Carpet Brilliant Green, Bottle Green and Pro Chem Turquoise and Blue 440 in separate containers of 2 cups of boiling water with citric acid. I poured a good glug of each colour over the loose rolls of wool–first the blue wools and then repeated the whole process again with the green wools

Here is a photo of today’s wool awaiting dye. I varied the colours a little today, using MC Moss Green as well as a little MC Red Violet for sparkle. This kind of dyeing is serendipitous with usually pleasing results. I like hooking with this kind of wool–lots of related colour with the occasional spark for interest. The rubber gloves, btw, are the best–you can find them at Ace Hardware in the US. You can pick up hot wool with these babies, no burns.

wedding rug update

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Here is the latest version of the wedding rug. I have made some changes, most notably to the windows. The roof is done and I am happy with it–so far–and have a start on the ground and the sky. (BTW, the camera makes the colours brighter–the background is not this light or eye-popping.) Now, the next step, before I go too much farther,  is to draw in the border of the exuberant flying birds. I envision them weaving up and down around the rug.

When I finish this post I am going down to the dye pots. Right now all this wool is soaking.

I like the effects that you get when you spot dye over colour. Some of this will be for the grass and some for the sky. I will post when they are dyed so that you can see the results. Ok, dye pots calling.

influences/inspiration

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I love the way Ton Schulten uses colour blocks, the way he juxtaposes brights and darks in his landscapes, and the way he riffs on a colour, exploring all the anal0gous hues. His borders (this time only one!) make me sit up and take notice of what is going on inside them.

Influence/inspiration work in mysterious ways. Below is a delightful Québecois mat which I have not looked at or thought about since I took this picture in 2007. When I saw the photo file of it today, I was astounded. A part of the rug stayed with me on some level, and some of its ‘thinking’ emerged as my own version in the wedding rug.

Look at the way the depth of the black rooves and window panes make the rest of the pastels pop. Stark contrast again. And of course blocks of colour–this time pastels outlined in a soft gray.

My life has slowed down a little and the tremendous heat has abated so I have had a chance to get back at the wedding rug. I will post a progress report tomorrow.

 

canada day drink

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We recently visited a new distillery in Prince Edward County. What a marvellous place!

We decided to make their Canadian Cocktail for our celebration of my younger son’s 30th birthday.  Here is the recipe from the distillery and a photo of our version. We had to search out the Aperol Bitters which were not available locally. Luckily there was a good supply in our neighbouring town. Ironically, this bright orange aperitif is the same drink that I had been trying to identify since our Italian biking tour, one I enjoyed each night on the barge. The Italians mix Aperol Bitters with Prosecco and a dash of soda water and call it Spritz. As you can see the Canadian Cocktail recipe calls for a pine bough–and there are many on the island–the big discussion was red pine or white–so, of course, we had to try both!

 

cottage week

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I have had some questions about our cottage. We are on an island on a large lake in Eastern Ontario, about 1.5 hours north and east of Belleville. The lake is trout-sensitive (so subject to many regulations, all good) and  water-access only, so is still in much the same condition it was when we first encountered it. We love it that way!  This week’s full moon, whip-poor-wills and plaintiff loons made an unforgettable combination. There was also a major birthday celebration this weekend with lots of laughter and water activity, but more on that tomorrow. Right now, here is some of the beauty.

The cottage is also out of range for the internet or cell phones. This is actually lovely, makes for long evenings reading on the verandah. But the emails do mount up and take a little time once I return. If you have asked a question about purchasing a leather bag–I will be responding soon. As lovely as the cottage is, I don’t like to be away from my sewing machine too long. And the wedding rug will soon be ready to travel to the cottage–once some major decisions on background have been made. Right now it is still testing me!

wedding rug progress

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I always find that the rug I am hooking has a mind of its own. Not long after I pull the first few loops, the rug starts telling me what to do, in fact bossing me around. Put that colour here, rip out that section there! So rug progress is a bit of a freighted phrase. The rhythm of rug growth is uneven and unsure for me. Right now I am thinking about the ground beneath the house and the sky. I want them to be wonky circles of colour–at the bottom green moving into blue–at the top mid-blue moving to dark–and then a border of a flock of flying birds. So that is where my mind is as I move around sections of colour. I can draw all the designs I like, it’s not until those strips are pulled through to hunker down beside each other that I know what is working and what isn’t. And sometimes, all seems fine until I put a new section in–and then the whole thing changes.

At any rate, here is where I am now.  One step forward and three back.

cottage weekend

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We have been away for a few days at the cottage. A long weekend in June of clear weather and few on the lake–perfect. I enjoyed a swim and a few kayak paddles, but mostly soaked in the solitude, the bird song (including the 4 a.m. serenade of a whip-poor-will) and read The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht. The novel won the Orange Prize in 2011–this is a prize I put much stock in–and make sure that I read each year’s choice. I have a new novel waiting for me–but first I am going to read my final Maggie O’Farrell. Oh the joys of summer reading!

Home now with a full week ahead–including tackling the wedding rug. Will post a progress report when I get a chance. In the meantime, here is a glimpse of the weekend.

a new rug

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I’ve been talking about the wedding rug for ages. Well…I finally began it last week at rug school. Since I was away in Italy until a very few days before leaving for Vermont, I did not have much of a chance to think or preplan. The rug has been dancing in my head for ages, but elusively.  So I cut and serged a piece of linen 4.5′ x 2’5′, tucked a few pieces of wool in my bag and a couple of books for inspiration and we set off for the hills of Vermont.

I have been hoping to do a rug inspired by Ton Schulten for quite some time. His paintings are built of bright geometric shapes which I am drawn to. I have played with geometric shapes in the background of many of my rugs. This time I thought it would be fun to put the geometry in the foreground and the background. I also knew I wanted a border of flying birds–after all this rug is for two very exuberant Birds! I decided to do a geometric version of their house as the main motif, flanked by huge colourful flowers. As I have told you, my teacher was Jule-Marie Smith and you couldn’t have anyone better to inspire big colourful flowers. Here is one from one of her rugs: 

And here is some of the wool stacked on my hooking table and the start of the wedding rug.