Wordless Wednesday

Dyeing With Viburnum Trilobum - Highbush Cranberry

This winter I noticed a bright red berry against the white of the snow and identified it as a viburnum trilobum, or Highbush Cranberry.  They're an edible fruit, though comprised mostly of pit.  I read that the birds save these berries until mid to late winter (how they know to save them is beyond me, but cool!) and eat them when other food sources are scarce.  A flock of Cedar Waxwings can wipe out an entire bush of them in no time.  Apparently they didn't visit this particular bush because I was surprised to see the berries still hanging when I went walking this weekend. 

Their bright red had faded a bit and the berries were sort of translucent.  I picked what was left and brought them back to the house to see what kind of dye they would make. 

note:  milk jugs make handy gathering buckets. 

Just cut off the top, leaving the handle, and voila! 

When you're done using it, just recycle as normal.

I put the berries and stems in a small pot with about 2 cups of water and simmered it for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, I wetted my wool roving and a small piece of felted wool sweater and put them in an empty pickle jar with a teaspoon of alum to act as a mordant.  Once the dyestuffs had cooled off a bit, I poured the whole lot it into the jar- pits, sludge, stems et all - put the lid on, and set it on my windowsill for two days.

After letting the concotion stew, I opened up the jar and braced myself for what I expected to be a horrible smell.  After all, wet wool is not the sweetest smell in the barnyard.  I was pleasantly suprised though, that there was just a little wet sheep smell mixed with a slight fruit smell.  Hey, I can handle that. 

The resulting color is a pale peachy-tan on the felted wool, and a slightly paler hue on the wool roving.  I wet-felted a piece of the roving and dried everything in the sun to see how it would react to soap and sunlight, and the colors remained fairly consistent. 

I'll be on the look-out for these berries in the fall when they're full of color and will try this again.  These berries were well past their prime so I'm hoping to see a brighter color with "new" berries. 

(Not) Button Monday

When I'm sifting through a jar of vintage buttons I often find the other items in the jar, the "not buttons", just as interesting as the buttons themselves.  Some of these old jars are like time capsules.  They're filled with buttons pulled off of someone's military uniform, cherry pits for mending gloves, bits of tailors chalk, and little trinkets and treasures of all sorts.  Today I thought I'd show you some of the "not buttons" I've saved.  Let's go on a little treasure hunt, shall we?

Glass marbles, porcelain knob.

Dog tag from 1917.

Promotional needles

This die is handcarved and unfinished.  It feels like bone.

I find a fair amount of jewelry especially unmatched earrings and pins.

Unmatched earrings.

Brooches and pins.

I think this stick pin is celluloid.

The clasp on this bracelet is lovely.

This Coolidge and Dawes promotional thimble is circa 1924 and I use it. 

It is bent just right and is the only thimble that fits me well.

I'm not sure what I'll do with these treasures.  Maybe someday I'll work them all into a piece, or perhaps I'll just keep them and soak up their history.  What would you do with them?

Un an unrelated note, my toilet paper planter tutorial was on the EcoEtsy blog yesterday.  I'd love it if you'd stop by and check it out if you get a chance.

Happy Monday!

Happy Easter!

Wood Walking

The kids are still under the weather and I am as well.  The weather outside was too nice to miss out on so I left the kiddies with the hubby and went for a long slow walk in the woods yesterday.

Brown is still the predominant color in our woods but there were a few punches of green sprinkled about, and no bugs!  The wind was really blowing and the tops of the trees were swaying and tangling and talking.  A few trees had fallen, including a birch, that we'll have to come back and haul out for firewood and crafting. 

This downed birch had amazing mushrooms on it.

If left to decay, this birch will eventually look like this:

 

  As the tree decays, the bark remains in tact.  The tree inside crumbles and feeds the forest floor.

 See that dark spot?  That was the inside of the birch tree.

You can just pick up the bark, shake it out, and you have a big bark tube. 

I plan to use some of these as photo props, and maybe as vase covers for our house.

Speaking of making things for our house...something I rarely do is craft for myself.  Yesterday however I made myself a ring out of my tiny clump of lichens and a small birch ring.  It fits me perfectly in size and aesthetic.  I really love it.  I need to craft for myself more often.

Tomorrow is Easter and I hope everyone enjoys the day.  We'll be dyeing some more eggs today, and I'll be making some ricotta and sauce for the manicotti.  Mmm mm.

Have a wonderful weekend, all.

Thoreau

It's a full day already today.  Real life is pressing.  The kids are sick, the laundry needs to be done.   There won't be much time (if any) for creating and escape.  I'm sneaking my time right now with a cuppa coffee in hand, leftover pasta, and a few moments at the computer.

This is life.

I'm thinking of a quote from Thoreau, one that I've kept in my head for years, and it comforts me.

"All that I could say, then, with respect to farming on a large scale—I have always cultivated a garden—was, that I had had my seeds ready. Many think that seeds improve with age. I have no doubt that time discriminates between the good and the bad; and when at last I shall plant, I shall be less likely to be disappointed."

I've been working on a few projects as of late, some old, some new.  The variety is at once exciting and overwhelming.  I'm eager to finish something, and have a feeling they will all come together at once.  (Sometimes I feel like a plate spinner...spin spin spin this one, then run to the next.)  I can't wait to show you what I've been working on.  Soon.

Happy Thursday everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Checking in on the Acorn Rainbow - March 2010

The snow has finally melted and been replaced with warmer days (at least for now...) so I thought it was time to go check on the acorn rainbow.   It has been a few months since I last checked in and I wasn't sure what to expect.  As I was meandering towards my destination, a flash of purple in the leaf litter caught my eye.  It was the purple acorn, from my rainbow, some 30 feet from its stump.  How did you get here, little friend?  His cap has been broken, probably from someone's size 10s. (ahem, me, aka sasquatch)  In November, Mr. Purple was still on his stump.  Poor little guy.  I left him there, to finish out his days.

 

The blue acorn had previously been missing, but I found him north of the stump, still surprisingly blue.  In fact, all of the acorns have retained their colors remarkably well. 

The red was hidden beneath some leaves as well, south of the stump, and the orange had been incorporated into some kind of web, to the southwest.  All in all they look pretty darn good considering the elements they've been exposed to.

I'll check back in on them in a month or two when the woods are thick and green. 

Until then, little rainbow.

Button Monday

I'm a sucker for natural materials, especially those with patina and wear, so it stands to reason that today's buttons are amongst my favorites.  Here are some wood, bone, and tagua nut or "vegetable ivory" buttons. 

wood buttons

a wooden button carved in the shape of an oyster shell

 I love these make-do buttons made of cross-sections of walnut shells.

Vegetable ivory buttons were used as an alternative to ivory, and come from the nut of a type of palm tree.  They have a beautiful feel to them and a lovely patina as they age.

Bone buttons were often cut from cow shin bones.  These were common during the civil-war era. 

Hope you've enjoyed the buttons.  Happy Monday!

Earth Hour 2010

Tonight is Earth Hour and here in the Jordan house, this event is met with giggles and anticipation.  Last year we armed each of the boys with a wind-up flashlight and let them loose.  Whirr whirr whirr went the flashlights.  Run run run went the boys.  They loved it.  The smaller guys are too little to understand why we were sitting in the dark, but my 10 year old got it.  They are all looking forward to tonight at 8:30 when we turn the lights off again.  We've been talking about nocturnal vs. diurnal animals lately and we hoped to sit outside and watch for flying squirrels and listen for owls, but it looks like some cold rain will keep us in tonight.  Wind up the flashlights, boys, it's flashlight tag time!  Whirr whirr whirr...

What is Earth Hour?  Why do it?  According to the Earth Hour website, the event started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating.

It's a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world. It is a call to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved and lead the way towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to Asia to the Americas will stand in darkness. People across the world from all walks of life will turn off their lights and join together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet.

Won't you join in?

Tonight.  8:30pm local time.

Bunny Finger Puppets

After seeing this simple tutorial for these adorable little bunny finger puppets on the Purl Bee website, I had to give them a try. 

I used some thin wool felt that I made from blazers and coats, along with some pink felt that I found at a garage sale a few years ago.  I needle-felted a small ball of wool roving for the tail.  I cut the bunnies free-hand, but the template is provided in the tutorial (which, by the way, was really clear and detailed)

I think it took me about 20 minutes to sew one of these guys up, and they're so cute I think it was well-worth the effort.  The boys have already been playing with them so I know they're a hit with the 3 and 4 year old set. 

If you have some felt hanging around, you should give it at try.  I think they'd be adorable made of corduroy or something too, don't you?