- - - - IS MY LIFE!

It started in SOMEBODY'S garden

It was a long time before I understood that gardening was another form of creative expression.

It was another long time before I understood that I simply don't have it in me to focus on the 10 000 hours required to become an expert at much of anything. I bounce from activity to activity like a toddler. I will spent 3 weeks doing nothing but knitting, because KNITTING IS MY LIFE, and then I drop it for six months because SEWING IS MY LIFE. And so on.

And I wonder where my kid's ADHD comes from....

Anyway, in the continuing spirit of creative bouncing, I joined the Cambridge Handspinners and Weavers Guild in the spring because I wanted to learn how to spin. And, the best part of it is that these men and women suffer from the same disease I do: they all want to do a bit of everything. In June, for example, we did rust dying.

Rust dying. Who knew?

I always knew rust stained, but it never occurred to me to do it on purpose.

We dyed silk scarves, first by washing them in mild detergent, then by spraying them with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water. We placed rusty objects on them (you know all those 'treasures' your kids drag home with them) and sprayed again. Some members wrapped their scarves, some lay them out flat. One member accordian-pleated her scarf. I bunched mine up in the bottom of a bucket and then lay rusty nails, bolts and washers on top of the silk. I took my bucket home and kept it wet for a day and a bit (we were told to be careful that the vinegar didn't sit long enough to eat holes in the delicate silk). Once I was happy with the colour, I rinsed the scarf in a saline solution and hung it out to dry.

The result is above.

DYING IS MY LIFE!

I'm trying indigo dying next. Indigo also comes from a garden (not mine, this past winter killed my indigo plant). I want to dye enough fabric to make myself a shirt dress and also the local Women's Institute is doing a display about India for the Rockton Fair in October.

You know, because WOMEN'S INSTITUTES ARE MY LIFE.