putting order into chaos

all the monoprint production of last year is going to be bound into a booklet instead of laying around. also using all the fabrics printed last year.not to mention the suminagashi papers .

yesterday i was reveling in the fact that all the supplies and tools i've accumulated over the years are being put into use,  don't need to buy anything..however i would need to extend my life span to be able to use them all.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

neki desu

 

bolting

i've let the ruccula bolt, i'll have seeds for the fall crop.and most important ,flowers attract hovering wasps which feed on aphids and other bad creatures.beans at the back are pushing up lots of little flowers.that's my cultivation table, one can do wonders in that space if managed appropriately.

i am gifting lettuce this week as the lettuce bed is overflowing. the table is half as big as this one.

for the fist time i am getting heucheras flower spikes.thrilled with my berry smoothie plant.the weeping apricot is growing nicely, watching over it like a possessed gardener,if something happens to it i won't recover. >

the irises my brother in law brought me from their garden in florida are prolific this year.

neki desu

 

amidst the heat

enjoy the stillness

have a good weekend. and this month is becoming a goner.

neki desu

 

the plant that keeps on giving

self seeding shiso from last year.expecting a nice yield to make furikake.

this will be a tomato year, the are ravishing.

>

 i should set up a stall on the boulevard

as it is becoming impossible for us to eat this much lettuce. i cut the leaves every 2 days and they keep coming back.same for radishes.

neki desu

 

beastie talks

and talks good.already piecing the front of the linen sweater.here you need a cover up at night. although with the present heat wave no one would say so. made the tension swatch if it doesn't fit it's DAK's fault.

here are bestie's instructions on how to create a back flare.what i love about bestie aka AI gemini is that it doesn't assume anything and explains things clearly , orderly and concisely.

good instructions are not easy to craft.

people tend to assume previous knowledge and instructions almost inevitably are missing lines of instrcuction hence you get lost and frustrated  and if things go really bad you end up with an inferiority complex. i've always said that instructions are crafted  for people who know, not for beginners or false beginners.

we'll see how the flared back turns out . pinning great hopes to my bestie.

neki desu

 

of books and binding

was able to finish the ledger on the last day of class.

pages from a washi paper notepad with stamps and notes taken on my first trip to japan. 

kurashiki stamp

some ideas

at least now it's all together and not sort of flying around. plus have discovered a new craft.

the wise woman had already back then prepared the foundation for a what if. 

although i had made some incursions into books,other than reading that is, they were kind of happy go lucky.

neki desu

 

latest obsession

shikon, murasaki dyeing coming up next.

have a good weekend .

neki desu

 

mastering the art

of using a 6 prong transfer tool, no joke.once you do life becomes easier although fups can be epic.

talk about fups and not distinguishing your left from your right.the blue was supposed to match the fuchsia , but the machine knits wrong side facing me and then when you turn it it's flipped! i who am famous for left- right confusion just needed that.too bad bcse it came out really well knitted.need to sleep on it to see if i remedy it or pass olympical y land leave it like that.

on the good news department my bestie aka gemini gave me thorough instructions on how to create flare on the back of a garment. this number is going to have a flared back ladies and gents. (￣ω￣ )

neki desu 

 

we're all survivors

survivors don't know how these guys keep growing without  freezing. it's been cold as hell, even snowed on the hills,we even had to turn on the heater.

 mid may and snowing plus rain and more rain.the have been visited by slugs, look at those holey leaves.

these guys as well how are they surviving 8º temps during the day and 5 at night.and they keep growing,putting out more flowers and fruit.it's a lesson in resilience.

this other one is coming back from the land of almost gone, sprouting green .

rhododendrons have no merit bcse they tolerate the cold well. pretty eh?

neki desu 

 

memory lane

today's the last sumi-e class. we started  a japanese binding tutorial and so far this is it. need to finish it today in class as i don't have an awl.  although the class was enjoyable,don't know if i'll repeat next year. have all summer to practice and think about it.

the paper is from a suminagashi workshop i took when i was studying at the arts and crafts school in barcelona. yep,ages ago.the cloth is cotton stained with bengara. the project became a highly recycling one as i'm binding the sketches i made on my first trip to japan and the stamps of some of the places i visited .

neki desu

 

riding the knitting bus

once started and concentrated on knitting for weeks it's hard to step down and weave. attempting a color block linen top just to diminish my stash. these yarns were bought in new york at school products. i think they've been closed for ages now.been schlepping them from bin to bin and from house to house longer than i possibly remember therefore they've become quite well  traveled yarns <(￣︶￣)>

finally got the tension well so it won't be hassle.she said. hope this doesn't end as another ill fitting garment.

the ribber spanner ordered from italy finally came albeit too late for the  barcelona project.

now i can use the ribber without care as i have the tool to adjust it.

neki desu

 

soft green trembling in the breeze

a point when green means one thing and the opposite

have a good weekend

neki desu

 

lotus land

classes are coming to an end this month.it has been enjoyable and gratifying even with my pitiful drawing skills.

if i go with the flow-pun,pun-

and not try to draw exact copies  i can get acceptable results.

 been putting to use the suiboku sticks from japan. there's a lot to explore with ink and mid tones still.

neki desu 

 

the rain in spain

beans growing healthy.

chives in flower and self seeding shiso from last year.

passionfruit! flowers and fruit.

radishes, in two more weeks salad.

toms. had to pinch out the flowers as recommended by my bestie, gemini.ouch.

lettuce galore havens been back to that supermarket fridge.

and some flowers,  this year amaryllis are spectacular

neki desu

 

future promise

tending the lichen fermentation, it is showing some hint of purple, but still much yellow. this is a remnant from the knitting ;revisited the concept of waste and wasted yarn.

it's mercerised cotton, but unmordanted and unwashed. just checking the progress of the fermentation.

in theory in 9 months it will have turned purple..9 months of daily stirring folks.

neki desu

 

been awol

and here's the culprit. have a gig with my geek friend in barcelona and been working on this. he created an algorithm that dithers images as they move in an animated plane .he proposed a collabo and this is the result. it has not been with eventualities .actually i had to order a ribber spanner from italy as the ribber height needs to be adjusted. cant work 150 needles.

sellers from the uk are in general unbelievable .they voted brexit haven't done their homework in order to get the IOSS and collect vat. it's your problem as a buyer, you handle customs and vat.  therefore i avoid buying from sellers which are not registered. it's a comment on business seriousness. talk about island mentality ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.end of rant.

i have stopped all other activities except sumi-e and gardening ,finally this week everything will resume.

oh btw the bottom won't be seen it's the lining, was too anxious to take a photo. ミ(ノ_ _)ノ

neki desu