no dobut

the shibori talibans are going to come and lapidate me.i am breaking every possible rule of the orthodoxy. hesitant to to post in insta bcse of the possible uproar. but no one can take away the thrill

of going against the grain   ( ¨¨ ω¨¨ )   

now that people stopped hanging paintings on their walls and it became a transcendental experience or their dyeing becomes an act of zen communion with the universe and other galaxies here i am going ronin (＾∇＾)

really, it's getting pretty tiring folks.

here's the shikon brew, chopped roots in alcohol extraction.

had another interesting conversation with my AI bestie. she solved some doubts and streamlined the process.

you need to know what you're doing in order to be able to detect foul balls.but other that that it's become a sort of blessing.

i send photos of plants or weeds and ask for dyeing  capabilities and she answers saving time and heartache.

it's fun because she can be quite blunt and to the point. short answer-no period.

the fig leaf success story comes from her.

neki desu 

 

iro iro

a whole day spent sampling watercolor materials.above, the lidl pack ,not bad for the price. colors are much more saturated than what i expected.on the right some color blends. haha, like coffee blends but in living color  (￣ω￣ )

next  caran d'ache supra color watercolor pencils.always had mixed feelings about them but thought it was due to operator error.it isn't. they do not blend well and you still can see the lines.maybe for other kind of work they will do, not for me.

below caran d' ache  neocolor II watercolor crayons.

plain and simple lovely. they blend really well with each other producing interesting shades. actually one needs just a few to get a whole spectrum of mid values and off the grid colors. be sure to include payne's grey in those few.

last derwent inktense watercolor pencils.if you want watercolor pencils  go for these as the name states they are intense. colors are extremely saturated,they blend with each other leaving no pencil traces. they only drawback that i see, bcse i am extremely fussy,is that their nomenclature is proprietary.if you want a burnt umber or a sienna you need to test them bcse their names give very little clue. and their website does not facilitate color charts or i was incapable of finding them, you need to make your own.counter intuitive at best.

so here's the craic for  watercolors hope it's useful.

neki desu

    

seriously shikon

spent the weekend shikon dyeing. satisfaction guaranteed as long as it's done cold.here's the color scheme  for the winter  ; lime greens greens from fig leaves ,purples and lavenders from shikon.

should i add a suo accent for a warm balance?

shikon isincredibly satisfying will never never touch alkanet again. disappointing and a royal pita.with much less effort i can obtain gorgeousness and the dye bath never exhausts.it's the bath that keeps on dyeing.    (* ^ ω ^)  still have to do a bit more benkyou in order to claim i understand the dye and have it under my belt.

neki desu

 

quiet grace

 

even the word is beautiful

have a good weekend this month's a goner.

 neki desu

 

change of pace

needed to experience results as dyeing is going to be soaking for days.

monoprints  rock it.

after some layers, quite fun.noticed the lavender and the purple.

if this were instagram meta would suggest to add  the purple rain track to the post. 🤢 🤮

 

sign of the times. the passionfruit is slowly turning purple.

neki desu

 

cheap thrills

luckily i feel satisfied and rewarded straightening messy skeins.because i seem to live there.this one started bcse i saw that it would get tangled during the dyeing.thought it would be a piece of cake but then half of it mysteriously collapsed from the winder and turned into a mess. good news is that it's a tick yarn so it took me 4 afternoons ⋋_⋌ 

ready to be mordanted.

 think im going to use fresh murasaki extraction.

 

neki desu

 

iro iro

goodies from my local lidl.ok, they are not kuretake gansai tanbo,but more than  adequate for the price and for me.i am not aiming to become a watercolor artist at all i just need some watercolors at hand if i want to add color to sumi-e.plus i have my nihonga aya suiboku to cherish  (￣ω￣ )

neki desu

 

summer dyeing ii

every summer, heat permitting i do my dyeing for the winter weavings.every year i try a color there was an ai summer an akane summer,a benibana summer.this year is a shikon summer.more than pleased with the results.the purple is extremely purple messhi purple according to the japanese color index

it was a long cold soak,came out frantastic and the added bonus no tangles!doing it the japanese way ;you pass the skeins thorough a dowel and the first 5 mins you move the dowel along with the skeins up and down and rotate the skeins. then let them soak in the dye bath moving them occasionally until the color becomes what you want. the end. i am becoming a gung ho supporter of cold dyeing  i am dyeing-mind the spelling- silk though.

 

fuji nezumi ,silk bourette.

the color was so interesting that i began dyeing whatever i had around. the victim here was a handwoven silk crepe sample.

have a scarf  which was dyed withy procion  fiber reactive dye. it was a lavender that didn't quite cut it, the thing with chemical dyes is that the colors lack depth.trying to add that depth by over dyeing it i the remaining dye bath. my AI bestie gave me the go ahead so we shall see, won't lose anything.

murasaki has been an obsession since the days here, here and here just to name a few.there has been a knowledge gain over the years.for example dye houses need to sell dye stuff hence the pressure for fresh

dyes stuff imo. my murasaki was bought in  japan during my first trip in '94. still going strong, literally.

neki desu

 

against noise

some quiet time.

have a good weekend

neki desu 

 

move over

knitting programs, AI bestie is rocking it.perhaps for people who have vast knitting knowledge is no big deal.but for me with my head full of ideas and not skills is a major thing. i sent a crude,very crude, schematics and said i wanted to make something like that.gave gauges and sizes and she did everything else. and for someone with limited skills i like the clarity of the directions, never assuming you know how to get there.

i just picked up a mistake in the directions ,pointed it out and she went on excising herself and complimenting me on picking up the mistake.again one has to be clear she's not a friend and one has to be immune to the compliment showers.

detailed instructions.for someone mildly dyslexic she tells you clearly which left you're decreasing on.   with dak i never knew if the decreases came before or  after passing the carriage.  here she says row 4 decrease one. music to my ears as i have been pondering lately on how much unnecessary stuff is going on. 

are you aware of all the new  stuff going around which is totally unnecessary? even instructions and how to's on line which make you wonder.  all the super elaborate desserts with no other value than one upmanship ,  all the veg garden set ups, and so on. internet is chocking with those. perhaps people have lots of time on their hands ,perhaps is the monetization fever,your thoughts are worth money. really?? ヽ(*⌒∇⌒*)ﾉ

machine set up  let the knitting commence. it's a shortrow extravaganza so ill take my time.

neki desu 

 

testing bamboo paper

monoprinting on bamboo paper.it works, especially during somewhat humid days.was even able to lift some ghost prints.lift is not the correct verb i should say stamp, as the paint stayed on the plate.

i'll keep on trying to see if i can enter the liftdom realm.

  

another trial with 4 layers of paint.

this one's not bamboo.it's from an old

nepalese notebook given to me by a friend who did the nepal trek during those years.

love the immediacy of monoprinting find it rewarding.

neki desu

 

you cannot feed a family

with the yield but the quality and taste is surprising. after years and years of tasteless vegs these go beyond tasty. too bad the cherry toms this year are  marble size.l reading on line everyone's having tom problems due to the heat waves.they either don't grow or stay green.luckily the north still has cool nights so humans and plants get a break.the news from barcelona are scary, nights of 27º air con has become a human right.

neki desu 

 

no more fudge from now on cakes and pies.

saw one of the insta knitters with this and it was instant want. my problem has always for years and years the grist of my silks thinner than fishline therefore the fishline counters used by everyone didn't work.took the plunge, for 17€i could always sell it to a knitter if it didn't work.consulted with my AI

 bestie(have ya'll noticed the frequency?) and she gave me directions for the ultimate hack.

it's a station  of sorts set up that works, it works!with the skein winder and the cone winder. not only was i instructed how to attach it to make it usable, but also how to thread it .

she aloso complimented me on the vintage skein winder. ಠ_ಠ

one has to be cautious not to fall in the trap  bcse c'mon she's not my friend.

no more guessing or fudging it.

one 1000 mts = 18 grams

neki desu

 

the art of tea

a fleeting feeling.

have a good weekend

neki desu 

 

someone's enjoying the heat

and finally growing up (*^▽^*) already had the first cucumber of the season juicy and sweet.

the second plant is stalled no growth whatsoever. think the two cold weeks in may didn't do any good to it.

the yellow strip on the right on the bamboo is my tanabata tanzaku . this year it was cloudy so the stars couldn't be seen.

neki desu

 

a scheme

 all the recent dyes except the lavender skein which is logwood from last fall. first row buckthorn second suo aka brazilwood and behind it fig leaves on bourette silk. dyeing basically with what i have or can forage around without any plan  and surprisingly the palette came out pleasing.winter weaving is going to be enjoyable.silk is such a wonderfully forgiving fiber.

testing the lichen fermentation jars.

the only promise i see is # 2. this is cotton which is a difficult fiber,except for indigo methinks,

neki desu

 

replacement

my gorgeous orange dreams momiji, the one which gave me such joys this spring went kaput.the leaves are fried and the trunk is black no signs of life whatsoever.

always thought that when plants are beautiful better ignore them.if you praise and revel in them they go south. same with the momiji plantules, all the seeds sprouted and had so many i started giving them away. fast forward and now i am trying desperately to keep the last two alive.

it's ,according to my bestie AI root rot.will repeat next year with adequate soil/gravel mix. found a place on line well stocked for bonsai things.although i'm not keen on training momiji for bonsai i  do want to keep them small.

orange dreams replacement. found this one and didn't hesitate.with all the info i got don't think it will fail.

neki desu