HANDCRÆFT

15/01/2024

Seeing green everywhere these days! These are a few scraps dyed with chlorophyllin. My daughter made me a eucalyptus leaf out of clay, and I dunked it in the dye as well to see what would happen. I love it!

The more I look around, the more I see this color. My eyes are even this color. It’s such a relief to be feeling well enough these days to be able to shift my focus off myself and onto the world around me. Even in the physical (and spiritual) wintertime, there’s more green than I ever realized. 🤍

09/01/2024

One of my intentions for 2024 is to be more mindful about the plants I grow and use in my natural dyeing practice.

Eucalyptus is one of the first plants I experimented with when I became interested in dyeing textiles with plants some years ago. I find the color quite beautiful and soothing, and the scent cleansing and fresh.

Eucalyptus is not native to Europe-it was taken by Europeans from Australia in the 18th century and subsequently introduced to the European continent and across the world. I wonder about the consequences of introducing this plant to distant lands and the impact on native plants in those places. I wonder about the consequences for the people and land from which these plants were originally taken. The more I read, the more questions I have. I’m craving more information and deeper understanding.

I’m curious, what’s your experience with eucalyptus? Might you have a personal connection to share? Do you grow it, dye or eco print with it, or maybe extract/use eucalyptus oil?

07/01/2024

Testing out different kinds of fabrics and mordant vs no mordant in dye. This color has never really been in my preferred color palette, but it’s really growing on me!

Thank you so much for the comments and private messages in response to my post on New Years Day. I feel welcomed and well-supported!

I’m finding the more I look for green, the more I see it. It’s not just the change in circumstances, it’s my shift in perspective. I’m relearning how to be mindful and feel gratitude for the good -and green- in my life. 🌱🤍

03/01/2024

Lately the weather here has been unusually stormy. Rain is frequent and heavy; the water level of the lake behind my house is high and creeping up and onto the walking paths. The wind has charged nightly through the trees, whipping round my house and shaking loose all manner of things.

From me, it seems to shake free old, stagnant energy, making space for the new. From the trees surrounding the lake, an abundance of seed carriers and interesting things now line my path. The storms feel like a nuisance to some, but a blessing to me!

01/01/2024

To me, the color green sings a song of hope and growth. Especially in the physical and spiritual wintertime, when most of the green has retreated to rest for a spell. A glimpse of green during this time feels a wink, like a quiet promise of renewal.

I’ve struggled for a while to spot these verdant signs of hope and growth. In 2022, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. After a mastectomy in December, followed by sixteen rounds of chemo over the first half of 2023, I’m now undergoing the process of reconstruction. Reconstruction of my amputated breast, my body, my life, but also my home, my practice, and eventually, I hope, my business. My shop has been closed this whole time and I’ve been mostly absent from social media, opting to keep this journey pretty private.

I’m okay. I’m recovering & getting stronger every day. I feel hopeful more often than not. Things are looking up, and as I pull my physical and spiritual gaze upward, I spot tiny sprigs of green, everywhere.

My mom has been here for a visit the past three weeks, and she brought with her some chlorophyllin from . This particular dyestuff seemed a fitting choice for this sweet little vessel, in which I’ve placed a few scraps of paper that contain my intentions for the new year. I just finished the stitching last night. It’s a small, manageable project just right for me to mark this moment of change and transformation in the season, in the year, in my life. Small steps of recovery are leading to more confident strides of progress. And this little project serves as a meditation to encourage, inspire and nudge myself further forward.

In such uncertain times, with so much of our humanity suffering at every moment, it can be difficult to find any signs of green. Going forward, I hope to use my space on this platform to share with you my slow and steady personal growth, as well as the growth I observe all around me. I hope it will provide a few green sprigs of inspiration for you. And that you can then pass it on to someone else. I wish you health, safety and love in this new year. 🤍🌱

18/04/2022

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-60982566
Nice article from the BBC yesterday!

Once thrown out as old bedding, quilts are all the rage on social media and inspiring a new generation.

17/04/2022

Happy Easter / fijne pasen! It’s a beautiful sunny morning here in the northern country, and we’re enjoying the eggs we dyed yesterday with spinach, blueberries, turmeric, purple cabbage, beets and onion skins. The morning light is so gentle and joyful today. 🐣🌿💕

21/12/2021

Happy solstice! How lovely to bump into you here! ❤️ I’ve been keeping a bit of a low profile lately, reserving energy for home projects, practicing more self-care, packing up lots of shop orders and scheming up great stuff for the shop in 2022. I’m sending out a December newsletter this afternoon, so if you’re interested in reading it, there’s a link in my profile to the newsletter signup.

Pictured here is a new little friend I’ve been working on. It’s a hand-sized needle book stitched with the nicest linen and organic, plant-dyed threads, stuffed full of some favorite stitching supplies. This one is sailing away in the post today, but several more are already in the works and will be available in the shop in early January. Lots more plant dyed stuff next year!

29/08/2021

Here are some results from my thread dyeing experiments the past few days! I intended to show you what I pulled out of the jar I posted a few days ago, but honestly, it was totally underwhelming. I kept going, tried a different mordant, and decided to play with making a variegation in color with iron water post dye bath. Pretty cool! The yellow comes from Heather I picked up on a little walk last weekend outside the city, and the other from a Beech tree from the same place.

25/08/2021

I snapped up this cute jar (and a few others like it) at an antique store a few months ago, knowing for sure I’d find a great use for it. Et voilà! Organic cotton and a linen/cotton mix thread soaking in dye from leaves of a Beech tree I picked up on our little hike last Sunday. Pics of the results tomorrow! 😀

20/08/2021

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of taking an online workshop with and learned, among other things, how to twist fibers into string. I needed a drawstring for a linen bag I’m making, and thought this would be the perfect thing. This is the same fabric I’ve been showing you lately, and I had just the right size and amount of scraps leftover to make some string. It was really fun to learn a new way to interact with fabric. Happy weekend, friends!

16/08/2021

Simple stitching in the sun with my favorite perle cotton color. 💕