Rainy with a 10% Chance of Sun

I had hoped to work in the garden this morning.

It's difficult to pass up temps in the 70's,

even if the humidity is about 65%.

I snapped the above picture of my Gallo Red Blanketflowers,

did a bit of weeding and deadheading,

and then got chased inside by the rain.

But that's ok,

I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon

playing in both my dye studio and

my sewing room/studio.

Ahhhh: BLISS!

Any guesses on what this is:

If you said eco dyeing,

give yourself a pat on the back!

Lea, one of my Jane LaFazio classmates.

brought in a lovely silk scarf that she had eco dyed,

and I recaught the bug.

She has given me some pointers,

and so along with India Flint's wonderful book,

Eco Colour,

I'm once again trying my hand at it.

There are a few black-eyed Susans thrown in the soup above,

in hopes of a bit of yellow color.

Here's a detail shot of one of the pieces,

still wrapped,

but removed from the soup.

and here are my two bundles

just chillin'.

I'm going to try to withstand the temptation

to unwrap these pieces until sometime next week.

Boy, is it tempting to do it right now!

In my sketchbook:

three leaves from our garden:

sourwood, red bud, dogwood.

I sketched and painted them this afternoon,

and am pretty pleased with how they turned out.

I need to finish the page, 

but for now, it's fine.

And while I painted,

I also embroidered:

My dear friend Jeannie

gifted me with some terrific variegated embroidery floss

last year,

and it is finally being used on this wet-felted piece!

WooHoo!!

Thanks Jeannie!!

Well, we're off to Obedience School

with El Diablo Negro -

Bosco!

He and I have been working really hard,

so I hope it pays off tonight!

peace