Daily Notes- October 21st

The large rock came from work.  Either collected by someone or retail - it was just in a box of junk under the work space.  Like we sold a rock??  The one on top I found while out getting the mail.  Just there when I looked down.  Random.  They seem to enjoy being together.  On the dining room table.  The rare empty space.

I had a fitful night.  First cold. Then too warm and then a dream/mare.  I was being stalked and I needed to get away from the building to my car without being noticed or identified as me.  Like trying to find different clothing, changing my hair, the way I walked etc.  Each time I thought I had it solved- it wasn't and I had to start over again.  I was left wondering why?????  do I need to change things about myself in real life????

The Woods Walk with the dog was good today.  He jumped over the smaller of two trees that have fallen over the path.  I have to climb over both.  I found a great big handful of lichen that had fallen in the storm last weekend.  I had read in a blog somewhere that the lichen can be made into a dye bath. The color of the cloth a very pale aqua.  I think the European blogger dyes mostly wool yarn and threads.

This morning I used the Fels Naphta soap to wash out the dried pink/purple grape juice from a third sample cloth.  A steel blue on this one-darker, moody.  Three different soaps/ three different blues. I have two more pieces and think I will try the Trader Joe's Body Wash I use on my cashmere sweaters (and my hair for awhile there) and see what happens.  The body wash has lots of herbal ingredients.  I'll also look in the closet where I might have a bar or two of "fancy" soap.  I do have a glycerin soap in the kitchen drawer as another choice.

I have plant materials (leaves mostly- colored by Autumn) wrapped and rolled and tied and ready to steam. I had boiled and cooled the grape leaf water twice with the cloth soaking in it.  Then dried without rinsing. Now wrapped.  I need to fill the last sample square with organic matter and then steam.  This is a experiment to see if the grape leaves work like a mordant (similar to alum) in the transfer process. If not then the fabric will be steamed again with blackened tin cans as the grape leaves have already made the base cloth a very pleasing yellow/tan. An old used look.

I have another batch of cloth which was boiled in soy milk and cooled twice and then hung to dry with no rinse. Those samples I want to use with Eucalyptus.  Trying for orange color.  Each sample cloth has an ID written on the edge.  I am being scientific rather than my usual "random".

And today at the grocery store I purchased dry organic black beans to make another blue dye (plus some beans to eat in my Spoon Bowl for lunch).  Yesterday it was diced apple (two), dry cranberries, almonds, and shelled pumpkin seeds with olive oil and Balsamic dressing.  Today the same but with celery added.  Because I finally remembered to buy some.  Spoon Bowl because you chop everything up so it fits on a spoon.  And you eat it out of a bowl.  Something Paul Newman always made for Thanksgiving.  Spoon Bowl Salads.