Thursday, September 30, 2010

Sheep to Shawl, Llama to Pajama 2010

Save the date for Sheep to Shawl, Llama to Pajama 2010, a free festival on Saturday, October 23, 2010, 12 noon to 4PM, rain or shine at Green Hill Park Farm in Worcester. Watch a llama get a haircut, learn to weave, meet some sheep, try spinning, and knit some stitches! Enjoy games, music, giveaways, and more. Learn about fiber farms, fiber artists, and fiber businesses found throughout Central MA. For all ages and wheelchair accessible, this fun outdoor fest is sponsored by the City of Worcester and VSA Massachusetts, and made possible by a grant from the Greater Worcester Community Foundation. For more info, visit the event facebook page or call (508) 757-4646.




Sunday, September 26, 2010

Ode to The Common Ground

Finally, I experienced The Common Ground Fair in Unity ME. It was exquisite. Friday was a good day to go, with a smaller crowd allowing for space to see and experience it all. Best of all, I made the trip with Sara and for two hours up and back we chatted, kvetched, laughed, and shared. That's precious one-on-one time. Long though the journey was, it is most highly recommended. Just consider the photographs. . .








Wednesday, September 22, 2010

I can't stop time

Where did September go? Today's unseasonably warm temps (very high 80s, with a register of 90 in the Matrix) do not make it feel like wool weather. But, it certainly makes for continuing to work outside; all month I have been experimenting with new natural dye stuffs -- Purple Loosestrife (yes, a purpose for this nasty yet pretty invasive!), sunflower heads, sumac leaves as mordant (they are loaded with tannins), plus more Golden Rod, my own grown Marigold flowers, and the wild yet elegant Queen Anne's Lace picked at Mom's. I love the smells of the cooking botanicals, and plan to do more experimenting with pepper plants and Black Eyed Susans. I have my own copies now of Rita Buchanan's excellent books, plus a copy of Jenny Dean's Natural Dyeing. I feel well educated. My little Madder plant has thrived in the front flower bed near the giant sunflowers, zinnias, and marigolds, and I am not sure what to do about it as the cold weather approaches. Dig it up and pot it? Harvest the roots (the source of the dye) but in doing so, kill the plant?

The lovely days of summer 2010 included relaxing moments with my flowers and vegetables and volunteer plants and other visitors. All good stuff for my soul.