Heatwave prep, public access weaving

 This week features heat and sun, so some prep happened. I tested the air conditioning which I haven't used yet, check, working fine.

And I finally did one of those jobs I've been thinking about for years. 

I set up a curtain in the passthrough between kitchen and dining area, which is mainly crafty work area. You see the woven squares and the linen shirt in progress.

The house faces west at the front, the kitchen side, and the afternoon glare shines right through into the living area and the eyes of anyone sitting on the sofa. It's only taken a couple of decades to yield to the need to surrender the usefulness of the  uncurtained passthrough, find a rod and put up this linen dyed and stamped fabric.

It's the other piece of linen, replaced in the bathroom cabinet by the Moon napkins.  It will serve its purpose for summer glare, and I think will move on at the end of the year when the sun isn't coming straight in. 

And here's a project, and a couple of people I'm trying to interest HGA in covering on Textiles and Tea at some point. It's a Chicago based open weaving place, like Praxis in Cleveland, where weavers can use looms and tech not usually available to them. 

And, if you go to an author's book reading, check first

Happy day, everyone, read the fine print. Me, I'm ordering my hearing aids today. Going for it.

Photo AC

Busy day, bees aren't even in competition

So yesterday was a terrific day. Low humidity, sunshine, 80sf, just right for energy and ambition.

So I made the broth, not stock, because it had chicken bones. It also had ginger peelings, and the kitchen smelled lovely.

Maslen bread cooling here, and containers of broth for the freezer.

The bread, here showing the crumb, and toasted with Vermont butter, beside lunch salad of mixed lettuces, tomatoes, dates, scallions and spinach.

The bread was interesting, too heavy for my taste, and not enough salt. I'll make it again, though with a higher oven temp -- hers was 425°, and I usually use 450° -- and more salt. Less oat flour, more wheat and white. But in principle it's a very handy recipe. Definitely a keeper.

Then to the curtain work, which involved numerous climbings on and off a step stool, cutting, tearing and reaching and pinning.  Very aerobic.

The situation, sun way too bright in the morning, i don't like being dazzled awake.

Then the set-up

The idea was to pin the muslin in panels to the existing cotton tab curtains. This involved much fitting and tearing and pinning.

And it went pretty well. I left it to hang overnight before hemming, so as to let it relax to a stable length. Fabric is alive, needs to rest between stages. So does the maker.

And this morning I woke up very peacefully, light in the room muted as I'd hoped. I have many more yards for other purposes, including more window panels, but this was the main event. And the panels are now pre torn, main arithmetic done, so it will go faster.

Then for the blueberry hot biscuits. Only this happened. I ended up with Gary repotting a pony palm we've been going to do for ages and he suddenly showed up ready. He'd got new pot, soil, plant all assembled, who was I to say no, I'm busy?

Then we went on to other gardening tasks involving heaving container vegetables around, I now have cucumbers outside my fence.  To the accompaniment of a Nancy Wilson playlist, his music in the house growing up, his mom a keen fan. And some mainstream piano jazz here and there.

It was punctuated by conferences with neighbors, who are having their floor redone, and he wants to do likewise. Always several projects at once. 

So that's why no blueberry hot biscuits happened. Today.

So much for my short-lived policy of non involvement with the garden.

Hope springs eternal, and here are my embroidered 3D butterflies of hope for Ukraine, fighting more fiercely than ever.

Hope on, happy day everyone!