Revisit with Blue

I never gave colors a thought until I became interested in fiber arts, weaving, spinning and dyeing--especially natural dyeing.  I also took some painting classes--and then the history of colors came into my scope of being. 

 

 Woad was the first plant to be used for the color blue but the

  process of making blue with woad was particularly long and noxious- it involved soaking the leaves of the plant for from three days to a week in human urine, ideally urine from men who had been drinking a great deal of alcohol, which was said to improve the colour. The fabric was then soaked for a day in the urine, then put out in the sun, where as it dried it turned blue.

Then along came indigo and the whole world of BLUE has been changed!

 

In 1498, Vasco de Gama opened a trade route to import indigo from India to Europe. In India, the indigo leaves were soaked in water, fermented, pressed into cakes, dried into bricks, then carried to the ports London, Marseille, Genoa and Bruges. Later, in the 17th century, the British, Spanish and Dutch established indigo plantations in Jamaica, South Carolina, the Virgin Islands and South America, and began to import American indigo to Europe.

 

So, how did painters use this interesting natural color for their paintings?

 

 

A woad mill in Thuringia, in Germany, in 1752. The woad industry was already on its way to extinction, unable to compete with indigo blue.

While blue was an expensive and prestigious colour in European painting, it became a common colour for clothing during the Renaissance. The rise of the colour blue in fashion in the 12th and 13th centuries led to the creation of a thriving blue dye industry in several European cities, notably Amiens, Toulouse and Erfurt. They made a dye called pastel from woad, a plant common in Europe, which had been used to make blue dye by the Celts and German tribes. Blue became a colour worn by domestics and artisans, not just nobles. In 1570, when Pope Pius V listed the colours that could be used for ecclesiastical dress and for altar decoration, he excluded blue, because he considered it too common.^[34]


The pastel industry was threatened in the 15th century by the arrival from India of new blue dye, indigo, made from a shrub widely grown in Asia. Indigo blue had the same chemical composition as woad, but it was more concentrated and produced a richer and more stable blue. In 1498, Vasco de Gama opened a trade route to import indigo from India to Europe. In India, the indigo leaves were soaked in water, fermented, pressed into cakes, dried into bricks, then carried to the ports London, Marseille, Genoa and Bruges. Later, in the 17th century, the British, Spanish and Dutch established indigo plantations in Jamaica, South Carolina, the Virgin Islands and South America, and began to import American indigo to Europe.
The countries with large and prosperous pastel industries tried to block the use of indigo. The German government outlawed the use of indigo in 1577,

True Blue

Michelangelo couldn’t afford ultramarine. His painting The Entombment, the story goes, was left unfinished as the result of his failure to procure the prized pigment

Back With The BH Gals!

Yeah, I'm back with the BH (Bonnie Hunter) Gals Gathering!  and it feels so good!  The group meets every two weeks at Wooden Spools, Denver, CO.  In the area, check out this unique shop--they buy your quality quilting fabric, thread, etc and resale it.  I find many bargains there.  They also have a complete selection of knitting and crocheting supplies, yarn and wonderful books.

The classroom is brightly lit and always, always a haven of eye candy--quilts that are featured in their workshops.  I really liked this one.

And another class upcoming on their schedule

The gals usually work on the same quilt pattern from Bonnie's books.  This time around they are working on Easy Sunday.

This is Judy's stash being worked up

one finished block--100 more to go!

Marsha is working with bright fabrics

Our fearless leader, Jessica, has some show and tell.

This would be a great baby quilt--hard to tell--but, the border fabric is

yellow tulips!

Here is another one of her creations--a gift for family

I'm working away on my quilt pieces--I chose to do Emery's Stars--a free BH pattern on her website.

I like doing my 1/2 square triangles with paper

I find the print outs at Quilting and Whatnot 

lots of cutting and then tearing of paper--which I do while I'm watching a movie or TV program

Stay tuned for the block placement

Being Creative

How are you creative?  When do you become creative?  Is there a space where you are creative?  A time?  A thought process that allows you to become creative?

Recently, I heard a musician say, "I'm most creative when I'm in the studio"--does that mean his 'Muse' only hits him when he is in the studio?  doesn't he have any other times to channel his 'muse'?  Then he said, "we were walking and discussing a topic and it hit me--let's go back to the studio and make music!"  So, his 'Muse' struck him outside the studio!  But, he was most creative when he returned to the studio.....................................I find this very interesting.

Then, the other day, I was visiting with a long arm quilter--she does free lance quilting--no pano for her!  She said, "some days I put on a quilt and I know immediately what design I should do" but "other days, I sit and sit--wondering what I should do"--Her "Muse" comes and goes. 

We had a lovely lady in our spinning group--sadly to say, she has gone to spinners heaven.  Her "Muse" hit her at the most important times--When we needed a skit for our conference!  We could always count on her "Muse" to appear and we would have the most brilliant skit--song, dance, actions, etc.  Her "Muse" was the greatest!   She would always say, "Let me bring in my "Muse" and there it was!

How creative can you be?  Do you have a "Muse" that suddenly appears and offers up the finest of thoughts?  Or maybe, not so fine but some that can be fine tuned to be worthwhile.

Let's open ourselves up to Our "Muse"......................................................When is your "Muse" time?

Patriot Sewing

I guess we should be thinking about sewing Patriot all year long--shouldn't we?  But, somehow, it only comes to my mind when we are close to a Patriotic celebration.  These two quilts popped up on my radar this week.   Both are free projects through Windham Fabrics.

 

 

 

Debby Kratovil is the designer behind many excellent patterns. 

I Found Lost Books!

Recently, we decided to clear out our bookshelves--taking time to go through all the ones we had

took hours--did we read this one?  or that one?

Okay, we put those we think we have read in one pile, another pile for me, a stack for hubby, pile for brown headed daughter,

a box to donate to the library and books that can be posted on Paperback Swap

Amongst all those books, buried in the lowest shelf, this was found!

The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore has no date on the inside cover--

I remember reading all these books when I was 12--oh so many years ago!

what fond memories this book brings back to life!

There was also this book way in the back of the bookshelf--

you can't imagine how many books we have

I love books about fiber related stories

and this is a good story

Oh, another one to re-read again for the enjoyment!

And this one--so beautiful illustrated with spinning, dyeing, weaving--

can't get any better!

We donated 100 books to the library; posted many on PBS, saved just as many as we

donated and posted, but these four books will remain on MY shelf in plain sight!

There's An App For That!

I'm playing!  Oh my how much fun this is!

I found an app (isn't there an app for anything and everything!!)

that layers photos over each other

so,

needless to say I've been having fun with my photos.

 

 

Take this photo

I layer this one

over this one

 

And this one--I layer

this one over

this one

as you can see I'm having so much fun using my photos with this app

I don't know how I'll use this in the future, but there is always a means to my madness!

The app is Diana on I-phone & I-pad

I'm sure there must be a similar one on android systems.

Take a minute or in my case, an hour or two, and explore

your phone and the apps out there.

Brain, please engage!

I'm knitting away on That Bald Guy Knits Mally sock pattern.  You can find it on Ravelry.

I have the pattern on my I Pad app Goodreader.  There the pattern is in text and charts. 

there are the symbols and meanings all written out plain and simple

I'm using four #1 bamboo needles

 

I'm knitting along and knitting along

Wait, where are you going?  Hey brain come back here!

why do you wander when you are in the middle of knitting

this pattern--just look what you did! 

there's a mistake--way back several rows!

come on Brain, settle in--why wander and think about something else

this is a straight forward pattern--see the charts--

get yourself back on track and quit thinking about something else..........

 

DAM--That's Denver Art Museum

Am I excited?  You bet your bottom dollar!

There is an exciting Tapestry exhibit at the

Denver Art Museum

 

more than 20 tapestry-woven wall hangings, rugs, furniture covers, garments, and sculptural forms

are on display! 

Whoop! Whoop!

 

Creative Crossroads: The Art of Tapestry

May 31, 2015 – March 6, 2016

North Building - Level 6 —

 

Mark Adams (American, 1925-2006), Flight of Angels, woven by M. and Mme. Paul Avignon, 1962, wool and cotton tapestry; Neusteter Textile Collection: Gift of The E. Mark Adams and Beth Van Hoesen Adams Trust. Copyright of The E. Mark Adams and Beth Van Hoesen Adams Trust

Irvin Trujillo (American, b. 1954), Saltillo Shroud (detail), 2014, wool tapestry. Neusteter Textile Collection

Tour de Fleece 2015

I know it should read Tour de France But in the world of spinners, we make it the Tour de Fleece!  These are the days we can treadle our spinning wheels, watch the race and spin through our stash!
What will you be spinning?  What wheel will you use?  How much will you accomplish on your daily pedaling? 
There is a group on Ravelry, of course and you can join in.  Spin a little, spin a lot--it's all about spinning the stash!!


Here are the (Rules)

Challenge Yourself.
Spin.
Have fun.
This year, the Tour de Fleece starts on Saturday July 4 and runs until Sunday July 26th, 2015.
Guidelines (NOT RULES):

• Spin every day the Tour rides, if possible. Saturday July 4 through Sunday July 26th. Days of rest: Monday, July 13th and Tuesday, July 21st. (Just like the actual tour.)
• Spin something challenging on the challenge day (usually the toughest high mountain stage: this year, it’s Stage 18, on Thursday, July 23rd, when they will climb 5 mountains, including the 1,924m high Col du Glandon).
• Wear yellow on Sunday July 26th to announce victory. Why not wear yellow on any day you feel particularly successful? (Yellow is the color of the race leader in the Tour - but here we are all ‘race leaders’) Other colors if desired: Green (sprinter - think FAST), Polka-dot (climber - as in uphill), and white (rookie).

BLUE!

I've always had a fascination with colors and their meanings.  Did you know--what color you wear or display presents your personality?  Or your feelings?  Or your station in life?

Today I spend some time on BLUE

Spinning Blue makes me Blue!

"On Being Blue" is a book about everything blue--sex and sleaze and sadness, among other things--and about everything else. It brings us the world in a word as only William H. Gass, among contemporary American writers, can do.
Gass writes:
"Of the colors, blue and green have the greatest emotional range. Sad reds and melancholy yellows are difficult to turn up. Among the ancient elements, blue occurs everywhere: in ice and water, in the flame as purely as in the flower, overhead and inside caves, covering fruit and oozing out of clay. Although green enlivens the earth and mixes in the ocean, and we find it, copperish, in fire; green air, green skies, are rare. Gray and brown are widely distributed, but there are no joyful swatches of either, or any of exuberant black, sullen pink, or acquiescent orange. Blue is therefore most suitable as the color of interior life. Whether slick light sharp high bright thin quick sour new and cool or low deep sweet dark soft slow smooth heavy old and warm: blue moves easily among them all, and all profoundly qualify our states of feeling."

Blue Skies, Blue Flowers, Blue is resting to the eyes but how do you see Blue?

Human eyes perceive blue when observing light with a wavelength between 450 and 495 nanometers. Blues with a higher frequency and thus a shorter wavelength gradually look more violet, while those with a lower frequency and a longer wavelength gradually appear more green. Pure blue, in the middle, has a wavelength of 470 nanometers. When sunlight passes through the atmosphere, the blue wavelengths are scattered more widely by the oxygen and nitrogen molecules, and more blue comes to our eyes.

Does that make sense? 

Early mankind had no access to blue, because blue is not what you call an earth color,” said Dr. Berke, a chemist who has studied the history of blue pigment. “You don’t find it in the soil.” Only with the advent of mining, he said, could sources of blue pigment be extracted.

blue was the first man-made pigment -- the first pigment ever engineered. And the word for blue didn’t come into existence until after this material was made by man.  there are almost no blue animals, blue eyes are rare, and blue flowers are mostly human creations. 

This is so much science about BLUE--it's a really an interesting subject to study.

Flag Day

In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened on that day in 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.^[1] The United States Army also celebrates the Army Birthdayon this date; Congress adopted "the American continental army" after reaching a consensus position in the Committee of the Whole on June 14, 1775.^[2][3]

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress. Flag Day is not an official federal holiday. Title 36 of the United States Code, Subtitle I, Part A, CHAPTER 1, § 110^[4] is the official statute on Flag Day; however, it is at the President's discretion to officially proclaim the observance. On June 14, 1937, Pennsylvania became the first U.S. state to celebrate Flag Day as a state holiday, beginning in the town of Rennerdale.^[1] New York Statutes designate the second Sunday in June as Flag Day, a state holiday.^[

Dining Al Fresco on Larimer Square 2015

Larimer Square Events is happening tonight!  It's a special time of the year when several restaurants in Larimer Square, Denver, close down the block in front of their location, place tables and chairs in the street--Yes, in the street!  The award-winning restaurants of Larimer Square extend their patios into the streets for a one-of-a-kind dining experience on Denver’s most charming block. With happy hour festivities, dinner, live music and an evening under the stars, Dining Al Fresco is one of the city’s best summer scenes.

So, if you want to find me tonight--come on down!  I'll be there in the crowd enjoying the lovely weather under the stars!  There will be two more opportunities to dine Al fresco this summer--

July 11 and August 15!  Make your reservations soon.....................

Little Critters!

 

There are many little critters out there roaming around on plants, animals, etc.

Recently, I found some of these critters in the gardens of the herb farm and other plant locations.

Some I know what they are

but others,

not!

Take this little critter--he sure looks funny!  So don't know what his name is--

wonder if he eats this plant material or just hangs around to

catch lunch--

like..............

this little one.  Not so much a ladybug look but

colors are interesting.

Maybe, it took a bite out of the leaf in the background.

And this creature!! Will some day turn into this

beautiful butterfly!

There are some little critters you can't see with the naked eye until...........

you look closely--the red color on this cactus comes from this

little guy--well, gal.  It's a cochineal beetle and it gives us lovely reds when processed.

Cochineal lives on cactus and I love when we drive through the desert and see these

brightly enflamed pads!

Oh, yes, there are interesting little critters lingering out there.

Okay--I'm Playing Along.....................

Oh My Gosh!  I've got to stop looking around on the Internet!

I have found way too many things that take my attention away from

what I'm suppose to be doing.

Just look at these nifty action loaded creative projects!

Babble Dabble Do website is not only creative but here we use our heads with math--

geometry--Yes!  I was horrible at Geometry!  If the math teacher had given me

this for a project, I would have learned so much.

Take a look at the website--view the video, print out the template for Flextangle:

color, fold, and have fun!

This website is just not for kids!