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Sunday 28 July 2013

Sunday Snapshots

Oooh I feel so lucky!  There's a ditch behind my husband's store...  we went there one evening and when I jumped out of the truck, there it was!  Chamomile, sweet clover, thistles and dock.  I didn't have my camera so I grabbed his cell phone and snapped this in the late evening sun.  Oh it was glowing, it was so pretty!  (You should have heard me squealing.)

ditch bouquet  xo

That reddish stuff is prolific everywhere right now.  It really stands out.  My daughter and I brought some home (likely a noxious weed so no one was arresting us).  Once it was in my hands it just looked brown.  I'm surprised how red it looks form a distance.  I'm definitely putting this into some upcoming art work.  I just need to find the right fibres.

curly dock on my deck

It was interesting to see it up closer.  It has little ruffled leaves each with a teeny tiny seedpod nestled inside.  These plants grow VERY tall.  This is just the tip top of one.  We took some thistles too (again... no arrests were made).

what an interesting specimen!  (color is too pink, taken in indoor light at night)

The tips even have some blue on them.  That was a couple of days ago.  This morning, I took some raw silk knitting yarn and a little spoonful of purple Dye-na-flo dye & water... and tada!  I have my own custom matched silk embroidery threads.  SWEET!  And SO easy.  I don't love dying fabric, (or... I am not good at it) but dying threads and ribbons is super simple.  It takes minutes to do, and minutes to clean up.  Bonus.

hand picked thistle.  hand dyed silk.  Perfect match!

Have a great Sunday.  : )  I think I'll spend my day outside working (and playing) in the yard.


10 comments:

Terri said...

I love when the sun shines on the close things and there is a dark background - the picture just glows!
Hugs

Anonymous said...

one of my best quilts had a center medallion of scottish thistles - i needlepunched the fuzzy bits, embroidered the round bits and the stems and leaves... it was quite beautiful (i matched the background quilting to the cross hatching on the bottom bits of the blooms, if that makes sense). sent it to my father-in-law. after he died, i asked to have it back - his sister-in-law said 'oh, we threw all that old stuff out'.
i love thistles.
cheers
molly

Monika Kinner said...

MOLLY!!

NOOOOOO!!!

:(((

That is such a terrible story. How entirely dreadful.

~Monika

B J Elder said...

Love the pictures. 'Dock' is a new one to me. Very interesting. The colors of the thistle are great!
Oh my, just read Molly's comment. How sad that people don't realize how special quilts are.

carla said...

Hi!!! I have always loved thistle!!!! I love weeds!!!! Pretty pics!!!! Thank You

Patti said...

Love your photo! The nicest things can be found in the most unlikely places! We've got a bunch of curly dock and the other day, I could have sworn it was pink. I actually thought of you! And I might like dying threads too...because I sure don't like dying fabric, lol! I'd make a crappy artist!

Kiwi said...

Beautiful photo! We went out the west highway (14? The highway to Biggar) and saw a flax field in bloom just outside the city. Also a few minutes there were lots of tall weeds with yellow flowers so pretty. Thought of you - but your photos are always better. :)

HollyM said...

You manage beautiful photos even with the cell phone! I've noticed the curly dock growing here too recently.
I'm wondering about the Dye- na- flow dye. I'll have to look it up. I have the inks which are great on fabric but didn't know they did dye.

Jeito Mineiro de Ser said...

Adorei as fotos! Encontramos cenas belas com o coração e com os olhos e você possui os dois muito bons!
Um abraço!
Egléa

I loved the photos! We found beautiful scenes with heart and eyes and you have two very good!
Hugs!
Egléa

Threadpainter said...

I decided, yesterday, to look up Curly Dock and came across a video of a man who makes flour out of this plant ! It's edible !!
Did you know that ? The things one learns about !
It is a great subject for your next piece !

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