Solstice

Happy Solstice! Or happy belated Solstice, I should say. Obviously I am posting this on Monday and it is no longer Solstice. The days have already started getting shorter.

But I do want to tell you about how I welcomed summer this year because it was quite lovely. I am more of a cool weather type person, but summer does have its good points. For instance: lots of light and many growing things.

Saturday I tended my garden, played outside with my son, harvested dye plants, finished my Sunlight Shawl for Sad People (I've got it blocking right now), and ate strawberries straight out of the garden. Perfection!

Sunday I spent cleaning my house and dyeing yarn. I have two wonderful pieces of news: the fig tree in my yard is healthy and growing and had lots of leaves to use for dyeing,  AND whatever was eating all my figs in years past has apparently moved on - there are still a ton of figs left and I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch but it looks like we might get a harvest this year!

I don't have a fancy camera, and unfortunately I had trouble capturing the color with my camera phone, but the fig leaves with alum and iron yielded a very cool variegated spring green and mossy green.

Calendula Conundrum

I had planted calendula in my garden specifically for use as a dye plant. However, I've been having problems with dry, itchy skin and I finally said enough! So I'm making calendula oil instead.

Calendula is wonderful for skin irritation of all sorts. I will let is soak in olive oil for a couple of weeks, then mix it with bee's wax and lavender essential oil for a healing and soothing skin salve. The lavender essential oil not only smells good, but also has anti bacterial and anti fungal properties. The finished salve will be good for rashes, dry skin, burns, and cuts. Calendula oil mixed with bee's wax also makes a great lip balm.

I struggled with the decision to use my calendula for medicinal purposes at first, but I decided that there are many plants I can dye with (especially at this time of year) but not so many that are so good for the skin. Anyway, calendula is a prolific plant so I will have other harvests this summer.

I figure that if deciding whether to use a flower for dying yarn or making salve is the problem I'm having today, then life is pretty good.

Two Patterns

I designed two shawlette/scarf patterns and they are now live on Ravelry. They are the first original designs that I've sent out into the world. They are my baby birds and they are now free, which is exciting and a little nervous-making.

They are Wolf Lichen and Back Garden. Please check them out!