Shibori 101

Cora had a piece of white cotton cloth. Very high quality white cotton cloth. But she didn't really want white, you know? Something colored would be fabulous. So she got out her thread, a stencil, and a wash-off-able fabric marker. She didn't embroider. She Shibori-ed. Observe:

(You can click the pictures to make them bigger, by the way)

Now pull all those threads tight to scrunch up the fabric so that dye can't reach the scrunched parts!

Now repeat 5 bazillion times. Cora also put on little "bubbles" by pinching little bits of fabric and tightly wrapping thread around the pinched part.

Now you dye. Mwahahaha... *baptizes fabric in indigo* *twice*

When you are finished with that, you grab your favorite Cowboy and make him pull out all the stitches with you. At least, that's what Cora did, and it worked out fabulously.

And you continue speaking about yourself in third person because... well... Do you need a reason for everything?

This is what you end up with. Butterflies and bubbles!

Now Cora will hem the two non-selvage sides and wear this new Tichel that she made.

Prayer Request

Yesterday, my grandpa announced that my uncle is dying of pancreatic cancer. I knew he was a little sick-ish, but no one told me it was like... BAD sick. Could you all pray for peace for him and my aunt, please? I don't know if he is a believer.

Thank you.

*Lightbulb Clicks On* Blended Fabrics

I was thinkin' about Deuteronomy 22:11, where YHVH tells His people that it is against the law to wear fabrics woven with diverse fibers, like wool and linen together. For a minute or two, I sat there thinking, "That's kind of random... What's so wrong with blended fabrics? Why is it against the law?" I'm a firm believer in God having reasons for all of his laws for Isra'el. So I go to thinking of it then. And this is what I thought up.

A few possibilities from my knowledge of cloth:

1. They are treated differently - Wool can't be at a high temperature or it will felt when wet or burn. Linen, on the other hand, gets wrinkled up and needs ironing. With a blended fabric, you can't iron the linen flat.
2. Different pHs. Animal fibers (like wool, silk, etc) like to be slightly acidic. If you put a little vinegar into the wash-water when you was them, they'll stand up a lot better. Plant fibers (like cotton and linen), on the other hand, will break down in acid. They like slightly basic solutions. With both together, you will invariably have weak parts with the acidic animal fibers woven with sensitive plant fibers. The integrity of the fabric is drastically weakened.
3. Take dye differently. You use different mordants (pre-dye solutions) to prepare the fabric for dye, and they take color radically different. So you have an uneven, mismatching dye that will fade out of one fiber (because you had to use a mordant that was bad for one of the two fibers).
4. Washing techniques. If you wash wool and linen together, the wool will shrink and the linen will stay straight. The result is a pebbly texture that is uncomfortable to wear.
5. Warmth differences. Linen is breathable, but wool will keep you warm. The mingled garment is pointless. Some parts of you will be warm, and other parts cold. Do you wear it in the summer or winter? I'd rather have all linen in the summer and all wool in the winter.

Who knew? Oh, yeah! Our God!

Have any more things to add to my list? This was all just off the top of my head in the last 10 minutes. If you've studied this at all, I welcome your comments!

God Knows Our Needs... And Gives Us Gallon Glass Jugs

Last week, Grandpa was down at the local plant sale at the Grange Hall selling bazillions of plants. A neighbor called me up to ask if Grandpa might be interested in getting some plant trays that a friend was going to take to the dump. I said I didn't know, but y'all go down to the Grange and ask. So they did!


Now, I know all two of you reading this are thinking to yourself, "Why is Cora telling me about plant trays for her grandpa? I thought she said 'glass jugs' in the title. What's she been smoking?"

Cora is here to tell you that she's only smoked once, and that was when she caught her hair on fire leaning over a candle. Hopefully that will never happen again. She's going to tell you about the jugs! In just a second.


Yesterday, Cora was surveying our stock of jugs to hold milk in. She needed to use some gallon-size to hold a greatly expanding supply of milk, but we only have a few and they're hard to pour out of, because they're just pickle jars with no spout. If you know Cora, you know that spells trouble. So Cora whined and complained to herself and didn't use them. She went over to her grandpa's house to do a little dusting and mopping. On the way, she stopped to look at the new shed her grandpa and The Brain were building. She wandered inside. Lo and behold! ~20 of these!

Gallon size with a handle and pour spout! Lucky day!

Now, if only Cora could borrow some. In the midst of mopping and dusting, she mentioned her dilemma to Grandpa and asked if perhaps she could borrow some. He informed her that he'd no use for ANY of them. They were given to him by some lady who was taking plant trays to the dump and stopped by the plant sale last week to give him the trays ($300 worth of trays, btw).

God was listening to Cora's whining and complaining, and he'd fulfilled her need a week prior! We have such a great and caring Abba.

We're out of badgers. Would you accept a Wolverine in it's place?

Yesterday, we got a new addition to the family from a neighbor. The Lego Man FINALLY got a pet of his own, poor guy. So he brought the little babe home and pretty much hasn't stopped talking about/looking at/playing with it since.

Introducing: The Wolverine.

He's cute and adorable and LOUD!

I Gots Me Some Culture, Yo

I thought I had plenty of culture before. Why, once I read the entire Reader's Digest version of Jane Eyre! How much more cultured can you get?

But, apparently that kind of culture is not what you need when making cheese. You need moldy-type cultures (could'a fooled me... I sure thought Jane Eyre was moldy).

So my dear mother just finished ordering some cheesy cultures (Chevre and one other) and butter muslin online. It will not be long before there will be a bounty of cheese in my home!

Although it won't look quite like those ^^ ...They'll be more crumbly and fresh and yummy. You get the idea. :) My dad says I will soon be "The Cheese Whiz." Um... Thanks, Dad...


Another bright part of today: my face is not quite so swollen today. One side is all purply-bruised, though. Ouch.

Proverbs to Remember

 I love Proverbs. Here are a few I read in the past couple of days.

Interpersonal Communication:
Proverbs 15:1
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Peace in the Home:
Proverbs 15:17
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.

What Seems Right:
Proverbs 14:12
There is a  way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

And one that I just found last night...

Voting Advice: (I added the italics for emphasis)
Proverbs 24:21-22
My son, fear thou the Lord and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change: For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?

Have a blessed Sunday!