Raven and Sparrow

Measuring mordant

It has taken forever, but I have finally got the maple leaf design tablecloth into mordant. As per my education at earthues, I use alum acetate for cotton, which is aluminum refined with acetic acid. It works better on cellulose and has the added benefit of needing only cool water, which means I can wax before I mordant. Aluminum acetate is not poisonous, but it is so fine that a mask is a good idea. First I weigh the cloth (actually I weighed my tablecloth before I waxed it and wrote the weight on the hem in waterproof marker). I weigh in grams and my scale is accurate to one hundreth of a gram.

Alum acetate is measured at 5% on the weight of the goods, so this tablecloth needs a little over 20 grams.

Next, I thoroughly dissolve the alum in boiling water. Some dyes don't like water that hot, but alum is okay.

Finally, the dissolved alum is added to enough water to cover the tablecloth, and the cloth is immersed. Leaving it in overnight is enough, but more time does help. Since I am on such a leisurely schedule with this, I plan to leave the cloth in the mordant for a week, stirring as often as I pass by.

A sad note: the helicopters were looking for a young woman who was diving between our rocks and the little island just off shore. She disappeared that morning and has not been found. My heart goes out to her family.    

Mysterious activity

Today while I was puttering around trying to restore some order to the house I heard the low whumpa-whumpa noise that heralds a helicopter fly-by. There is a naval base close by so its not terribly unusual, but this time the noise was loud and near. When I looked outside it was right off the edge of our hill and the wind from its rotors was ruffling the trees. For over four hours it flew back and forth in front of our house, obviously looking for something. It was joined by four boats, one marked Vessel Assistance, who slowly circled in the gap between the little island down below and our rocks. I haven't heard any word about what they were doing, but it is hard to avoid pessimistic assumptions. We live around the corner from Deception Pass, where ferocious currents sweep between the narrow cliffs of two opposing islands. Anyone unfortunate enough to fall in is swept immediately in the direction of the tide. I hope today's activity was just a training exercise, but it looked more like a serious search. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

On the rocks

Finally, finally, the sun is out and it feels like summer might be coming after all. This morning was so fresh and lovely that Sunny and I ran down to the rocks before work. We have a tiny beach that is almost inaccessible, but also a much more easily reached rock shelf that allows us to approach the edge of the water. This morning was so clear we could see across Puget Sound to the Olympic Mountains, just faintly visible in the distance.

There is quite a drop-off to the water, which is about thirty feet deep. Sunny likes to go right to the edge and check for seals or birds that need to be barked at. Then she finds something fishy to roll in.

The scent of the air this morning was a delicious combination of salt water and seaweed. Every summer morning of my childhood smelled just like this. The lapping of the waves, the cries of gulls, and the drone of distant boat motors also could be coming from forty years away.

The kelp beds are not too extensive at this time of year, but some of their thick rubbery tresses still loom up out of the depths. They are great cover for fish, and the word is that fishing is good off these rocks. We have never tried. This morning tiny silver fishlets flicked and flipped and glittered over the surface of the water like little acrobats . They must make good food for the bigger ones lurking below.

Silver

Gray is my color. That sounds glum, but I don't find gray depressing in general. I think it is subtle and delicate on its own, and a powerful modifier and foil for other colors. I love the way grays can carry hints of every other color and still be gray. I love the elegance of gray suede and pearls, the dignity of gray pinstriped wool, the liveliness of gray hair, the gleam of silver. It is sober, sensible, elusive and mysterious. Brighter, clearer hues are even more so next to gray. It is the color of fog and cloud and stormy water, always carrying illumination around its edges. It does not demand attention but usually rewards it.

Great grays: my old cat's fur, the color of a rocky beach, dove feathers, lamb's ears, weathered wood, my friend's eyes, wool socks, my best pants, an unrighteous world.

Waxing and waning

I've got three cotton tablecoths waxed and ready to mordant. I forgot how long it takes to wax this design especially. It takes even longer because I have only been working one or two nights a week. It takes a supreme effort to get up off my duff after work and start waxing, but once I get going it is hard to stop. Re-doing these old designs makes me realize how badly I need a new one, but inspiration has been hard to find. However, the other night I was at work talking to a nicely dressed woman a little younger than me about laminate countertops when she turned to me and asked how I came to be at Home Depot. In eleven months she is the first customer who has asked me anything personal. I gave her my spiel about health insurance and when she asked what I did before I found myself in full flow about tablecloths and natural dyes and the importance of dinner and connection and so on. She said "So these are ceremonial cloths." and I had to say yes. I haven't seen her since that night, but I keep thinking about what she said and what it might mean to make tablecloths that are overtly ceremonial, like altar cloths, but not religious. Cloths for specific purposes, both personal and communal. Hm. Thank you Stephanie. Please come back.