A few days into March and I am off again at the weekend for some snow-shoeing, actually I am fairly sure it will just be walking and I won’t have room to take my mobile snow dyeing kit…

While I was away last time when, we had an afternoon free from organised activities so I spent a happy time rigging up three buckets and installing them outside complete with dye and snow trying not to leave any traces of my activity.

The results were good, one did not come up to expectations, it was meant to be shades of brown but it came out shades of orange, think the dye was too old…

I mixed far too much dye mix so when I got home I froze my fabric and then applied the dye and left it to thaw out, the results were very pleasing.

Immediately I came home I started working on one of the snow-dyed pieces, an old hand towel, it is still ongoing the of colours of which I thought of as volcanic.. We visited the remains of a castle which asked to be photographed and as it sat on a volcanic outcrop of hexagonal columns I was tempted to incorporate that information as well. The surrounds of the towel have damask flowers so I will , one day embroider the flowers.

Previously I mentioned that I was doing the journal quilts this year, I used my pole wrapped silk noil cut into four to make four individual pieces which are one tree trunk. They are all slightly different but have lines which link them together, I hand-stitched them while I was at the Cholet show and then rather forgot about them until I tidied my work table and I finished them this week.

I have just made a small Turnstone which is winging its way to the USA for the SAQA Spotlight auction. As usual I misjudged how long it would take me but I am happy with the result and hope that it finds a new home.

This season is such a lovely one the plants are waking up and once again there are plenty of flowers to photograph and I might be tempted to do a series of small flower panels, I certainly have enough photographs to inspire me! Having had an empty January I now find myself with three UFOs and plenty of ideas running around my head.