2024
GROWING TEXTILES NZ
Indigo harvest
1st March
Such a wonderful day spent harvesting 151kg of Japanese Indigo (Persicaria tinctoria) out at the BHU organic farm in Lincoln. This harvest is being processed using the water extraction method in a 1000L tub + a smaller barrel as a small proportion of the harvest did not fit in the tub.
One of my favorite parts of the day was the conversation that came from us being together, working together, dreaming and planning how we can make positive change in an industry causing so much destruction! How can we collaborate with our local and wider communities to create some kind of systematic change. What knowledge can be shared? and how can we create a system that we thrive in, that’s not focused on growth and profits?
I’m so excited to have been welcomed as part of the team! Feeling very grateful and positive about the potential of this project!
SELWYN DISTRICT LIBRARIES
Te Ara Ātea Rolleston Library
Leeston Library
Darfield Library
Te Ara Ātea Rolleston Library
Te Ara Ātea Rolleston Library
Te Ara Ātea Rolleston Library
GROWING TEXTILES NZ
FARM VISIT & COLLABORATION
14TH FEBURARY
The organic linen for fiber crop hanging to dry.
A fun wee side story - In this tunnel in 2020/21 I helped harvest tomato’s and cucumbers when I helped a friends organic food growing project ‘Crooked Roots’.
Another recently harvested linen crop laying to ret.
Linen bundles in the drying shed
The left of this image shows a beautiful crop of Japanese Indigo, with distant tubs filled with the harvest!
The gorgeous old drying shed with many racks of drying natural dye plants including Marigolds and Coreopsis. We then laid out the Japanese Indigo that had just been harvested.
More information on this project to come.
LANDSCAPE WATERCOLOURS
11TH FEBRUARY
21st January
Cord made from Dandelion stems that I picked and dried last summer. I soaked them and spent an afternoon twisting / plying the stems into this beautiful colour varied cord.
21st January
Today is hot and definitely a shade day. Blissed out gazing at Japanese Indigo swaying in the light while I glide colour through water.
7th January
My first water colour experiments using my Granny Barbara’s set
