shoddy paper

This morning I learned a new term - "shoddy fabric". 

In the photo is paper I made yesterday using recycle materials...including some cotton and rayon fabric remnants cut into tiny pieces and then blended in the blender to get fiber pulp. In the bowl is the wet pulp mix (looks like "shoddy fabric"), top left is the wet paper, and bottom left is the dry paper - dried quickly with an iron because I needed to see if it would dry as paper before making 60 sheets.

paper pulp and handmade paper

posted by peacenquiethomegoods 

20 sheet pack of handmade paper

feedsack fabric dyeing, etc.

vintage feedsack bag dyed purple

 After dyeing four upcycled linen zafu covers I didn't want to just throw the dye water out. I tossed in this piece of vintage off-white feedsack fabric, swished it around, left it for half an hour. I was so surprised by the frosted window pane appearance when it was dried!

 

vintage feedsack Dresden Plates

 Won these 28 Dresden Plate feedsack fabric patches in a facebook group!

 

Kale salad

In the last year I learned to love kale salads. If the kale is chopped fine and then salt added and worked into the leaves, it softens up a bit for easier chewing. This winter (Fla., USA) I have kale and collards growing in an old (un-seaworthy) boat in the back yard.

roses in December...

 12/19/17 Freshly picked this morning for drying - probably for paper making - 

from my own Louis Philippe Rose, or Florida Cracker Rose bushes.

Louis Philippe Roses-picked 12/19/17

These bloom year round, and the bushes are self-healing - from blights, etc. 

I am simply in love with the Louis Philippe rose bush!

this post brought to you by 

etsyseller peacenquiethomegoods 

wishes of the heart come true...

Previous post follow-up photo...

old Schwinn bike -yet another curbside find...

 

ask, and ye shall receive...

I've been asking (the Universe) for a bike. 

Yesterday a neighbor (that I had not met previously, 

and who got a Kaplan table from me) gave me this pillow. 

I may need to be a little more specific.

~front porch in the morning~

 

 

 The wood rocker was a curbside find several months ago. It had a busted seat. It looked as if someone had leaned too heavily on the left arm, and over time the seat got stressed out. Anyway, nothing that a few really long wood deck screws and a drill couldn't fix! And voila! I had the front porch rocker of my dreams...for pennies, and a bit of elbow grease. :)

blank book journal and handmade paper

Yesterday my first handmade (including handmade paper) blank book/journal sold on etsy...that gives me incentive to make a few more. And hopefully - more after that. These are the photos of the second one - made with a map of Ohio on the covers. Awhile ago I found a stack of old road atlases on the curb. The resources for paper making are abundantly found everywhere, for almost no investment. Except time, which I do have in abundance also - at this time.

blank book/journal covered with old map

blank book journal covered with old map

handmade paper ring bound blank book/journal

improving shelf life...

It was painted bright orange when I found it on the curb, and the faux wicker sections on the one upper side and the top were damaged. I removed it, and used the good part for the top, and added the floral home decor fabric onto both sides.

Now, it's even more ooak...and eccentric. Orange happens to be one of my favorite-est colors. 

second life...

One thing I really love finding is useful (to me) fabric that is still in "like new" condition. I was quite happy to find this dew-covered, blue cotton (made in India) tablerunner on the the road one morning while I was out walking. It still had the store price tag on it. 

meandering stitch added with sewing machine

"second life" as a floor pillow/zafu

these bones will rise again...

Last week while out on my morning walk I came across a trunk on the curb that had personal effects and the cremains of a person in it. The cremains were still in the box from the crematorium. All morning this was kinda heavy on my mind. It didn't feel like the right thing to just allow those things to go to the landfill on trash day. So, at noon I got in the car, and brought the trunk home. After sorting through it all I had a better picture of who the cremains had been and why they were on the curb. I did an online search for the person to try to find relatives or people who might want the cremains, without any luck. There were also cremains from a beloved kitty, as well as a hair sample and even dried cat poop. I love my cats but to save that kind of memorabilia had never occurred to me. But, I learn new things about humans every day!

This morning I mixed the cremains into composted materials from my own household and yard waste, a soil/cow manure mix from Home Depot, and peat moss. The plan is to use this soil combo for the Louis Philippe roses that I propogate year round. Kalye, know this...your bones will rise again, in beautiful form and unravished by cancer.

~( )~

Louis Philippe Roses

 

re-purposing junk...

Years ago I knew someone who would annually empty the contents of her house onto the curb for anyone to rummage through, and take what they wanted to. Then she'd start over. In a years time her house was full with things others had given to her, and she repeated the "annual emptying". While I love this idea hugely, I don't see myself ever going to quite that extent. I don't exactly have the trust level she did, but also some of the things I have are needed on a daily or ongoing basis. I definitely am not recommending this, but it was something that continues to amaze me every time I remember it, which I did this morning.

I know that many people place things on the curb for others to find and make use of. I do it myself on occasion. Mostly I offer things on craigslist for free, or donate to a non-profit (not Goodwill - they're for profit and mean to their employees) thrift store.

I don't know exactly HOW this is so, but finding useful junk is in my bones. I loved digging around in the town dump when I was growing up, and my current version of this is seeing what I find on my morning walks around my neighborhood. This may be an addiction, but some how also fueled by my love of the planet, and love of re-purposing things, and wise/responsible use of resources. I'm sure if we ever run out of resources the "gods" will provide other resources (that's what they do) but in the meantime, I do my (self-imposed) part.

(Sold 5-9-17) 20 sheet, handmade paper, art/dream journal

handmade paper art/dream journal - full frontal view

 The bookmark used to embellish the front of the journal was found on the curb.

maker/makery...

Like many other people on this planet, I love to make things. I sew, cook, bake, grow a garden, scavenge (mostly on the morning or evening before trash day) for things to fix up or use to make other things. I usually feel happy when I'm making something, or on the receiving end of an idea of something to make. This year I finally got around to exploring making handmade paper from household scrap paper. So, this blog is pretty much going to be about those various projects.

assortment of handmade paper - so far...