These fabrics & muka pieces are from the Tawa* leaf dye-bath we made in March 2021.
​We used the same cotton fabrics as the other dyebaths of this seasons explorations.
​
​Beautiful, soft, gentle shades of honey-yellow which shifted to greens after being in the paru.

. . . . and then of course there was a piece of silk that went in, ha - couldn't resist !

& now that it's May & i {think} know it's time to stop.

I thought i would stop a couple of weeks ago but then we gathered more Hīnau leaves & paru to do one final thing . . .  and then i couldn't bear the thought of wasting the dyebath nor the paru & now its May 9th, it's cold, it's raining & my heart (& hands) are asking why ?! Why did you keep going ?!

I'll tell you about the 'final thing' in another post - right now I need a cuppa 

mā te wā
​xxx

i love the quiet
i mean it's usually quiet here but this quiet is different 
it has a depth & calm which is new
it's unhurried 
of course there is still the sound of the farm activity around us
& that motorbike - that one that really probably shouldn't be on the road telling by the noise it makes
this quiet lets you bask unhurriedly in the sun just a little longer than you would normally 

i love our conversation with the birds on our morning walk to the letter box
i love that they seem to be greeting us & at the same time demanding something so we obligingly floof the trees to release any insects that might be available & we chatter back & forth, back & forth while they weave & dance & dart around us

i love our food 
i love seeing all that deliciousness stacked up in the refrigerator waiting for the next meal
i especially love that a lot of the produce is from our own garden
all those delicious autumn harvest vegetables that just scream wellbeing to me

& honestly
i feel no different 
i don't feel anything has changed
i don't know that anything will change
i hope it does
i hope 'we' don't go back to normal 
i hope 'we' don't go back to the usual
​

hi 
how's it going ?

i’m staying close to home which for me is no different from usual 
i'm choosing not to think too much
i read updates once a day & trust that Hugh will tell me anything he thinks it's important i know 

i trust our prime minister & her staff to sort out the things they are responsible for

i'm learning new things - new embroidery things - in Spanish actually
fortunately there are subtitles some of which are hilarious, some unfathomable
i trust i will figure it out

i trust members of my whanau will let me know when, & if, they need me
i'm having a great time catching up with dad; in person with his groceries every 10 days & by phone every few days. we chat about life, lack of exercise & social contact & food - in particular the annoying lack of hogget & mutton available to buy - we're secretly hoping that suddenly it will be available again in the domestic market because the international market are not in a position to give a damn about importing sheep meat from NZ

i do not trust the staff at my closest countdown supermarket with my health & wellbeing 
i have decided that i will no longer shop there, instead, i will go to our local four square (& pharmacy should i need to)

i don’t like to think about it too much but i actually don’t trust the medical staff in our region & especially at our local hospital; most are poorly qualified to triage & most won’t cope in an emergency 
if, however, we end up needing them in an emergency i will have no choice but to trust that they will be able to figure it out

i trust that AirNZ will still exist after this & will remember they owe me credit for a couple of airfares

i trust that the greater majority of people will do exactly what is asked of them & stay at home

i hope that everyone has learnt to wash their hands properly 
i hope that everyone has learnt how important it is to not be out & about if they are unwell

​i hope that you all have a lovely Easter weekend
you know the drill
stay home
save lives
​& 
please be kind 
tino nui te mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa

Sal x
​ps smiling doesn't spread the virus 

pps links to the domestika classes I'm enjoying
https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/302-experimental-embroidery-techniques-on-paper
https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/548-embroidery-technique-with-the-stem-stitch
https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/711-introduction-to-raised-embroidery
& the cute rabbit is from ​https://www.mibo.co.uk