after having breakfast yesterday at a trucker dive just outside of town, a dear friend and i decided to poke around a nearby antique shop for battered, vintage cigar boxes and the like. joyously waltzing up to the register with an arm full of boxy treasures, we got to chatting with the 150+ (or so it seemed) year old british lady behind the counter and listening to her time-worn war stories back in jolly old england of yesteryear. it was a fascinating trip down her memory lane! somehow, the conversation about the bombing of england and hunkering down in the dark recesses of bomb shelters found its way around to an old bedspring sitting out along side the barn. i don't know how we got onto it, but i expressed interest in it and the clerk raised an eyebrow in surprise, and perhaps a little disdain, and wondered what on earth i would want an old rusty bedspring for? always having a bit of stitchery tucked away somewhere on my person, i pulled out a rusted sunburst cloth that i had been stitching on and told what wonderful patterns i thought i might be able to coax out of the bedsprings, what with the repeated circles and x's that i could immediately see across the top and so forth. with curiosity in her eyes, she informed me that she couldn't take less than $5 for it. she said it hesitantly, as if she thought i might abandon my cigar box treasures and flee the shop without a making any purchases at all! of course, i couldn't leave my new found treasures behind and was only to happy to cough up $5 for the bedsprings...my mind awhirl with ideas of visions of the cloth that i might be able to create!
the next few days are supposed to be quite warm, dotted with thunderstorms. wondrous weather for earth dyeing! i can hardly wait to fling some vinegar drenched fabric across these springs, blanket the whole affair with plastic sheeting and see what emerges over the next few days!
namaste'
Ah the wonders of rust...I've recently moved to New Mexico from TN and have begun exploring all of the possibilities of windfall...a dear friend who lives here said "come, I have gifts for you" and what gifts they are: an old copper pot, a rusted and banged up iron pot, these gifts are treasures, the magic that is contained in these ordinary, extraordinary magic vessels are gifts to behold...plus she gave me enough recycled white cotton, silk, linen and damask cloth to last a lifetime...such riches.
ReplyDeletesuch riches, indeed! hope you have a marvelous time exploring the possibilities!!
DeleteOh my, as soon as I spotted this picture I thought : now thát would be wonderful for rust dyeing !!!! Ha, ha, you're not the only one, Joe ....
ReplyDeleteFUN!!!!! Will be checking back to see.....
ReplyDeleteOh Joe! That is going to be spectacular! I bet the coil part of the X will print a fantastic design. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteexactly what i was thinking/hoping! will know real soon!
DeleteI will anxiously await a photo of said cloth !
ReplyDeleteSo cool! Can't wait to see what emerges :)
ReplyDeleteWhat fun you will have! Look forward to seeing what you create.
ReplyDeleteLove the phrase "earth dyeing". :)
...how's that rusty old cloth coming on....?
ReplyDeleteif you mean the one that is attempting to rust on the old bedsprings, this heat is making it rather...difficult. the cloth is drying out too fast, even covered with plastic and there is no way to cover the bottom to keep the moisture in. so, i'm still spritzing it when i can and trying to be patient.
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