My name is Charlotte, sometimes known as Ms Lottie, occasionally as The Slightly Mad Quilt Lady. This is my blog, where you'll find me writing a lot about my quilting and textile arts and a little about my family's life in a small seaside town in New Zealand. Haere mai!

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Lockdown Day 1

The first official day of lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It seemed to go a little smoother for us than yesterday. The kids had a bit more of a handle on doing their schoolwork online, Hubby started his building project that he organised before the supply shops shut down and I got some work done rather than just hover round the edges keeping an eye on everyone.


And one of the things I got done was some dyeing.

I haven't been doing any fabric dyeing lately because we've had such a severe drought that we are in the highest level water restrictions - essential use only. Dyeing the way I do takes little water, but rinsing uses a bit. So I'm dyeing the fabrics, drying them with the dye still on it and I'll have one big 'ol rinse session when the restrictions lift.

There are two pieces in the pic above, one is normal white cotton and one is a heavy white cotton napkin that I bought from the op shop. I've been worrying about my contribution to our consumerist society. I dye fabric so people can buy it. It gives me the good feels to know I'm making something beautiful that people appreciate, but it gives me the bad feels to add to our 'buy more' mindset. So I've started buying second-hand linen and dyeing that. It dyes up beautifully, sews well, and makes me feel very eco-friendly!

I'm trying to take the time to appreciate all the things that make me feel good. I think I might need them in the coming weeks.

3 comments:

  1. That piece of fabric is just beautiful. Can't wait to see the colors when it is rinsed and dried !

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  2. Delicious colours!!! Love the idea of your buying napkins from the second hand shops, the old ones seem to be a lovely weight and the damask patterns , as seen on the one in your photo, add a whole new dimension.

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  3. I went to the grocery store and got gas yesterday. People were not practicing social distancing and I thought about having a time specific for people who don't believe in pandemics. I also thought about all the lawyers that would involve and how my little grocery store (small local chain) probably couldn't survive. I resolved to ask DH to do the grocery shopping from now on. He agreed. This is an unprecedented situation and very strange.

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