A Weavers Garden

Valuable hints on dyeing fibers and fabrics, soap plants to use for cleaning textiles, fragrant plants to scent and protect fabrics; planning and creating a garden featuring cotton, flax, indigo, and much more.

For fans of Anne Lamott, a profoundly moving memoir of rediscovering, reinventing, and reconnecting, as an estranged mother and daughter come together to revive a long-abandoned garden and ultimately their relationship and themselves. Peeling paint, stained floors, vined-over windows, a neglected and wild garden—Tara Austen Weaver can’t get the Seattle real estate listing out of her head. Any sane person would have seen the abandoned property for what it was: a ramshackle half-acre filled with dead grass, blackberry vines, and trouble. But Tara sees potential and promise—not only for the edible bounty the garden could yield for her family, but for the personal renewal she and her mother might reap along the way. So begins Orchard House, a story of rehabilitation and cultivation—of land and soul. Through bleak winters, springs that sputter with rain and cold, golden days of summer, and autumns full of apples, pears, and pumpkins, this evocative memoir recounts the Weavers’ trials and triumphs, detailing what grew and what didn’t, the obstacles overcome and the lessons learned. Inexorably, as mother and daughter tend this wild patch and the fruits of their labor begin to flourish, green shoots of hope emerge from the darkness of their past. For everyone who has ever planted something that they wished would survive—or tried to mend something that seemed forever broken—Orchard House is a tale of healing and growth set in a most unlikely place. Praise for Orchard House “This touching memoir chronicles how the act of transforming a garden together—of ‘planting hope’—helps a mother and daughter reconnect and revive the sense of groundedness that had been lost within their relationship and themselves. . . . [Orchard House] deftly [captures] the love, laughter, trials and tears that make motherhood the joy and job it truly is.”—American Way “Honest and moving . . . [the story of] one woman’s initiation into intensive gardening with her mother, which changed a neglected space into something beautiful and bountiful and shifted their relationship as well.”—Kirkus Reviews “Fascinating, tender, often heartbreaking . . . The perfect gift for a mother or a daughter with an appreciation for the transformative power of gardening.”—HGTV Gardens “A wise exploration of family roots . . . Nurturing a garden is a lovely metaphor for healing a family. . . . [Orchard House] could serve as a handbook for both.”—Shelf Awareness “With buoyant grace and empathic insights, Weaver offers an ardent tribute to both the science of perseverance and the art of letting go.”—Booklist “This is a glorious book—lyrical, honest, compassionate, and wise. It reminds us that gardens and families are messy businesses, but from them we can harvest hope and food and moments of grace.”—Erica Bauermeister, author of The School of Essential Ingredients “Filled with sensuous descriptions, this beguiling story enchants. Gardeners and non-gardeners alike will delight in this lyrical tale of how a garden grows a family.”—Diana Abu-Jaber, author of The Language of Baklava and Birds of Paradise “Orchard House is a glorious and deeply moving story of one family’s redemption. If Anne Lamott and Wendell Berry ever had a literary love child, Tara Austen Weaver might well be her.”—Elissa Altman, author of Poor Man’s Feast

A selection of work from all phases of this important Cuban poet's career.

Beautiful pictures of wonderful dyed fabrics used in a variety of designs accompany detailed advice on the materials required, preparing the fabric and the dyeing methods. Using Shibori techniques - folding, pleating, clamping, stitching and pole wrapping, the author illustrates all the different stages, using clear step-by-step photographs and easy-to-follow text. A stunning sequence of inspirational projects have been specially chosen to develop skills and build confidence, with instructions on how to make a tea cosy, a jacket, a silk scarf and more. Previously published as A Handbook of Indigo Dyeing 9780855329761

"For several thousand years, all dyes were of animal, vegetable, or mineral origin, and many ancient civilizations possessed excellent dye technologies. The first synthetic dye was produced in 1856, and the use of traditional dyes declined rapidly thereafter. By 1915 few non-synthetics were used by industry or craftspeople. The craft revivals of the 1920s explored traditional methods of natural dyeing to some extent, particularly with wool, although the great eighteenth- and nineteenth-century dye manuals, which recorded the older processes, remained largely forgotten. In The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing, J.N. Liles consolidates the lore of the older dyers with his own first-hand experience to produce both a history of natural dyes and a practical manual for using pre-synthetic era processes on all the natural fibers--cotton, linen, silk, and wool. A general section on dyeing and mordanting and a glossary introduce the beginner to dye technology. In subsequent chapters, Liles summarizes the traditional dye methods available for each major color group. Scores of recipes provide detailed instructions on how to collect ingredients--flowers, weeds, insects, wood, minerals--prepare the dyevat, troubleshoot, and achieve specific shades"--Publisher's description.

A THE TIMES BEST THRILLER OF THE YEAR 2022 When a Jewish classmate is attacked by bullies, fifteen-year-old Nico just watches – earning him a week's suspension and a typed, yellowing manuscript from his frail Nonno Paolo. A history lesson, his grandfather says, and a secret he must keep from his father. Nico is transported back to the Venice of 1943, an occupied city seething under the Nazis, and to the defining moment of his grandfather's life: when Paolo's support for a murdered Jewish woman brings him into the sights of the city's underground resistance. Hooked and unsettled, Nico can't stop reading – but he soon wonders if he ever knew his beloved grandfather at all.

Textile enthusiasts, the ultimate reference you've been waiting for is here--Ikat! Ikat: The Essential Handbook to Weaving with Resists is your introduction to the fundamentals of a resurging trend in woven cloth. Award-winning weaver and instructor Mary Zicafoose has spent more than 30 years exploring the possibilities of ikat and now shares her wealth of knowledge with you. Dig into the pages of this handbook to discover: • Historical background on ikat with gorgeous visual refernces. • Instruction in warp, weft, and double ikat techniques, written and illustrated in clear sequential steps. • Instructions to build ikat wrapping boards. • An addendum on painted "faux" ikat using dye pastes and brushes. • Acid and indigo dye system recipes and procedures. • Compelling projects with detailed instruction taking you from undyed yarn to woven ikat cloth. • A gallery of contemporary ikat created by a range of diversely talented dyers and weavers. All this and more is waiting for you in Ikat: The Essential Handbook to Weaving with Resists.