Illumination

I am touched and delighted to have been nominated for the Illuminating Blogger Award by Dre from Grackle & Sun.  I am inspired not only by her thoroughgoing approach to natural dyeing and her witty and illuminating way of writing about it, but also by her dedication to her wellbeing and to getting fit.  I haven’t been writing about it here, but 2012 was the year I started running (jogging… slowly), so I’ve been on a wellbeing and fitness journey of my own on which all fellow travellers are welcome!

The rules of the award  ask that:

I share a random thing about myself: Yesterday morning I saw a pair of gang-gang cockatoos in the bush, near Mittagong, New South Wales.  This is the first time I’ve ever seen one in the wild: it was just so exciting!  The last time I saw a gang-gang I was in some kind of zoo or wildlife park inside a big cage.  I was wearing a spectacularly light catching and quite large stud in my ear–some kind of plastic bling.  The male gang-gang landed on my shoulder, which was amazing.  We had a short chat, and then he applied his considerable and strong beak to my earring, which was pretty scary really… but I still have an earlobe to this day.

Years ago I sang in a trio and one of the other members of the trio set ‘Bird and Man’ by Douglas Stewart to music in a most wonderful way (I believe some liberties may have been taken with the lyrics).  My favourite couplet remains: ‘Bird is gang-gang, well he knows/His whole head’s feathered like a rose’.  It turns out Douglas Stewart also wrote ‘A Flock of Gang Gangs’.

Nominate 5 (or more) other bloggers whose posts are informative and illuminating.

Wendi of the Treasure

I love Wendi’s use of local and native plants, sense of experimentation and the sense her blog gives of her living a good life.

an impartation of colour

Pallas’ approach to dyeing is wonderfully systematic and so beautifully communicated. I love her generosity in sharing her dyeing processes and her experience as a dyer.

debmcclintock

I find Deb’s blog full of information and a wealth of experience, and she is a delightful and thoughtful writer.

textileranger

Every time I visit ‘Deep in the heart of textiles’, I find myself humming that famous tune as I enjoy textile ranger’s wonderfully eclectic and colourful blog.

Rihivilla, dyeing with natural dyes

I love Leena’s wonderful photography, dedication to growing and harvesting dye plants and her delicious colours. Her blog is a source of inspiration as well as beauty and information.

What a pleasure it has been to think about these bloggers and all I admire about their writing and dyeing!  Have a happy and colourful new year…