Jane Aston, painter.

My atelier is soo cold. I had to abandon ship, move my computer and sit in the warmer kitchen.

We have wood stoves to keep us warm. The water was drained out of the pipes yesterday so as not to encourage the freezing and then bursts. We do have a spring here that flows very clear. Normally it's pumped to the house. While the night temperatures plunge to -12 we just fill buckets and do away with frail pipes. It is fun temporarily but soon becomes a chore. We shall tackle washing up tomorrow and have to venture out to fetch gas for our cooker as we have run out. The sun is lovely during the day, it's a great lifter of spirits. I photographed some corners briefly and tackled a little more of my rag rug, the reverse is rather attractive too. I am using a fine nosed pair of pliers to pull through my lengths of rag.

This kind of rug is a vast consumer of old tired sheets. Some of the sheets I have dyed, some naturally with walnut husks. Then after long lookings ont comp to learn the art of dying I cracked and bought dye for blue and green. I still want to learn to dye things but I don't have access to chemists for chemicals. Pot ash may help I need some plants too and winter may not be the right time. I am thinking I'd like to grow woad. But I digress. My advice to a would be starter of this kind of thing is begin smaller on a little chair rug. This way you can manage the colour combos a little more beautifully if this is your will.

I have been bitten by the bug though and I am looking for a loom next.