Five papermakers present – Nan Welch, Jan Moulder, Nik and I, and Julie Johnson. And we made absolutely no paper.

We decided instead to spend the day experiencing the world of India Flint.  We shopped for some silk.  A bust at Joanne Fabrics led us to the most wonderful shop – Sew EZ Too.  They not only had the silk we were after, but a wide variety of amazing things.  It was really a treat to be in an old-school, all-purpose fabric store with traditional service.  The lady that helped me painstakingly cut my silk chiffon by pulling a thread to cut along the grain!  CHIFFON!  It seemed so appropriate after the recent discussion I’d had with my aunts about how Joanne’s use of rotary cutters can often short the cut by several inches.

Next, a visit to the most wonderful natural food co-op for snacks and (ahem) beverages.  It is so nice to snack lightly all day, instead of having to worry about making meals.

The cranberry was deliciously sweet, the rhubarb very clean, and a combination of the two just heavenly on a warm evening.

Next, a hunting/gathering expedition.

We proceeded to stuff little bits of the things we’d gathered into our artfully folded pieces of silk.  Julie said we were making “little presents for our future selves.”

Then, we put our little bundles in the make-shift steam bath…

The colored bits are some gorgeous samples Nan scavenged from San Francisco.

Jury-rigging a makeshift steamer

The steamer is upended over a walnut dye bath, which will be used later. We tented around the gap with aluminum foil.

and left them while we went to the local art walk, out for cocktails, and for the most wonderful stroll through the architecture and history of the recently-restored Davenport Hotel.  If you’re in Spokane, you really owe it to yourself to take a couple of hours to walk around in there.

When we returned from our evening out, we took the bundles out of the steamer and put them in to soak in the walnut dye bath that had been simmering to make the steam.  We shall open our presents in the morning!

Oh, paper.  Well, I guess some pulps got made.  Jan’s Critter had some day lily and some hemp through it.  My Critter was loaded with some flax from Twinrocker that Julie brought, and beaten nearly all day.

Ah, what a day.