hand sewing

I am not a lover of hand sewing - it is something I struggle with. I don't have the patience!! When the children were younger I used to machine stitch the name tags into their plimsols, anything rather than get the needle and thread out.
I appreciate that with some textiles it just gives it that finished and cared for feeling. So with the project I started using Sue Doves tutorial on this months Workshop on the Web and Gina from Fan my Flame I got together the fabrics, it is a lovely soft wool, I had been dyeing using Kool Aid and had a play.
I have included the photos as a sort of step by step stage. I am now making it up regarding where to go next.
I wish the Kool Aid did a blue colour way. Maybe they do but I haven't got it in my collection.
This will be a work in progress as I watch the tele, so it may not be finished for a while.

Treasure Boxes

I used the fabric I dyed yesterday to make some more of my treasure boxes. These are so exciting to make. A lovely mix of ribbons, ends of wool, sari ribbon and decorative machine stitching.
I make them in batches of three but each one is different.
I also did more of the Kool Aid dyeing, some lime green, black cherry, strawberry and grape. I am nearly at the stage of running out of dye. Good job one of the children is off to the States at the end of November! When the rest of the family came home yesterday the first question was - what had I been cooking. It led to disappointing faces when I said I had been colouring fabric!

Boxes

In between going shopping, cleaning the hens and ducks out I managed to squeeze in making some treasure boxes. I used the fabric from the Kool Aid dyeing, as I speak I have another batch of dyeing on the go. Black Grape this time, which looks like a purple mulberry colour. I hope it keeps the colour and not go to light on drying.
The boxes are made from bits and pieces of left over wool and decorative ribbons with lots of machine embroidery to bring it all together.
For once the close up pictures seem to have worked and show the detail, might have something to do with the settings of pixels!!
The fabric in reality looks like a velvet, very rich.
The button fastening will be sewn on tomorrow.

ERTF exhibition and Cambridge

I had a lovely day out yesterday spent visiting the ERTF textile exhibition on in Cambridge. There is not enough textiles about and it is amazing how talented people are. I loved the little 3D figures that were covered in hand stitching, also the person who had recorded her family history with embroidery in a sampler style. Sorry I can't remember the names. I wish it was displayed on a taller table, perhaps a strange request.
All that bending made my back ache!! I bought a card by Gina Ferrari - pictured right and Cathy Unwin, on the left.
Before going to the show I called in at Lakeland as there was a gadget I was after. An apple peeler and corer. When we stayed at my sister in law in Perth, she had one. They used to have one in school to encourage children to eat apples. It also peels potatoes. It's really easy to use and really pleased with my purchase.
So I had a go tonight with apples and made Apple Charlotte. We have an apple tree in the garden, all these winds is bringing the windfalls down a treat.

Revisited

This is a wall hanging that I made sometime ago and felt it wasn't quite right so I revisited it and now feel it is much more together. Now for some hand stitching to add embellishment. It ones of those that started with my hand dyed fabric that I just loved the colours and didn't want to do anything with! But then felt it needed something extra.

I found these the other day in my stock! So gave them a bit of an upgrade and listed them on folksy.

I am glad I got the hen and duck houses painted yesterday, slower to heat up and not as warm today.

Now tomorrow I have set the morning aside to make a pair of curtains for my sister. Not a big project regarding size but big because we have chosen to put interlining in them and use those eyelets in the top. I can not and must not put this project off any longer!! No I have written it I am committed!

Projects

It is such a lovely day - just right for painting the hen and duck houses for winter, so no time for sewing.

I did have a play yesterday using the Sue Dove tutorial that is in the months Workshop on the Web edition. I have only got as far as the prep work. Still it is an idea by the bread bin and now deliberating how to move it forward.

Summer

I have been rather busy these past few weeks, away for the weekend, catching up with children who have returned from working abroad, organising surprise parties - with the help of niece and children and husband- for a sister who deserves some good times.

So although I have been still sewing and knitting they have been repair and alterations rather than new projects. This seems to have been the first day that I have had the house completely to myself.

Anyway, during the holidays my niece went off to America with a shopping list that included Kool Aid. After tracking it down in a grocery store and not the art shop!

I had read about this stuff and Quilting Arts had a feature on it. If you want the info leave a message and I will forward it to you.

It really was the easiest dyeing I have done. When the satchet was opened my mouth started watering!! The fabric absorbed all of the colour with no colour loss on rinsing.

The outcome is rather blotchy in places but once it has been embellished they will disappear.

I wonder what is in the powder? To leave fabric with this deep colour, it looks rather like the orange that the Hare Krishna wear. In the photo I don't seem to be able to capture the depth of colour.