there are other needlework projects happening...

i do carry my crochet around with me for those few spare moments of time. some little sewing pouches might be edged with these crocheted pieces...and there is a plan for all that bamboo yarn...there's also a shade of pink in the mix and a taupe. click on the images for a closer view.

 

 

i had 2 small pieces of silk that i stitched together to make a scarf. the raw edges got a simple single crocheted edge. the main color is actually a deep burgundy with a beautiful sheen that i couldn't capture with the camera.

a deep burgundy (not brown as it appears here) ikat silk scarf

and still working on some bobbin lace. the original plan didn't work out so i just worked up a grid that is being embellished with beads and might also get a weaving in the center...maybe the front of a small purple velvet purse...not sure yet.

bobbin lace grid in a green linen. embellished with purple, blue and green beads.

finishing up and moving on...

the back of the jacket was finished yesterday...

stitched with some variegated threads and mixed some of that taupe and beige thread that was wonderful to work with. don't know what it is or where it came from but it was in my stash.

i know some of you like to see the back of the stitching.

stitched onto the jacket using a beige thread and stitched between the seems so it wouldn't show.

working on the pocket today...

i hand dyed all the fabric and a bit of tatting left over from the plackets.

UPDATE ON THE JACKET 5-31-2012:
the jacket is complete and i'm just adding the final pics so they will all be in the same place.

the only machine stitching done was when i added the pocket to the jacket. i added a stiffener within so the pocket wouldn't flop and it was too thick to hand stitch.

 

the completed front

the jacket is now hanging in the closet waiting for fall and cooler weather.
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i stopped in the thrift store this morning as all their clothing was 50% off. picked up a dress and a blouse that will be remade into something...the blouse is a large and the dress is a 2X so there's lots of cloth to work with.  got them both for $3.

cotton blouse with some nice cut work and cotton dress that will be perfect after some major alterations.

and the garden is doing really well...except of course for the indigo that is growing about 1/8" a week...but i'm not giving up just yet.

garden pickings for dyeing and...

i enjoyed being able to go to the garden for some cloth dyeing leaves and flowers. wasn't sure what would work so i tried a little of bit of quite a few plants. click on the images for close-ups.

lambs ear, basil, petunias, and more

stainless steel pot filled with rain water

and the results. some cloth wrapped around a tin can and some around a copper pipe.

all the cloth is part silk. this last one was wrapped around the tin can with a wide rubber band and some of the rubber is stuck to the cloth from being out in the sun. it has been washed but will still need some rubbing to get it all off. none of the leaves or flowers left any kind of detailed impression.

and i have started working on the back of my jacket. i'll start stitching on it tonight.

hand dyed silk, a crochet sample i did a while ago with some embroidery.

embellishing a shirt/jacket...

i've had this shirt for several years and hardly ever wear it. i decided to embellish it and hopefully will wear it as a jacket. all this started as a project in jude's contemporary boro class. i've used a crocheted doily that my grandmother made, some tatting on the placket that was given to me as a gift when i retired 10 years ago and some tatting samples that i made when i was trying to practice my tatting after not having tatted in over 35 years. i also used a vintage doily, that i picked up some place along the way, as a kind of label. the doily appeared to me as a field of trees as they would appear from up above...and as luck would have it is made up of 7 rings which is a number i have hooked onto. click on the images for a closer view.

the jacket front

crochet and tatted embellishments

vintage buttons

hand dyed cloth and some lace

a kind of dramatic label on the inside

i do plan on doing some patchwork embellishing on the back. the problem is to find a way to do it without all the stitching showing on the inside...thinking...thinking... hopefully i'll solve that problem and will be back with more pics sometime soon.

hope you're all having a grand weekend. the weather is just beautiful here in austin.

you never know...

who or what will send you love...

a double heart

the garden is doing well what with all the wonderful rain we have had in the past couple of weeks.

the cucumber plant is kind of taking over everything else

lots of little cucs...can't wait to eat the first one

and the Chikan Embroidery is finished and blocked. it's hard to photograph white. click on the images for a closer view.

love the texture and the shadow effect

Anita of Artistic Fingers did a great job of teaching the individual stitches. if you click on Chikan Embroidery on her side bar, all the lessons are there.

off to do some stitching before the day gets away from me.

having dyeing withdrawals...

i hadn't dyed any cloth since getting my new stove. it's been a few weeks and i was anxious to try a rusty grid that was sent to me by a blogging friend. so i just did one small piece. i left it in the water too long but still got a result i'm happy with. click on the images for close-ups of the cloth.

the grid markings just showed up on one side. the white lines are from the fabric tying the bundle.

i love the weave of this cloth. it's a silk/linen combination

also doing a bit of experimenting with embroidery...not quite there yet. this was inspired by one of Karen's posts here.

and you might remember Judes' Magic Feather Project. Jude is working on the first quilt and is now collecting stitched stones to "balance the lightness of the sky and feathers". if you would like to stitch a few stones, all the information is here. i mailed my stones this morning.

just stitched to a piece of paper for mailing

wishing you all a good weekend and a happy mother's day.

sorting through old linens...

i'm finding things i forgot that i had. they were all labeled in bags, sitting on a shelf since 2007. i even found some things i had been looking for but were nowhere to be found...until now. that's the problem with having too much stuff. one of the bags had lots of the remainders of cotton pieces, with some embroidery, that i had purchased from ebay...nothing really special there. the other 3 bags were linens and cottons that were stitched by my two grandmothers and one kit given to me by my aunt. these relatives have been gone a very long time. i am taking Jude's contemporary boro class 2 and am embellishing a linen shirt that will become a jacket---hopefully---so i was looking for bits and pieces of things i could use. here are some images of what i sorted through. click for a closer view. my grandmothers were amazing stitchers.

2 tablecloths. 1 whtie cotton. the other beige linen.

a section of the linen cloth

4 matching linen napkins

cotton stitched round tablecloth

the stitched embroideries were done on the machine by 1 of my grandmothers. i bound them with scrim and stitch many years ago. the crochet kit was given to me by my aunt. there are some completed sections that she had already done. haven't found those yet.

and some of grandma's crochet doilies

those beige linen pieces would make such a beautiful easy wear dress or blouse but there are so many stains all over that i'm not sure yet how to go about it. all suggestions welcome.

my Indigo seeds...there's still hope

5 little sprouts have sprung from the soil...you probably will need to click on the image to see them.

i numbered them since they are so tiny...just babies.

so there's still hope for indigo this year. these are the seeds that Sandy of Discovery Cloth sent me. thank you Sandy. i have added some of the seeds i purchased to the pot, just today. my hopes have been restored.

My friend Margaret gifted me this wonderful book yesterday. It has so many beautiful illustrations and great details of bird's eyes and feet that I'll be able to use in my stitching. Lots of good information as well. I especially loved the page on the Hummingbirds. I have a hummingbird feeder in my front yard and this morning (wasn't fast enough to get a picture), one of the hummingbirds kept circling the feeder taking a little sip from every yellow flower as if they were all a different flavor. It was so cute to watch. Here are some pics from the book. Thank you Margaret.

 

And finally, for those of you who follow Jude, Janet did a wonderful post on her blog, Art Journey, in memory of WAS. You can see it here.

Have a great weekend.