I'd say it was a success....

that is, the dyeing in a jar with a copper pipe. Here are the results.
click on the images for close-ups...

the white trailing lines in the center are from the copper wire I used to wrap the bundle.

those fine lines throughout are from the slivers of steel wool spread over the cloth.

love this area

I used the same liquid that is now totally black from all the iron in the steel wool and prepared a bundle with rose petals, and rose leaves and  lilies and amaryllis flowers and coleus from the freezer. I used a linen/silk cloth this time. I added the turmeric and steel wool bits once again. I'll show you the results next time.

I did some more stitching on the blue gingham travel/sewing pillow and hope to have it finished by next week.

close-up of some of the stitching

this section has a strip of hand dyed wool for needles and pins.

I've been enjoying being out in the backyard during the early morning hours. Some of the garden seeds are coming up but are not doing as well as I expected. I fear it will soon be too hot out there. We went from some very cold mornings to very hot days. Spring seems to get shorter each year.

just a small 4x4 garden area. It's the only spot where I get 6-8 hours of sun.

Wishing you all a good weekend wherever you may be.

back to a bit of dyeing....

Planned on doing a bit more dyeing this week but just made a small start.

click on the images for close-ups...

some oak and chinese tallow leaves, tumeric and steel wool bits on habotai silk

all wrapped around a copper pipe with copper wire

and in a jar with an oak leaf bath and some acorns for good measure

it's been in the garage for about a week and i just removed the bundles today....there are 2 of them.... so they can dry out before I open them up. will show you that next week.

I played a bit more with those hexagons made from circles that I showed you last time. I acquired some old fabric samples that someone was ready to throw out. I cut some circles and  embroidered a couple before stitching them up. I hope to use these in my daily stitching cloth that has kind of fallen by the wayside...but I will get back to it.

hexagons made from circles

Karen's Pillows and Pages class ended this week but I'm still working on a third pillow and have just begun to work on the Pages aspect of the class. It was a great class and lots of fun. Karen is now offering it as a 'work on your own' class, so if you're interested, check out all the info here. and here's a peek at some sections of the third pillow.

worked on the reverse side of the hexagons with stitch and added a chenille hexagon in the middle that's stuffed with fiberfill to use as a pin cushion.

a little pocket with stitching around the edge to hold some scissors

and a bit of weaving with cloth holding a circle with cording and a covered button using bakery twine.

Lots more stitching to do on this blue piece. It will be a sewing pillow and will have 2 or 3 layers so it will take me awhile to do all the stitching and planning.

I'm making good headway on my knitting projects and hope to finish the right side of the Downton Abbey coat by the end of this month.

The garden is taking shape and it's wonderful working out there early in the morning when the sun is just coming up along the fence line, It is so peaceful and quiet. All the seeds are starting to come up and we actually got about an inch of rain in the past few days.

Hope you all enjoy your holiday, if you celebrate. Have a great week.

creating a hexagon from a circle....

First I'll show you the 2nd pillow I finished in Karen Ruane's class Pillows and Pages. I'm leaning towards fun pillows as you can tell if you saw the one I posted last week....and I've been having fun creating them. I've always loved cows and am using up fabric in my stash so that's the theme of this one...I have an idea of who will receive this one sometime in the future. It measures 11" x 8".

click on the images for close-ups.

lots of soft bumpy places for pins and needles and hooks and an eye for loose threads. you can see the reflection of the  pillow edge in the iron.

the back has a rooster that was the edge of a vintage hanky, some prairie points and a loop for hanging.

and now the hexagons from circles....this is so fast and easy and I'm loving the back with all the little pockets. Here's a link with a tutorial, if you want to try it.
I just used some fabric scraps to try it out....

they turn out perfectly and it takes just a couple of minutes to make each one

 The surprise for me was that the back has tiny little triangular pockets. I will definitely be highlighting the back on my next project....I'll show you that next time.

there are 29 little triangular pockets

...and I'll leave you with this wonderful video. It's just 3 minutes long and very worth watching.
The link is here. Enjoy it and have a great week.

presents and a new pillow....

We did a gift exchange at Quilt Bee on Thursday so now it's safe to show you a pouch I worked on for quite awhile and previously just gave you little peeks of it.

click on the images for close-ups.

front of pouch

back of pouch

the inside label made with bits of the fabric used and lace

It just so happened that the person whose name I picked had picked my name so we were exchanging with each other....and what a beautiful gift I received.

a box with a beautiful punch needle embroidery and some beautiful lace squares. it was beautifully wrapped in toile paper with silk ribbons.

you can see all the gifts here on the table.

all the gifts exchanged. that box with the black and white duct tape is how I presented my gift. the pictures on the box are of the pouch in various stages of construction.

and here we all are....i'm plugged in the corner since I took the picture.

Simply Quilters Bee

I did also complete one of the pillows in Karen's class Pillows and Pages. It is a preparation pillow for my bobbin lace. I stitched 2 pillows together to make a soft pocket to hold all the things needed for the next project and there are soft tufted spots on the top for pins.

top of pillow...I stitched in a strip of some bobbin lace I made a while ago

the pillow pocket holding some bobbins

I've been learning how to do crocheted entrelac. I have done entrelac in knitting before but I think it's much easier doing it in crochet. Just using some left over sock yarn and it might turn into a shawl. If you want to try it, there's a good video here.

crocheted entrelac

It's been a busy week with some nice weather. Most of the trees have leafed out and it's looking like Spring. Lots of work to do in the garden. Have a good week.