a new embroidered pouch

and this one is for me. i showed you sections of it in my last post. it's what i've been working on in Karen Ruane's lace class. i finished it today and i'm real pleased with the way it turned out. i filled it with small pieces of white cotton that i always pull out for embroidery and sampling. click on the images for close-ups.

the front is complete

joined to the back with a double ruffle at the bottom

the inside is lined with white cotton lawn and trimmed with lace

the back is a weaving i did in one of Jude Hill's early classes

filled with white cloth and added ties as a closure

Karen Ruane has listed a new class, Simply Stitch, that starts on June 17th. check it out here.


i also did some dyeing this week. a quilting friend had given me 2 pieces of a beautiful silk damask that were part of a blouse. it was a cream color and it dyed beautifully just using oak leaves and  tin cans.

the leaf under the string made the best marking

i'm pleased with the markings on the cloth. this one might get some lace work on it.

i've been spending some time in the garden this week. things are growing quickly since we had some rain this week. the rain water is very magical. i opened my front door the other day and standing right there, not 12" from me was this baby blue jay. he did not move...just stood there while i took his picture and walked around and went back into the house. i opened the door a bit later to check on him but he was gone. will need to sketch this one.

it was 95 degrees today. hope it's cooler where you are. have a great weekend.

another experiment---partial success

in a post a couple of weeks ago, i had stitched some scraps of cloth and lace to used color-catcher sheets. well i did some dyeing with eucalyptus leaves and rusty things. the color-catcher sheets picked up the leaf images really well but the bits and pieces of cloth...not so much...so i removed most of them. i know now what i'll be doing with all the used color catcher sheets i've collected.

bundle just opened...the white circle is where a can cover was clamped

top square was the only one where attached cloth had some imprinting

i mentioned, in my last post, that i've purchased some new knitting needles that are specifically for lace knitting. they are really wonderful to work with.

the tips are a bit pointier than normal

the cable and the joining sections are perfect

here's the lace shawl so far. will not look like much until blocked...maybe by the next post.

i was so glad to learn about knitting lifelines in my craftsy class. it saved me from having to start from scratch quite a few times already. this yarn is so fine that it is hard to remove mistakes stitch by stitch. i have really learned a lot about lace knitting and am feeling much more confident.
CLICK ON IMAGES FOR CLOSE-UPS...

I KNOW THERE ARE MANY OF YOU OUT THERE WHO STILL DO NOT HAVE POWER. YOU ARE IN MY THOUGHTS AND AM SENDING GOOD WISHES. STAY SAFE. 

choices...

lots of choices this week on which project to pick up...
just finished a class on craftsy.com with Drucilla Pettibone and i'm getting better each day with my drop spindle. it's an excellent class if you're interested in learning how to spin your own yarn.

learning to spin

still working on my second pair of knitted socks. this time with the afterthought heel.

toe up sock

and dyeing with the purple carrots and the green tops...not much purple but the green tops gave nice markings, the copper pipe gave some green color and there are rose leaves scattered here and there. decided to embellish with some tatted bits and crochet an edge.

tatting and crochet edge

have a great weekend.

some things that need recording...

i have been enjoying Karen Ruane's latest class, An Embroiderer's Ledger. journaling is something i've done on and off through my life but i really never stick with it. i'd much rather be stitching or dyeing or doing some other kind of needlework. i'm learning new ways of analyzing images and bringing them forward into stitch.

my first ledger pages

trying to find time for lots of other things as well:

making my first hat to learn to use circular and double pointed needles

adding beads and weaving to a bobbin lace piece in progress

a bit of eco-dyeing on silk velvet and scrim

some more eco-dyeing on different types of silk

so my time is filled with wonderful projects. hope you are enjoying your time as well.

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.
________________________________________________

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.

lush velvet...

Unwrapped the three copper pipe bundles but the only one I love is the lush velvet. This started out as white silk velvet wrapped with rose leaves around a copper pipe.
Click on the images for a closer view.

white silk velvet with rose leaves around a copper pipe

And this thrift store dress from back here is finally a wearable blouse. I extended the sleeves and they are now a perfect length. I did wear it yesterday.

sleeves made longer and have lots of extra fabric to play with

And Mo sent me this wonderful card with my inital, D. It is a page from the book she did as a collaboration. Check out all the pages and the story available in her shop here.

a gift from Mo

it's hard to know what to tackle first...

Today there was some planting going on. It felt so good to get some color in those pots.

Some tin can reveals...

the copper pipe bundles need more time

a figure all ready for stitching

just look at that face...

rose leaves, silk, around a tin can

the back

And still working on samples in Karen Ruane's class...

this bird was not planned...he just made himself known.

lace collar is finished and...

I can't often say that a project is finished. I've been working on this bobbin lace collar since October, 2011. I just work on it in class which is 4 hours, so it's not surprising that it took me this long. It just needs a clasp which will be stitched on today.

bobbin lace collar with beads...linen thread

And I know you're probably tired of seeing these cloths from the dye pot, but this is how I keep track of them. I'd never remember when I did what, if it wasn't for this blog. These 2 pieces were originally done shibori method with colorhue dyes. They didn't turn out great, so I decided to overdye using the tin can method I just love. I used onion skins and some eucalyptus leaves and some pennies hidden between the cloth and the can.

this was originally blue done with the colorhue dyes. the pin holes are still visible from the shibori stitching. it's a habotai silk.

this is a heavier silk and i did lots of folding so some of the original green color would remain.

And, of course, I've started Karen Ruane's class this week so lots of playing and experimenting going on.

stitching on scrim...a new experience

a scrim ruffle and grid...and some stitching started.

Finally, here is a delightful video that Michelle posted this morning: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.