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.

a crocheted edge...

it started out as a necklace...

a bit of blocking and a light press with the iron

but I think it will get more use as an edging for this pink piece...

hand stitched cotton and lace with crocheted edge

and the garden is starting to show some progress, but the indigo seeds never did sprout...

waiting for the first cucumber on that vine

bubbles...

I was cleaning out the hummingbird feeder and when rinsing it out, the bubbles just clung to each other from one end of the bottle to the other...some beautiful formations. It reminded me of the honeycombs created by bees...perfect hexagonal cells...a family of bubbles. I tried to capture it on video. Kind of fuzzy when you watch it full screen but you get the idea.

bubbles in a jar

The bubbles are oh so fragile...like lace....like life.

Grace got me thinking about videos when talking about her beautiful goats. Check them out here.

another mystery item...

I love putting out these mystery items. I always learn so much from all of you. These coins/pendants were found by a friend at a garage sale. The round item looks like a chinese coin but we're not sure about the oddly shaped item. Looks like a pendant to me but I have no idea about the significance of the symbols. Anybody have any ideas???? Do tell...

UPDATE ON MYSTERY COINS:
Eva posted lots of good info on Facebook about these coins and I have done a bit further research. It is all in the comments below. They are called 'spade coins' and there's lots of info about them here.

And  a little while ago, I was the winner,  on Morna's blog, of this lovely heart pin. Thank you Morna. Can't wait to wear it.

Cusspots transformed...

Deb Lacativa sells what she calls cusspots. You can see them here and her explanation of  the word is here. I bought one last year and loved the reveal of all the treasures inside. My cusspot was thrown into the dyepot at one point and I wasn't real pleased with the way it turned out. That's the first part of the story. I use a variety of different type needles when sewing and once they go into the pincushion, they tend to disappear and I can never find the one I'm looking for...so....I converted my cusspot into a marked needle holder. I stuffed it real well with 'cluster stuff' (a kind of polyester stuffing) and stitched some cloth to the top to hold it down. I then took some of the wonderfully dyed pieces I got from Heike at Gerdiary, stitched them on and embroidered a letter at the top of each section to represent, Embroidery, Tapestry, Milliner needles and a ? for miscellaneous ones. We'll see if this helps me keep them organized and findable.

M is for Milliners needles

E for embroidery, T for tapestry and the ? for others

And, of course, the top is perfect for pins.
I just recently purchased another cusspot from Deb. Will have to think of something to do with the new one.

blue is the color lately...

The scrim smocking piece is finished. Did a bit of free motion stitching on the scrim to give a lace like frame and backed it with some blue hand dyed cotton.

scrim smocking    6" square

And doing a bit of crocheting...

a necklace that will have some pearl beads added at the bottom

for those of you who knew Herm...

About 2 hours ago my doorbell rang and this sweet lady, Christine, asked me if I knew Hermilla Knutson. She had my name written down on an envelope with an incorrect phone number for me. She said that Herm had told her about me when she last spoke to her on the phone just before she passed. Since we both lived in Austin, Herm wanted Christine to visit with me. Since she couldn't reach me by phone, she just got in her car and drove to my house.  We sat and talked for over an hour. She met Herm in Washington D.C. when they were both working for the government (they were in their 20s) and since they both were originally from Monterey, Mexico, they became fast friends. She said that Herm was overwhelmed with all the wonderful mail and stitchings she received when she was ill and spoke so much about all of us in this friendship circle. Christine was surprised to hear about the friendships made strictly through Jude's classes and e-mails. She does have some pictures that she will try to find and I will share them with you. We hope to meet again sometime soon. She is still in contact with Sam (Herm's husband) and I even learned the story about how they met. Christine says that Sam and Herm were wonderful together and his love for her is what extended her life. So many wonderful stories. It was a surprise visit and a most pleasant afternoon listening to all she had to tell. This is a picture of sweet Christine who is still working at the age of 79 at the University of Texas in Austin.

 

scrim smocking...

slow going and very fiddly but has possibilities. I'm thinking 'scrim weaving' as well...

creating a smocking pattern on scrim

A quilting friend gave me a section of her Apaloosa plant. I haven't been able to find much info online other than an Apaloosa bean plant which this is not. My friend says it is very invasive and can't be purchased. Anybody know anything more about this plant. I expect to put it in a pot.

Apaloosa plant

And since quite a few of you have asked if scrim is the same as cheesecloth, I'm posting a picture of both. Scrim has a much finer weave and comes in beige and bleached white. It is sold in fabric stores. Cheesecloth has a very loose weave and is generally sold in the supermarket or the craft stores in packages as it is used in food preparation.

I love using both in making lace with needle and thread.

dangles and ruching...

lots of stitching going on here while waiting for a new stove to be installed.

dangles made with scrim to attach to an embroidered piece

bullion stitches, french knots, machine stitched scrim and ruching

The hummingbirds have really grown. check them out here.

an upcoming fashion designer who recycles...

and in her own words:

"If I were poor I would design my clothing out of garbage bags that people have thrown away. My feet would hurt in garbage bag shoes but I would manage. " Skye

made with a white trash bag

Skye is 7½ years old

Not much dyeing going on here since my stove went out and I'm waiting for the new one to be installed sometime next week. These 2 pieces were done on cotton, soaked in soy milk. Cotton just doesn't give me the same results as silk.

cotton bundle around copper pipe

I used oak leaves from the dye bath that turned black from iron in the water in this bundle that was wrapped around a very rusty tin can.

oak leaf impressions where the cloth did not touch the tin can

nothing dramatic

but there is a partially hidden face here

Click on images for a closer view.