cutting it up ...

if you've been following along, you already know about the blue and white dress fiasco. more about that here.
i started the transformation with the collar. i just cut it in half, reversed one side and stitched it at the bottom and along the sides, folded down the top flaps and stitched on 2 buttons and added a ribbon down the center. the ribbon was a gift from a friend when we visited some museums in NYC a few years ago. it will be a convenient pouch for small knitting, crochet or stitching projects. it measures 8" x 4".

collar cut down the center and reversed

front

back

ribbon detail...knitting instruction

label

UPDATE ON INDIGO:
unfortunately the indigo seedlings are not making much progress. i've been nursing them along but i think it's a lost cause:

indigo seedlings

and wish there were more of these variegated cosmos coming up. most on the plant are just solid color but these were a nice surprise.

variegated cosmos

hope you're all having a good weekend.

peppermint crepe myrtle

my peppermint crepe myrtle has bloomed for the first time in 20 years. it is a miniature and always gives green leaves but has never before bloomed. it really doesn't get enough sun so i was very pleasantly surprised with the blooms.

peppermint crepe myrtle

and the shoots of the desert willow tree, that have come up from the ground after the tree was cut down due to it splitting right down the middle, is giving beautiful blooms this year. it's a bit wild...more like a bush than a tree but i love it.

desert willow

UPDATE ON BLUE AND WHITE DRESS MAKEOVER:
well...i crocheted a blue edge on the collar...added some length at the hem with an eyelet underlay...patched up the openings on either side where there were spaces since the original style was slit and slightly opened on the sides...and before i got ready to change all the buttons to give it a bit of color going down the front, i decided i'd better try this on and see how it looks. it is still way too big on the top and is quite uncomfortable ( i knew there was a reason i stopped wearing dresses). so i have decided to cut it up and make it into a bag. my challenge is to use all the areas that i embellished in the bag so that all that work will have been worthwhile, although i did enjoy the process.
here's a picture just showing some of the additions i made since my last post.

reworked dress will now be cut up and reworked into a bag

then and now...2012

the re-designed dress is nearing completion. i've used a part of a vintage linen cloth as a label and embroidered 'then & now 2012'. i still need to add a couple of inches to the length which may include some embellishment. i'll try to get a picture of me in the dress when it is actually completed.

a vintage label with 'then & now 2012' added

and here are some close-ups of the band just below the waist made up of bits and pieces of vintage linens and lace and added hand embroidery:

and the entire front and back...

i need to start thinking about which re-design i want to tackle next.

the mending continues...

i mentioned in the last post, i think, that i purchased a size 2X dress from the thrift store that i was going to re-design so that it would fit my size 8-10 body. it's not as easy a project as i thought it would be. it took me 3 days just to take most of the seams apart and remove the sleeves. i did make a smaller sleeve and basted it on to see how it would work. it's ok but i think i'm going to redo it and make it a straight cuffed sleeve instead of the gathered look pictured here. just below the waist, there is a band that i'm going to embellish with lace and embroidered bits and pieces. it's just in pieces now and will be narrower after it's all stitched. the dress is slightly gathered in the back with a huge long tie that i will shorten and just fasten  with a home made button. here's just a peek at what it looks like so far. i'm working on this project as part of Jude's Contemporary Boro class.

the dress as purchased with long, wide sleeves that tied with bows at the cuffs.

the side seams have been taken in, and a new sleeve was constructed. the embroidered lace pieces are covering a band just below the waist...not yet stitched down and incorporated within the garment, so it will be a bit narrower.

stopped in at the thrift store this morning and 3 items came home with me...

that cap is made with a beautiful embroidered linen and it's brand new. the tags were still on it. also picked up 3 cotton napkins that will be perfect for dyeing and embroidery and a wool scarf.

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.
________________________________________________

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.