Showing posts with label Solar dyeing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Solar dyeing. Show all posts

Monday, January 30, 2017

Getting ready to start more projects

Pinfold challenge
Yes, another challenge. The challenge is to make something out of these collections of five inch squares. There are twenty squares in each pack. I still haven't got round to washing and ironing the fabric, but I must think of something soon.

Colour challenge jacket
The completed jacket which I promised I would show you. It is really cosy to wear, just what I need. It caused a bit of a stir when I showed it last Thursday at the NWCQ meeting. It was wonderful to see the variety of pieces made by the other members of the group.

Back of the jacket

Label from inside the jacket
I've also been making a bed for Sasha. Very simple - two metres of polyester wadding folded inside one metre of fleece. I had already made one for Ella some months ago - she really loves her bed, so I thought it a good idea to make one for Sasha too.

Sasha's new bed

Ella's bed, made back in November

The Solar Dyeing experiment, back in July
You may remember my post about trying Solar Dyeing in July. Well, I finally got around to emptying out the jars and washing out the fabric.

The same jars this morning
As you can see, rather a lot has happened to the fabrics in the intervening months. I have not opened the jars, but left them to their own devices. The results are interesting. The Dyers Chamomile, the yellow flowers in the top photo have produced the fabrics below. All yellowy greens. Really interesting colours.

Dyers Chamomile
The second jar was the Medieval Solar collection. This has given a really fascinating collection of colours - from a light yellowy brown to a beautiful reddish brown.

Medieval Solar
At present the fabrics and fibres are still wet. I'm interested to see what they look like once they are dry.

New knitting project
I have another knitting project waiting for me to finish the tension square. It is a new hat. This will match a rather nice cowl which my elder daughter made me for Christmas. This is the same yarn which she used. The cowl already keeps my ears cosy, so having a hat to keep it in position will really help on those walks out with the dogs. The pattern, "Cogges", is designed by Jeni Hewlett and can be found in The Scrumptious Collection Volume one. The pattern is now available as a leaflet since the books is now out of print.


I just have the buttons to add to my waistcoat now. I am still trying to decide whether to go with the turquoise buttons, or whether to go with navy. I could use orange, but I really don't think that would look as nice.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Still dreaming and stitching

Solar dyeing kits outside my workroom
I eventually got the solar dyeing kits under way. I wrote about my dyeing experiences on that day here. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to the fabrics. I've used silk fabric, silk thread, cotton organdie, butter muslin and wool slub.

Solar kit labels
You can see the colours I should be able achieve on the packaging shown above. Do get in touch with Helen Melvin if you find yourselves in North Wales. She is an inspirational dyer.

A gift from Japan
My dear husband met up with a Japanese gentleman recently. They worked together on a project in Japan some years ago. He came home with some little gifts for me. I love the little fabric horned sheep. It has a scented sachet inside a slit in the back.


More gifts from Japan
If you look closely, the little scented sachets are tied with little sheep. So sweet.

Woven quilt top under way
There has been sewing. I have been steadily working on this quilt top. It will eventually be a quilt for a cotbed. A first quilt for a new baby. There are borders to add now that I know the size I need to work to.

Lily in the sunshine
It has been so warm lately that getting to work in my workroom has been left until the cooler hours. It leaves me time to daydream amongst the flowers in the garden. I just love the juxtaposition of the colours. How many of us would actually put pink and orange together and yet it works.

Garden flowers
I find myself deciding what projects I need to do and organise the sequence when I daydream these days. I just can't stop my brain working on ideas even when I am physically doing nothing. You've already seen a couple of the projects I fully intend to finish before too long. I showed these in my last post. More hours in each day would certainly be useful.