Another Find, Another Project

Well after all that rain on Wednesday and having G’daughters too, I definitely needed a different sort of challenge. I’d seen a picture in a magazine recently of a foot stool/ box made from an old wooden fruit box.  I happen to collect old wooden boxes most of which hold clay pots in my summer house. One though had been languishing at the back of said summer house getting damp and cobweby. Out it came with a quick brush down and a dry off in the greenhouse. I had some fabric left from a bag I made a while back, the foam came out of a pillow I was throwing away, so really it cost me 80 pence for the hinges…..not bad eh….

This was so satisfying to do. It now houses my binoculars and wildlife books, keeping the sun off them, plus a seat too…. And the price of the one in the magazine £145….. Sue

 

Rain

It’s a very wet day. Just right for another project.In the mean time a few pictures to enjoy.

Eco Dying Part Two

I have often wondered how the ancients got their wonderful colours, now I think I may have a small insight to some of their techniques. Some of you may have read one of my previous posts on Eco Dying, posted in May this year. I had been fascinated by India Flint’s book on Eco Dying for a while now and find her experiments intriguing.

I have been experimenting with more juicy fading flowers, this time Hemerocallis Bela Lugosi. Again just as with the iris in the other post, I was finding that as I dead headed them I was getting covered in juice that stained my fingers. So I started collecting them and steeping them in rain water.

 

After a couple of weeks I had enough to try my first batch. This was boiled and then strained ready for the first mordent fabric…again I was amazed at what happened….

 

Faded juicy flowers boiled in rain water.

Far from being what I thought might be reds and oranges, I got a gorgeous shade of purple. I tried plain natural cotton, calico and silk.For the silk I thought I would harp back to the sixties and do a bit of tie dying, so I tied some small stones in at intervals all over a large piece. This also went in the pot… to my surprise this came out a lovely shade of Dove Grey with a hint of purple and the stone resist worked too.

 

Dye vat with fabric turned purple.

Finished dried and ironed.

Tie dyed with stones …Silk

Lastly I did a cold bundle. This is done by wetting a piece of mordant fabric slightly, then laying the juicy fading flowers on, either in a pattern or randomly all over it. This was rolled up tightly and twisted for more effect, tied up with strong twine and hung to dry. Here you are hoping the flowers are squashed enough to yield some colour. And boy did it…..

 

Cold bundled cotton fabric.

With all these pieces of fabric I need to think of interesting ways of using them, still thinking of book covers but maybe some small purses or makeup bags, what do you think… ?  Sue.

Leather Jacket

For the past couple of weeks I have been working on what has probably been my biggest ever dressmaking challenge so far.

I had a call from Lucy saying they were on their travels and had found some lovely soft leather on Birmingham market and would it be good enough to make a leather ‘Stage Jacket’ !!! This was for a new persona she has created as Yumah, https://www.facebook.com/YumahSounds/?ref=br_rs    this is in total contrast to the band she has, The Madeline Rust, https://www.facebook.com/themadelinerust/     Of course says mum…..

So here I am two weeks later a little more grey but boy has it been worth it. From making 3 toiles for the style and the size, we came up with a short boxy style reminiscent of a matadors jacket. This was to be embellished with ready made motifs and trim.

And the colour of the leather…Yellow. WOW

After making my pattern next came the scary bit of making that first cut…

Sampling seams and stitch length….

First of many seams done….

Once the main pattern pieces were stitched, and before the under arm seams, we then needed to decide where the motifs needed to be placed….

We tried them first on the Toile….

Motifs all glued and stitched , lining in, ready for facing and collar…

Collar glued…final tweaking….

To say I’m pleased with the result is an understatement…It has been a challenge, brain taxing at times, but I couldn’t wish it to look better.

Thank you Yumah for keeping me ‘young’ and please keep these challenges coming.

JUNE

Help…. where did June go ? I must have blinked.

What with 30+centigrade temperatures and wild rainy days it’s been one mixed up month. I’ve probably had the best roses for years only to have them scorched by the sun and beaten down with the rain. Lots of other plants have also been short lived, plus now I have plants flowering that are my late summer stalwarts. Help… I’ll be putting my trowel and gloves away before you know it….

I have managed to get some pictures of some half decent blooms just to say, that all has not been lost.

Sweet pea Henry Eckford

Weigela Middendorfianna

Among them are Dierama Guinevere a lovely white, lower growing plant. My seed grown white Martagon lilies, an orchid given to me by my sister-in-law and the beautiful but spikey leaved Morina Longiflolia.

I’ll finish this post with a sad goodbye to our faithful but feisty cat Poppy. She was in her 20th year, sadly her age and failing health caught up with her. Even so, to lose a pet that had been with you for so long is, to say the least devastating. 

I shall miss her following me around the garden and also sitting begging to lick the lid off my yogurt pot….

Till next time Sue…