Experiments in dyeing

I felt like experimenting with dye this last week, so I made up some dye stock, pulled out my white fabrics and went for it. For whatever reason, I always rush into my dyeing and don't really take the time to make s'ure things are right. Big lesson for me, as I did not get the results I thought I would.

These are my attempts at space dyeing...it looked easy in a book...Top left is fleece dyed red and turquoise. I used a lot of water in the red so I thought it would turn pink, but no. I ended up leaving it sit in a bleach bath to tone down the colours. The right is the red/turquoise combo on cord. Bottom is Turquoise and yellow on fleece. I love how the colours blended, but there is too my white left over for my liking.
I also did some more marble dyeing. I also took notes (a suggestion made by Sara) of my experiments and have lots of ideas for the future. My favourites are the pink and oranges - the orange at the front has a lot more subtle swirly patterns in them that I just can't capture...my miserable attempts this morning managed to capture all the wrinkles of the fabric and blur the dye patterns.Hopefully I will be able to create larger pieces of marble fabric when I get Wayne to build me a dye table - at the moment I am using a lid of a storage container and while it does it's job, I can only do small bits of fabric.

Hopefully other people like this, since I am including some pieces in the snailblazer swap.

A playdate and some fab-ulous patterns

I looked after a little boy for a friend for a couple of hours yesterday. The boys had a lot of fun together.
And this is a couple of the patterns I picked up on my op shop crawl. I especially love the bottom right pattern. I am going to make up the jacket soon I think - it has be most gorgeous lines to it (there is a side panel and the sleeves are set in square).

Thank you to who ever was cleaning out their sewing book collection. I mananged to pick up Kwik Sew Sweatshirts Unlimited, a vintage lingere sewing book, a pattern drafting book, two machine embroidery books...there were other ones there that I had to leave, I had already blown the budget enough.

Very seventies

I took some time to trace, cut a sew some clothes for myself this long weekend. The jumper is made from a lovely sweater knit I picked up at an Op shop. I used Kwik Sew 2900 and drafted the cowl myself. The knit was unravelling very fast so I played with my differential feed and used my overlocker for everything but the hems.

The wool pants are made from my trusty Burda staple pattern. I found this remnant at an op shop too and there was just enough for the pants but I had to cut the yoke facing from a seperate contrasting fabric ( I chose a purple hand dyed piece).

3 little presents

I finished some artist's folder's. Andrea made them some time ago and I added the idea to my list of gift ideas. With a party to attend on Saturday, I thought they would make a good present for all the three and four year old girls in playgroup. Apparently the tute is at CraftApple but I couldn't actually find it. Anyway, I made my own pattern up, using the dimensions of the scrap books I had already purchased.

This is the inside - room for pencils and the scrapbook.

I have another one to make up - I cut a piece wrong (and it has made me not want to sew it up)