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Saturday, April 10, 2010

Back to Spring

After more than a week of summer weather ~ although nice after all the harshness of winter, it really is too soon~ it has returned to spring here in South Carolina!  We got the much needed rain to wash away some of the deep pollen on Thursday, then Friday followed with sunshine and cooler temps ~ about 50 now with expected highs of low 70s for the weekend.  Perfection!
Just found out, Edgar is having a Blogiversary give away over at his blog, Blacksheep's Bit of the Web.  Hop over for a chance to enter! 
I’ve done very little stitching since the retreat.  I did finish the Brooke’s Sewing Alphabet ‘D’ for Darning (with exception of beads) and the StitcherHood’s Scattering of Moments. 
Today I’m having a go at dying some linen and fabric.  It all started because I need some tie backs for the drapes in my LR.  I got these lined, deep red ones for blocking the icy winter winds we had, but now it’s time to let some sunshine in!  I had some faux toile in red and white left over from a pillow that I thought would be pretty, but it was just TOO white.  I’ve done a little dabbling with coffee/tea staining before, so that’s what I thought would work – and it’s drying now. 
SinceI had all that ‘dye’ I figured, Why not try the Twisted Stitcher, Vonna’s method?  So, I added a tea bag to the left-over coffee grounds and put in a couple of extra cups of water and let that drip into the remaining coffee.  Deep, dark, and rich.  Then I put two pieces of 18ct aida and three of 28ct evenweave in the bath.  I shifted them around, wadded them in different shapes, and left them for different amounts of time. 
Next they were piled onto the foil-lined cookie sheet.  I had preheated to about 225 since my gas oven gets a little hotter than some, and set it to 15 minutes.  Waiting for the first results now.  They were a bit dark in some places, so I sprinkled a bit more over each one, decreased the temp a little, and put it back in for 10 more minutes.  Next will be ironing to set the color, and then onto the clothesline for drying.

I'm very well pleased with how they turned out.

In today's mail I received a PIF from Audrone.  It's a very nice little covered notebook with a beautifully stitched fence with sunflowers growing over it.  I am so surprised to get this, and very appreciative!  Thank you, Audrone!   

   


Thank you so much for stopping by today!  I appreciate your visits and love to read your comments!  Hope you'll stop in again very soon!
 Peace~Love~Joy
an
d Happy Stitching!graphicCharlene

9 comments:

  1. WTG - looks like you're in the dyeing business! Love the little notebook, too!

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  2. Sounds like you and your dyepot had a ggod time! Love those sun flowers.

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  3. Charlene you are so brave trying to dye your own fabrics! Looks like they turned out nicely!

    What a beautiful PIF you received

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  4. Lovely finishes, i especially like the Stitcherhood design and thanks for sharing the link of it. Will add it to my wishlist.

    Great job on dyeing the fabrics.

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  5. Loving this weather too...and the relief from the pollen after the rain on Thursday!

    Love your finishes. The fabric looks great!

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  6. I'm still trying to get up my nerve to try dyeing my own fabric, Charlene! I should just grab some of my old Aida and give it a practice run, shouldn't I?

    Your littler darning girl is pretty darn cute :)

    Enjoy your more spring-like weather and I hope the pollen count stays low for you...

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  7. As much as I am loving this sunny weekend, if rain will get rid of some of the pollen, I'm all for it.
    I've never tried dying fabric before..the first time Paulette dyed one of her samplers AFTER she stitched it, I just about DYED myself! :-) I'm not that brave. Cute notebook!

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  8. Love the finishes!!

    YGG on dyeing your own fabrics. I am eager to try some myself but don't really have much in higher counts, which I prefer to use, that need to be dyed. I need to root around in my stash a bit!

    Have a great week.

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  9. j'aime beaucoup votre broderie rouge ;-)
    Et la lettre D est belle aussi !
    j'aimerais bien teindre mes toiles .... pas encore essayer ;-)
    amitiés ;-)

    Sophos

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