V-Day and Pot Dyeing

Following an unplanned seasonal bout of flu, things got a little off track. I did get to watch season 2 of Gossip Girl guilt free from the comfort of my couch. At the weekend I did a little Valentine's day workshop where in my rush I forgot to bring a camera. I had a good little group and we made very cute embellished heart pins. Finally made progress on a store front and I have one thing in my shop which by the time I post this will hopefully be fuller. You think it's going to be so simple and before you know it you have to design a banner and change all the colors of the text etc etc. I do protest too much, if I wasn't so indecisive I'd be fine. There's also been some graphic design projects which I'd been working on for some time which thankfully were completed. Nothing worse than a deadline and a raging headache.

Heart pin

You may recall I mentioned a Pringle jumper that shrank from XL to mini mini. I decided on some pot holders, too thick for what I had originally intended. I blanket stitched the outside. I'll probably stitch a design onto the center but trying to stay focussed.

Pot Holder Super Felted

These should be in Thrift store find. In the spirit of Valentine's Day his n her cups. I love these they both have little lids/coasters. Whoever decided these weren't treasures must have been mad they are so adorable aren't they ?

his n hers mugs

Before I got ill I decided to dye a pink cashmere sweater on the stove. Like most of my ventures it was messy but ultimately successful. I plunged this garment into a pot of boiling water and dye and a cup of vinegar. For the next thirty minutes I had to stir it with my wooden spoon. Cashmere is usually hand wash only delicate and there I was stirring it like a stew. The color looked amazing and I would be lying if I didn't think it was going to shrink to the size of a small infant tee but praise be no shrinkage and beautiful color. The secret is apparently to let it cool naturally no shocking it with cold water and no tumble drying. So if you have a sweater in a color that doesn't suit you, or is plain blah. Have a go, you're not going to wear it any less are you ? You can use your washing machine if you want but I didn't want to risk the wrath of an unsuspecting neighbor accidentally having blue tinged clothes in the next wash and it sounded far more complex than the pot method.

From pale pink to lovely blue

Invigorated by this success I am planning more dyeing adventures, there is a rather plain jane oatmeal blanket that I just purchased which will be perfect for testing out various colors. I'm thinking I can make some bags and exciting pouches, creatures who knows....

Here comes the Sun

I've been restless for the last few days but finally the wait is over and confirmation that I have a booth at UNIQUE LA finally arrived on Friday night. Hurrah and boo at the same time, I must hit the brushes and sewing machine in every spare minute, which boo means less surfing time and general lounging. This week has been productive, two paintings a diptych I guess are in progress (ocean) as well as a pair of cushions. I also attacked a 2 year old never worn French Connection dress with a pair of scissors, while this may seem rash it's taken me two years to take the plunge. A little history.... I bought this dress and foolishly never tried it on, purple silk with a navy pattern it was long and boho ish. I got it home and not only was it too big but was unflattering from every angle. So, in the wise words of Tim Gunn I made it work. This involved a lot of pinning and chopping of excess fabric all the while pacifying myself with the thought that I never wore it anyway. Any change could therefore only be positive. I am glad to report that the transformation is almost there, it fits and is a much better shape for me. I may even wear it to an upcoming wedding, note the confident tone, ha.

I spray painted some more coffee tins and transplanted an incredibly hardy lavender plant. I kill plants, not deliberately but they just don't last. Add to that I get hayfever and it seems that gardening and I just weren't meant to be. I finally bought one of those trigger things that stop your finger from going numb that you attach to the spray can only to find that it didn't fit 75% of my collection.

The never ending birthday flag project continues, I've sewn all the requisite letters but need to finish the flag bits. I definitely need to be printing and not appliqueing everything. I have officially given up fizzy drinks (not including carbonated water) there is just no nutritional value to it and while the same could be said of coffee I have to start somewhere. It's amazing what a difference sunshine makes, my energy levels have doubled and I actually went for a run on Saturday. Legs are still sore today Monday but I went, and hopefully its the first of many. I made a pact with myself if I didn't go surfing I would have to go for a run, needless to say come Sunday I went surfing and chatted to a teenager who'd just moved to the area. The waves were fairly non-existent to begin with but it picked up a little, nowhere near as painful as the running.

In the afternoon I whipped up a set of coasters, I hadn't found any in stores that I really liked so inspired by an old designsponge post I made my own. That's it for now, expect more as I get busy.