cotton and thoughts on embroidery

 A stop at the thrift shop yesterday gifted me with a few squares of cotton and linen

I have a few thoughts tumbling through my head as to what they will be used for, but as usual, they were purchases made more with the 'I just flat out like them' mentality.

I am in the process of breathing new life into  the Snowball of the Month cross stitch designs from 2007, reworking them into embroidery patterns.  Hoffman Distributing Company is now distributing more embroidery and quilting things, which tickles me, and I have wanted to expand my designing for awhile now, moving in a few other directions besides cross stitch.  These 12 patterns seem a natural place to start.

I am currently working through April and May, and hope to be stitching the first models of these by the weekend.  

Starting the backstitching tomorrow on Tangled, and hope to have the piece done by the weekend as well!

from the dye pot

I wrapped up old nails and old safety pins with the cotton cloth, stuck it in my dye pot with vinegar for 24 hours and this was what I found when I took the pieces out this morning. I am tickled! 

I find it curious how something with the strength of metal can produce such softness.

Surprised by the blue, but then the nails were not rusted and this was the color that vinegar pulled from the metal.  It leaves me excited to see what other kinds of old nails and wire and metal bits might do. 

I am really quite pleased with the softness, the liquid feel of these.  They fall into what I have been contemplating lately, the movement of water, the unpredictability of that movement. Ever changing. 

And here is a bit of what I am creating this morning as my stitching warm up.

I need to make a trip to today to pick up the threads I am missing to start on Flakey Friends Tangled.

And that is the plan for this afternoon!

free form & dye experiments

Yesterday I pulled two pieces of old flour sack towel out of the dye pot, and grumbled a little bit as they had picked up some of the color from the plant matter I had wrapped inside of them, but I did not have the results I had hoped for.

However, there were a few spots that picked up this really cool black, and after I looked closely, I discovered it wasn't from any bit of plant, but rather from the safety pins that I had secured the fabric with! So, I thought....let's try something.

and back into the dye pot we go, set outside in the sun, metal already rusting, so let's see what happens.

This morning I have stitched for awhile, another of the small antique motif experiments. These pieces are so relaxing to stitch. They just unfold, my needle wandering as I work. I have no real idea where I will end up, and that is quite freeing. I'm trying to break out of this structured space I somehow got stuck in, and these small bits are helping in that.

wool! I found wool, lots and lots of wool!

It may be nearly 100 degrees outside, but I didn't mind, nope, not one bit! I made a stop at the thrift shop today. Had this inkling that I should make a pass through. Well, it paid off. Not only did I score a shower curtain and liner for the small bathroom, (much needed, and 50% off today! ), but I also found a whole bunch of aging cotton napkins and towels...

And an almost finished, wonderful needlepoint...

along with all of the wool that was left over

And then I went around the corner of the craft section. Three baskets of yarn to dig through in hopes of wrapping my hands around the ever-elusive ball or skein of wool or cotton. What I found instead were two bags. Two very large and colorful bags of tapestry wools! 

I have a lot of cotton threads, overdyed, 6 strand, perles, and the like to work with, but I really like wool for some embroidered details, and so these little treasures had me bouncing happily behind my cart as I made my way through the shop.  I didn't find any other goodies today, but was quite pleased with the haul I did make! Now off to create!

Of Mice & Snowmen

Of Mice & Snowmen, Snowballz CM Designs copyright 2011

Am just getting ready to sit down and start stitching the next in the Snowballz 2011 series, Of Mice and Snowmen. A few more flower embellishments finished late last night as well. 

I am finding that I really like working with cotton yarn. Perhaps it is because the feel of it is familiar, having worked with cotton embroidery floss for so long.  It just feels so ...right.  Wool does too, as I really dig the natural fibers, always have. But there is just something about cotton. The yellow flowers are made with cotton. The pink with felting wool. Both are equally soft. I think I am going to dig around for a cotton supplier.

I am also crocheting a few children and baby hats with the sugar and cream cotton yarn. 

Then maybe one for myself. ;D