china silk scarves, thrift store finds & old lace

A trip to the thrift shops on Monday was made, and I found a few goodies to add to my bounty that is now over-running the dining room table, waiting for my new creative space to open up. (in other words, waiting for my son to move out in less than two weeks!)

A large bag of tapestry and crewel wools. Caught my eye for the amount of blue skeins, as I have a vision of something I want to try very soon.

Three little handmade doilies...

A few snipets of cotton lace...

More silk tie dyeing experiments, this time on china silk scarves.  I still intend on laying down some stitching on these, letting it develop organically as I go. 

Tomorrow will bring a walk in the woods, and hopefully some images to share here. It has been so hot. I have not been on a walk about in awhile. I am feeling rather disconnected and needing some "green" time. 

dyeing, round 2, and a bit of sparkly stitching

I was really tickled with how the thrift store scarf took the silk tie dyes. However, there were a few spots where the tie pieces shifted, and the transfer didn't cover quite like I wanted it. The drift of my eye was broken up by spots where no transfer had occurred at all, or it was very washed out which isn't a horrible thing really. Problem was, there was too much of the watercolory thing in a few spots.  So I went for round two.

Very happy with the results. The ties I used for the second transfer really took well to the scarf.  The coverage is much better, and the scarf overall has taken on a darker lavender. I had thought to put this one in the shop, but have since decided to keep it for myself.  I've become rather partial to scarves, and I've a nice collection started.

And of course there was Sunday morning stitching to be had. I am making progress on the first of the SnowAngelz Collection. It's a beautiful day, finally a break in the heat and jello-like humidity. I think I might have to wander out to the deck with coffee and string and work for awhile in some natural sunlight. The herbs are happy as it rained, and they're all smelling delightful after their long awaited bath.

silk tie dyeing

So I was wondering if the lavender scarf I found at the thrift shop the other day was silk. There wasn't a tag, and it *felt* like silk, but it's tough to tell sometimes, even though my fingertips have gotten pretty good at picking out natural vs. man-made fibers.

Seeing as I spent a whole dollar on the scarf, what did I have to lose? I chopped up a few men's silk ties, rolled them up with the scarf and set up the boiling pot, and waited with breath held.

Yep, it's silk. And I am quite pleased with the end result!

Creative 365: Back to dyeing silk scarves with silk ties!

While sorting through some of my stash today I found my bag (finally!) of men's silk ties and the china silk scarves.  Nothing beats a rainy day of mystery dyeing, as that is definitely what you get when rolling up these scarves with the silk ties to transfer the color.  I did three today, and would have done more if I had not run out of vinegar.  It was fun, and I am quite pleased with the way these 

These are the images right after I've unrolled them. 

Now off to stitch away the rest of the rain!

odd little flowers

I am pleased to announce that today I had my first sale on Etsy!  I have been trying very hard to create more pieces for my store, and one of my goals for November was to finally have a tally under sales.  The piece that sold was one of my favorite of the chiffon scarves I have been dyeing.

Another scarf added to the store today. It is the silk chiffon scarf only the colors that transfered from the ties with this were smoky grey, purple, fuschia and some really deep blues. I have a good collection of ties started. I think tomorrow will find me seeing what other magic can be created with the scarves I have remaining.

I also finished up a few recycled blooms. I had come across a wool scarf at the Thrift Store that I thought would cut apart really well and I could felt it. Well, I cut my flowers and gave them a spin in a hot washing machine and after they were finished, I went to toss them in the dryer. They never made it that far because the wool did this really funky fun thing that I did not want to disturb with a tumble in the dryer!

I doubled the layers, centered them with a found button (each different) and this is what I ended up with!

I double checked the tag of the scarf and yes, it did read 100% wool, so I am not sure what happened, but my end result, I find, is kind of fun!

A few found cotton threads and recycled wool yarn and I was able to fashion four blooms in harvest-y colors and dug through the bead box for beads that would work as pretty, shiny centers.

All in all it has been a delightfully creative (and productive) day! Now off to stitch. Have a snowman waiting for his grin!

dyeing silk scarves with men's silk ties

Silk scarves dyed with silk neckties

In the new issue of Quilting Arts magazine there is a project that involves the dyeing of silk by transferring the color from men's silk neckties. 

I had a few ties on hand that I had picked up on various Thrift Shop expeditions, and after finding a few more along with a handful of silk scarves, I decided to give this method a go.

What fun!

Here are two of the more vibrant outcomes. When you unwrap the bundles, you have no idea what kind of magic has been created. 

Most of these colors transfered pretty true to what the ties were, although the purples were created by blue ties that had red patterns in them. The colors bled together in the transfer. 

A nice way to recycle!