I'VE BEEN BUSY - PLAYING

Di loaned me a book, 'Dyeing in a Tray'.  Well this looked so easy !!!! I just had to give it a go. I found the fabric I bought from Whaley's, thanks for the tip Maggi, and chopped it into rough fat quarter sizes, I must admit I got carried away and cut the lot up. Oops! Oh well, I can get more....she says!  Anyway back to the playing. Well yes I know this is not in a tray per say, it is in beakers in a tray...wait till later, it is in a tray..honest.

The dyes mixed ready for use, had to stop for dinner....

In went the fabrics, looking good...

I can't remember exactly what I did, regarding the mix of the colours, sorry...

Oh yes, I forgot to tell you, Rebecca and I cut some dead Hydrangea heads off the plant in front garden, then she snipped the heads into the beakers of dye, I let her do as many as she wanted...

Pretty aren't they...

She did do a lot of them...

Oh, and another thing, I remembered seeing in the book, to place a piece of cloth under your work as a kind of  'drip cloth' - seems it works...

I had quite a lot of dye left in the pots so went and found a load of scrap white and cream fabrics, all shapes and sizes these were...

I scrunched and twisted them all and put into the trays this time, sorry forgot to take a picture of that, and this is the reslut of that batch, bit naff if you ask me...

Apart from the drip cloth, this is quite good...

Soooo, I made up a new batch of dyes, stronger mix this time, refolded all the fabic that I had done previously and put it into the trays, well margarine tub and easter egg tray - waste not want not!!  Then I got the pots of dyes and dribbled them in the sides and over the tops and well just whacked the lot in!!! Now these look the business don't they? We shall see...

I wonder what happened next?

To both these trays...

I will show you tomorrow.

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MEANTIME -

I went over to the PO today [again] and posted some more swap stuff off and a gift to someone. They asked me if I had shares in the PO and was I wanting to move in!!!! Cheek of it.  Anyway after that little jaunt I went to town and had a lovely shop, met Annette and Rebecca for a coffee and muffin - yumyum - there goes the diet - I had 5 bags of shopping. Wheeeee, what a shame I had to wait over 3/4hour for a bus home. I was hopping mad, then when the bus did come, two darn women decided they would just get on the bus. They hadn't been queueing like the rest of us. I gave them short shrift I can tell you, I know we all wanted to get on but fair do's, we queue in this country buster, so get to the back of it. I was cheered by the queue. Nightmare journey too the driver went s-o-o-o-o-o   s--l--o--w I could probably have walked alongside and held a chat with the people inside.

In town I called at Ash' stall on the market and bought some white cotton fabric for more dyeing -hahaha- also he let me have some chiffon very cheap, £1 a yard, he had two shades of yellow  and one bright pink. I had 2yds of the pink and one of one of the yellows. Oh yes I also got some plum crushed velvet, he said it was what everyone is buying to make cloaks with for the TWILIGHT mania that is going on. As Reb has just got that book - the first one - I got the remainder of the stuff for her, guess I shall have to make a cloak now!!!

I have been making stuff for Lisa of Cobblestone Cabin. I have just finished it all and that now has to be posted off to her, but here is a preview for you before it gets on her shop site. Bit of a scoop for you.

You may remember I had some CAT fabrics from here, this is what I made with it, I don't actually like this now it is done, but there you go, you win some you lose some, Lisa likes it so that's OK...

The next lot is made with BABY fabrics she gave me to do something with, the following is what I cam up with; a small PLAYMAT to take round with you when you go visiting with your new baby...

a BAG to put above in...

Blue for a Boy -BASKETS for talc and oils needed for the baby

Pink for a Girl -BASKETS for those frilly knickers we put them in!!!!

Oh yes we do...

Inside view of all the BASKETS

Hope Lisa likes them all

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I have also made the following- on my Embellisher machine, which I absolutely LOVE. With the help of Myfanwy's DVD's I am getting to grips with it quite nicely, so I decided I would this as a gift for someone as a thank you, I really enjoyed making this folks.

I stitched beads along the scrim as I wasn't too fussed about it's colour, it was one I had dyed earlier, not very well either...

I also stitched beads in groups at the lower edge, just because really...

The front.......................................................The back

and inside...

Oh yes, I also thread some beads onto wool and made then as a kind of tassel and divider for the book inside. Job done, hope ***** likes it.

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Then I made yet another Bookcover for a swap I am, this one is for Tessa, she had said she likes leaves, so here you go Tessa, leaves it is...

Front.............................................Back

inside - empty

inside - filled

Enjoy Tessa, made just for you buddy.

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This went in the post today for Kim, just to let you know!

All done for another day

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