It started with a charming little old mother-of-pearl belt buckle ... then I added some of the tiniest, vintage mother of pearl buttons you ever did see (probably made for doll clothes), and then some cultured pearls, and a long, long, antiqued brass chain ...
A big piece of pearl shell and some Swarovski crystals ... Bits of copper and glass ...
And, voila! It's a necklace!
This cloth was rolled with gladiolus and turmeric, then steamed.
I'm not sure what this was wrapped with ... maybe lilacs and lilac leaves. This is how it looked after steaming.
This is how it looks after soaking overnight in rusty water with a bit of vinegar added. It changed from a rather glorious yellow to a slightly more mellow color. Also, the rusty water coaxed some patterns to the surface of the cloth.
This is how it looks after soaking overnight in the rusty water with a bit of vinegar. You can see that the soaking brought out blue from the white background. The coaxing of the blue also turned the yellow to green. I like it!
"BELIEVE" - A wee nod to my jewelry making, lest it gets lost in all the folds and wrinkles of my textiles.
These are some of my flags, made from old sweaters (which I processed into felted wool) and adorned with vintage/antique buttons and lots of hand stitching.
Here are the results from the eco dye experiment of a a couple of weeks ago.
I was worried about the green string, but it actually adds a lot of interest. Too bad it's probably not eco-friendly dye.
Now, just to see what would happen, I've put them all into the rusty old iron pot. The liquid is rain water and some white vinegar. I probably should have torn each piece in half, so I could compare before and after. I'm sure I'll get better at this. For now, I just want to have some fun. I don't want to get bogged down in record keeping yet. Once I start to have more of a feel for it all, then I'll start keeping meaningful notes.
Today I finally realized it really is summer. But I don't fully trust it yet. If I wake up tomorrow and it's so cold I want to turn on the heat, I won't be surprised.
This is my flag for India Flint's solace project. I really wanted to do much more with it, but time was an issue and so I sent it as is. I do love being a part of this project.
Fly away to India ...
It's just a cold, rainy day. Not what one expects for the first day of June. The rock sculptures are thanks to Dougie; they greet you at the bottom of our driveway.
The roses Doug brought home last week are spent. I'll try the petals in a dye experiment, even though I am finally getting it through my head that it is more likely leaves that will give good results. The leaves were in the bouquet. I don't know what they are but I'll give them a whirl.
I finally dislodged the rusty old iron cauldron from its hiding place. Surely I should have some eco-luck if I use this as a dye pot.
It's so cold and rainy, I may even use some of this tonight. Happy First Day of June!