More dyeing and TAST

And here is the next experiment on dyeing with silk paint. The left one is silk yarn like in the first experiment. The one in the middle is various wool yarns dyed with silver and purple. And the one on the right is wool, too, which is much better in reality than on the photo.
The silk dyeing with blue/black/green was a bit more time consuming because the rinsing took forever. Not sure why, but the blue didn´t wash out like the reds and yellows from the first skein.
The wool was interesting to work with. When I put it in the microwave little explosions occured and if I hadn´t put the lid on the box the microwave would now have a great colourful design on the inside.
Some of you had questions about the dyeing process. So here are a few answers, hope they will help.
Vicki asked how it worked and if I used cotton yarn.
I used silk yarn, as I think silk paint will only work on silk and wool, or any fiber from an animal. The dyeing in the microwave works like this:
Put the yarn in a container that is made for using in a microwave. Colour the yarn and make sure it is wet all over. Than put on a lit on the container, but make sure it isn´t closing completely, so the steam can get out of the container.
Turn the microwave to 600W and start with 30 seconds. Take a look if the yarn is still wet all over, maybe spritz with water and then give it another 30 seconds at 600W. Depending on the thickness of the yarn repeat this 3 or 4 times, so the minimum time is 2 minutes. I am not sure if a very thick yarn will take longer. Need to experiment on this.
Then rinse it til no colour comes out of the yarn and let dry or iron dry.
Amy asked where I found the yarn ready for dyeing. I ordered them from Texere in the UK. They have a great variety on threads and yarns to dye. Great service, too.

And here is my piece for TAST - Fly stitch. It is done with the burned pieces from the very first dyeing experiment.

Happy "dyeing" dance and TAST

Oh, I´m so happy cause now I am "dyeing" my own yarn! It worked! Still can´t believe it.
The reason why it is sort of a fake dyeing is because I used silk paint. I had some bottles in the cellar from years ago when I did silkpainting. I wasn´t sure they would work at all after all these years, but they are like new. I found a tutorial for heat setting silk in the microwave and gave it a try. The first skein was a bit of a desaster, as the silk got too hot and burned in a few spots. I can still use some of it, but almost half is lost as it is tiny pieces with burned ends.
But the second one is absolutely perfect! I reduced the time in the microwave and spritzed with water every 30 seconds. I absolutely love these colours and thank god there are a few more bottles to use.
Doesn´t it look yummy?
It is so easy. The second skein was done in 5 minutes and it is almost dry already cause I ironed it a bit.
Now, as a novice to dyeing, is there a reason this is not a good idea to use up the silk paint? I guess that it is a quite expensive way of "dyeing", but as I already have those bottles, I can use them up as well, right?
Oh, I´m gonna try 2 more skeins tomorrow and then have to order some more yarn.
I´m so happy happy happy...

And here is the spice piece from yesterday turned into the TAST piece for Feather stitch.

TAST and NFC

Not much to show, but at least 2 pieces for the challenges are done.

This one is for TAST week 6. The Eyelet stitch. It is done with various yarns and threads on a piece of an old blouse. Really like the colours and this stitch was a lot of fun to do.

And this is a piece for the NFC. Theme is "Spice" and I used some new materials I never used with the embellisher before. The base is an old piece of curtain in "spicy" colours. Then I layered 2 different sorts of thread on it. The were partly metallic, which gives a nice effect. On top are 2 layers of orange organza and then I very heavily punched all layers together. It´s almost postcard size and I think I will use it for the next TAST piece with Feather Stitch.

Wristband take 2

Terri asked me how I did the closure on the wristband. Well to be honest, when I took the photo yesterday, it was a safety pin that held it together. But now I added a tiny opalescent button.
And as the photo really wasn´t a good one and didn´t show what I like best I did a scan and that is much better.
In the detail you can see quite well how the handstitching is still visible and how the thick thread almost pops out of the machine stitching. Almost 3D like.
I think I first saw this combination of hand- and machinestitching in a book by Beaney and Littlejohn. And I really like the effect you can achieve very easy and quick.

Cretan stitched piece finished

Remember this piece? Here it is now, transformed into a wristband.
I added some extensive machinestitching in various purple tones and as a finishing touch orange. Now all I need is spring and temperatures to wear it with a T-Shirt or blouse.

Have you ever tried taking a photo of your right wrist? Try it - you will have a lot of fun, believe me... :-)

TAST Week 5 Chevron Stitch

As I already mentioned in my last post I don´t like Chevron stitch. So I had to create something that would help me do this stitch. I had purchased a lovely polyester knitting yarn a few weeks ago and started out with it to create sort of a background. I then added the Chevron with a handdyed cotton thread and finally added some stitches to fill the open areas.
It´s still not one of my favourite pieces, but I like the colours a lot and might do something with the knitting yarn soon.

TAST Week 4 Cretan Stitch

Oh, I´m late again...
Here is what I did so far with Cretan Stitch. I am planning on working on this piece a little more later. I will add some machine stitching and maybe some Organza or Chiffon and some beads. It´s in my head already, but right now there is no time to do it. It will become a wristband. At least I hope so.
This weeks stitch is Chevron. I haven´t even started on it, as I don´t like those linear/straight stitches. I´ll have to think about a way to use it in a free design. Maybe a look at the other participants work on flickr will help.

TAST - so much inspiration

This Take a stitch Tuesday Challenge is so much fun! So many people joined and the inspiration is overwhelming. Here are 3 samples I really love.
Bonnie did 2 absolutely stunning masks. The first one is a few days back, so don´t miss scrolling down to see that one, too.
Marianne is working on a bag and adds to it every week. It is absolutely beautiful and I can´t wait to see what she will be adding next week.
Dy has created a stunning Gerbera. Words fail me to describe it. Take a look for yourself....
And there is so much more to see every week.

And here is another gorgeous piece. It is created by Momo for the Textile Tuesday Challenge. The theme is "Moon". Isn´t it a beauty?

TAST Week 3 Detached Chain

And again, a fun piece. It is all detached chain stitch and is 12cm x 13cm. I loved the thread I used mostly. It´s a hand dyed variegated thread from a german company "Tentakulum". The threads they sell are sooo beautiful, but it is difficult to buy them as they don´t have an online shop. This is "Painter´s Thread Silk". I used up a hole skein on this piece. Oh, that felt sooo goooooooood.....

I also got me a little treat and bought 8 of the Double Trouble series books. One is about handstitching on machine stitching and vice versa. So I know what is on my to-do-list for next week.

DH is watching a movie about King Arthur right now, so a little time for the embellisher. I should have started on the Needlefeltchallenge some days ago...

Buttonhole stitch for TAST

This was fun and easy. I´m not a fan of buttonhole stitch, well not a fan of most straight stitches, as I like to work in curves, free meandering lines and such. This way of using Buttonhole was inspired by the german textile artist Hildegard Braatz. I tried to find some pictures of her works on the net, but without success. So sorry, no links. She does beautiful contemporary art quilts but also small handstitched pieces.

2 in 1

So here is the second try on herringbone stitch for TAST challenge. I chose this sunset on water, so it is for the TT challenge, too.
The stitched area is postcard size and it is mounted on cotton batik.

Herringbone stitch for TAST

Did my first little sampler piece for the Take a stitch tuesday challenge. The upper half is something I stitched a few weeks ago. The herringbone for TAST is the blue/orange part.
After finishing this piece I had a look at the other pieces some of the participants uploaded on the flickr group and now I have to do a second one. I never thought of doing swirls or spirals with this straight stitch. They look gorgeous.
I´m so glad I joined this challenge cause I´m sure I will learn a lot and seeing other peoples work is always inspiring.