Thursday, February 19, 2009

Two things.....Drab Dyeing & Floral Rug.




First, this is a folk art floral I just finished! I used some wool paisley in the red flower! Fun!
Now a bit of dye chat or dyealougue...lol!
For whatever reason, I hardly ever use an as-is wool. Since, most wools I get need to be washed, I always figure why not throw some dye, coffee or something on it first?? My black dyeing ends up too dark sometimes. This wool had a bit of a sheen, so I basically wanted it changed a little, aged. I wanted something lighter for a runner I am working on. I wanted a dark gray, but not a blue gray, more of a warm gray. So here is what I did in the photo below. The center wool in the photo is the piece as-is. I used 1/2 yard, or actually 2 quarter yard pieces. A combination of orange and blue will give you a gray shade, why not a gray on gray...lol. So, I used 1/8 of Cushings Orange and 1/16 of Royal Blue. I was going to use 1/8 of sky blue, but I rarely use the Royal, so I just cut back on the amount and used it. I love it, not too dark, and a nice prim shade!

Just like in the dye book I wrote, by mixing unusual blends, you can achieve new shades. Silver Gray would have been too blue and Dark Gray too purple. Just like I like to make brown, I enjoy making my own gray too. If you want to try it and don't have orange, royal, or sky blue, just pick up your Cushings dye chart. Pick another orange, like Mummy Brown or Brown Rust, or make an orange from a yellow and a bit of red. You can choose another blue like Copenhagen Blue, it is a great blue, I use it often. Try a couple of different combo's and strengths for a nice background shade or a supplement to shades you already have. ENJOY!!! SMILES~~~! CAThy

Monday, February 16, 2009

More "Sweet Treats"

Chocolate eggs!!!
Sometimes I like to turn my past sewn prims into newly hooked style prims! Here is an example, I used to use brown muslin and vintage ric/k rac/k. I would crewel stitch the flowers with floss, almost like stump work, so they stood up like rosebuds, etc..! I kinda burned out on all the coffee staining, sanding, etc... I still like the ideas/patterns, so I just convert some of my designs over to wool! I just listed these on ebay!!
Happy and Sweet Thoughts to all!! Cathy

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Lake Limberlost........lol......More Tulips~!

I just finished this order of spring tulips. Very colorful!

Did I ever mention our lakeside home??? We live on Limberlost Trail, so I call it Lake Limberlost. Just joking, it is only waterfront property in the winter/spring! Yep, we had a bit too much rain/snow melt........ Maybe it will freeze so I can go ice skating! Thankfully, we are safe, there is a little hill there, I have only seen the water come up onto the basketball court once, and that is still far from the house. If you see the bottom photo taken in the summer, that is how it supposed to look.

Fun to pretend we are lakeside though, better than thinking of how the river simply overflowed. LOL!



Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Everything is coming up tulips!!

I wish it was outdoor tulips, but no.........the indoor woolly kind of tulips!! LOL!
These will help get us by until the real one's pop up!!!
Fun! Fraktur Tulips!! Plus the pattern listed on ebay!

Lots of sewing with these, but they are worth it!!



Friday, February 6, 2009

Inspiration from...........

Inspiration from Treats!LOL! Not sure whether it is my sweet tooth or maybe fond childhood memories. I have often incorporated sweets in with my crafting. You just never know when and where you will be inspired!

I may have already mentioned this, but before I sold hand hooked items, patterns, and such on ebay, I used to sell my sewn (hand and machine) items on ebay and at craft shows. They were actually not always sweet though...lol. I think I made every kind of vegetable and fruit out of muslin, lots of painting, sanding, grubbing, etc.. Fun, but....... this was before rug hooking totally captivated me! Sometimes, I like to revisit these things in my hooking projects. Here I have a lil' Easter Thyme sampling of Peep bunnies for you! Once I finished assembling these, I sprayed them with an opal spray glitter for a bit of vintage sparkle! It adhered to the wool very well.


Here we have the chocolate hearts! I visited my mom last night at the bakery where she works, and there they were! I knew I had not imagined these...LOL! Just as pretty as I remembered. I guess they don't look much like the hearts I hooked...lol! That is how ideas are though, we have our own interpretation and way of re-creating what we see. That is what makes our art and all types of art so much fun! The uniqueness and individuality of it all!

Still busy with orders, and some new patterns, but I did manage to dye some wool tonight, so more dye adventures soon!! Wishing you dreams come true, a passion for life, and happy hooking always! Cathy



Sunday, February 1, 2009

Yummy New Pattern!

I finally finished another new pattern! This one is for my large chocolate floral heart. The color's are fun! I used lots of shades from my dye book like: Aged Barnwood, Dark Mossy Green, Grandmas Rose, Antique Rose, Pony Brown, and more!


Not just for Valentine's Day! Great for shabby, primitive or country decor!