Sunday, November 23, 2014

A Finish!

Hey everyone I'm happy to report I've finished Halloween Red!  It actually ended up with far more orange than I thought it had.  It didn't stitch up quite as quickly as I thought it would at the end but I've been not as into it as I was at the beginning with the gorgeous Christmas Red DMC.
And the piece as a whole:
I have to say it does look pretty cool.  I like to put my signature on all of my pieces but I ran out of room on the end a bit so it's a little run together but that's okay.

I changed my mind on my cousin's wedding gift.  She's more of a beach girl so I found a new life quote and new pattern.  I haven't purchased it yet as it's a long piece so I need to do some calculations to see if I can fit the quote I chose and find some fabric to fit the pattern.  I need to buy it soon because it's from Love Thy Thread and they're going out of business.  :(
But I did get some fabric dyed and I love how the blue turned out.


Sorry about the lighting but I don't have my lamp plugged in.  The blue is done on DMC Monaco 100% cotton evenweave.  The two greens are actually the same color.  The fabric is DMC tea-dyed Irish Linen which I used RIT color remover on to get rid of the tea color and then dyed dark green.  I dyed these fabrics at the same time and ended up going out for several hours to see the Hunger Games.  When I got home I rinsed them out and panicked because they were so dark.  Luckily after I washed them they ended up being the perfect colors.  I'm definitely trying the blue again.  My next start will be my cousin's project after I buy the pattern, fabric and floss and get the fabric dyed and gridded :).  Michael's has a 25% off entire purchase coupon that I'll use for floss.  I think I'm going to buy a soluble pen to grid instead of the thread I've been using but don't know how well it will work on my dark fabrics.  I'll be back with a start hopefully!

Until next time,
May the stitches be ever in your favor!



11 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your finish. It looks wonderful. As does your fabric. You're very brave dying your own fabric. That's one thing I definitely won't try! :)

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    1. It's actually really easy and inexpensive. I was surprised by how quickly I can do it as well :)

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  2. Hello Heather

    Congrats on that awesome finish!
    Love wat you've done with the fabric too x

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  3. Absolutely fantastic finish!! What a great design, well done!

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  4. Your Halloween stitch is brilliant, really awesome. Oooh pretty fabrics too :)
    Smiles :)

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  5. I love the finish! The fabric looks lovely. I adore the blue :-)

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  6. Congrats on the great finish Heather. I love the fabric you dyed. Can you explain how you do it.

    Linda

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    1. After washing my fabric with regular laundry soap and leaving it wet I make a solution of 1 tbsp. soda ash (tulip brand available at michaels) to 1 cup hot water. I use my keurig for the water. Then I let it soak for 20 mins per the instructions in a plastic grocery bag (good way to recycle) leaving the fabric in a ball. After it's done I wring it out (don't rinse) and make a solution of fabric dye (I use tulip and/or Dylon) using 1 tbsp salt, 1-1.5 tbsp dye and 1.5 cups of water (also from keurig). Then I pour it over the ball of fabric in a plastic bag and let it sit for several hours making sure it doesn't get agitated so the color stays mottled. After it's done I rinse it until the water runs clear and wash again with regular detergent and it's done :)

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  7. Gorgeous fabrics! Major congrats on your finish!! Love the piece so much. Good luck with your new start.

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  8. I love the finish, it's so vibrant and happy. Congrats on the great finish!

    And WOW to the fabrics! Thanks for the explanation/answer to Linda's question. I think I would still shy away from trying it myself, but what a great job you've done.

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    1. It took me a while to get the courage to do it but once I did I fell in love. It can be done in an afternoon and most of that is sitting around waiting for it :). And I've been using the same dye packs for like a month (ever since I started). If you ever do decide to try it I'd be happy to coach you through it.

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