Here’s what it looks like now:

I wish I had taken some progress photos, but the process was quite simple. I mixed up a couple shades of turquoise & blue weak acid dyes, doused my yarn with vinegar, & had fun with an eyedropper! Bundled the skein up with saran wrap, popped it in the dye microwave for steaming, et voila! I’m so pleased with my new yarn, & it was so quick!

We have yet another field trip tomorrow evening, so I think I may need to buy a few more white or natural yarns … my happy heart makes up for my poor wallet. Now, I just need to decide what to knit!

Tara-Marie

Enjoy these blurry shots I took of my work in the studio tonight!

I haven’t done any immersion dyeing since last year, during a Dye Chemistry class, but it’s a lot simpler than I remember. As you can see, I haven’t quite mastered dyeing evenly, but I’m very happy with my results. The imperfections add a little texture, & I’m pleased with the colour.

Now, to work on the sewing, & produce three bags before Tuesday morning …

I’ve been really, really busy — but not with S&B, unfortunately! I’ve been hopping all over the place, visiting family & friends, & attempting to get settled into a new semester at school. I have some fairly exciting projects coming up, which I hope to document.

I’m afraid I don’t really have anything to report on. I’ll just leave you with photos of the little drawstring bags I printed before the break! Coffee cup cozies will now be shipped with these:

xx
Tara-Marie

It’s not exact, but I’m really happy with what I’ve printed so far. For the dots, I stamped acrylic paint onto a sheet of mylar to expose my screen with, to get, well, a “stamped” effect! I used a technique called polychromatic printing for the coloured backgrounds, where I painted a silkscreen with dye water. After it dried, I pulled cellulose reduction paste across the screen to reactivate the dyes & transfer them to the fabric, as seen in another sample below:

As the final part of our project, we were asked to use our samples & create something out of them. I sewed up some lined canvas pouches or accessory bags! They’re really fun to make, & I hope I can add a nice line of them to the shop very soon.

As for Madelinetosh, I cannot get over how gorgeous their yarn is. They use silky soft merino wool with a springy ply, & handpaint it in layers. I’m completely obsessed. They even give their colourways clever & pretty names; some of the skeins I ordered recently include Stovepipe, Nebula, & Betty Draper’s Blues.

Of course, I dove right in (after my classmates finished their oohs & ahhs — it’s so nice to be understood, haha) & have started another seed stitch cowl for the S&B shop. This colour makes me think of mermaid scales!

A week or two ago, the awesome F. of Sister Valentine left me a beautiful tin box at my workspace in the studio. She found it at a thrift store, & said she couldn’t pass it up. It’s possible that I squealed a little, when I saw it:

I just had to take photos to share — isn’t it perfect? Look at those painted ships on the lid! The sides of the tin even come in S&B colours! I can’t wait to fill it with crafty goodies or take it with me to a craft fair. A huge thank you to F. for picking this up for me! <3

one, two, three, four

This month, the store is holding a fantastic giveaway: 700 sheets of Chiyogami paper. Seven hundred! From the Paper Place:

Three years ago we began our annual tradition of a holiday giveaway with The Great Chiyogami Giveaway.  When trying to decide what to offer this year we thought – what can really top hundreds of sheets of Chiyogami?  Our answer was…. nothing!  So we are proud to announce The 2nd Great Chiyogami Giveaway!!

Enter the coupon code “FRIDAY2011″ ALL WEEKEND to receive 15% off your order! Happy shopping!

xx

This afternoon, I was struck by an article in their Nov/Dec 2010 issue featuring a woman named Georgia Smith. She makes intricate, delightfully kitschy dollhouses!

Anyone who’s been reading my blogs for awhile knows that I have a bit of a thing for dollhouses. My grandmother had one of those build-your-own kits, so I’ve seen first-hand the kind of detail that can go into these houses. I can’t believe all the pieces that Georgia has included — check out the writing utensils on the desk! That sewing machine! The birdcage wallpaper inside the closet!

Amazing work!

I’m sure these posts will become a regular thing, so I hope you liked this one!

xx