Wednesday, September 6, 2017

A Tiny Project

I'm sorry I have not posted anything in months.  It's been a crazy summer, but I have not been idle.   I've made some kennel quilts for the displaced pets and dropped items below for World Art drop day which was yesterday and by the way, it is held every year on the first Tuesday in September.  You can go on social media to see more about it or search in your area for more details.

The two mug rugs on the left are paper pieced.  The crochet table mat was a little tricky as you work 2 separate ovals and a square, then weave them and sew together.  And the tea bag magnet at the top is a project I want to post about another time.  These were all the items I did for World Art drop day yesterday.  Whomever found these items, I hope they will like them.

This picture was taken after I cut out the pieces for the mug rug and cozy

Years ago I experimented with tea dying fabric.  So, I wanted to try this technique again with an old canvas tote bag I had.   It was plain, stained and should have been thrown away, but I thought why not tea dye it, experiment with block printing and see if I can make something out of it.  Not worried about ruining it, I went head long into making something out of this horrible piece of fabric.  I cut the handles off and the side seams making it one long piece.   Next, I made a huge pot of tea using 8 black tea blend bags to about 3 cups of water. Steep for around 15 minutes or so, then added the fabric piece and left to cool.  An hour or two later I wrung out, rinse, wrung and rinsed again.  Wrung a final time and let line dry.  Once dry, I ironed the fabric without starch sizing and was ready to add paint, stenciling and block printing.  I used textile paints, let dry and ironed a final time.  It looks blotchy, but I like it, so moving on, I made a mug rug and mug cozy from this tea dyed canvas and like the result very much.  DH uses these in his office.

 Mug Cozy
This is the reverse side.  Fabric for the reverse is a commercial batik cotton fabric.
Mug Rug
Mug Rug reverse side
DH favorite tea break
Colouricious is where I have found print blocks, textile paints and tons of inspiration.
Now, what to do with the rest of this canvas?  Maybe a bag and add some stitching and beading?  We'll see.

No comments:

Catherine's Wheel

 I posted December 17, 2020 about making an ornament which is called prairie wheel (USA) or Catherine's Wheel (UK).  The latter being of...