Candy coated colors!

Yesterday morning I set up my table and soon it was covered with little plates of goodness.


Then I left and went and played in the sun with my hubby! We had a nice day in Bordeaux and walked in the water mirror. Had a wonderful dinner by the waterfront and then onto the broadcast of the soccor game last night. Bordeaux against Marsaille. I'm afraid it didme in and I barely could walk home. Old bones >.<

This morning I rinsed my little jewels and here they sit, waiting to be washed and dried.

And finally...here are my wonderful results. I love them one and all!

Weekend here I come!

Yesterday my french teacher told me we had the day off Monday! YAY! that means a four day weekend. Just what I need cause I have so much I want to get done.


Yesterday I spent awhile wrapping and tying skeins, ready for their dye bath. I hope to get some of these done this weekend! I have the silk velvet and a few other things to dye too, so I might just play in dye all day one day :)


I also worked some more on mr. moon. I still have a lot to do but he is taking shape. I am also working on my ideas for the rest of this piece. Soon it will be done I hope!


And last but not least this morning I finished the right front bodice of the top I am making. I have had several ideas about this piece. One, I thought about taking the smocking a bit more down maybe close to the waist.. Another is an idea for making a detachable skirt. to fasten on under the smocking and made of crinkle gauze hand dyed. Then I can wear it as a dress or a top. I really like the idea if I can figure out how to do it like I have in mind. Clothes can be tricky!

I really hope though that D and I get a chance to do something relaxing together. I think he has had a rough week with not much sleep! Tonight I am making him Chicken Quesadillas for supper. I haven't made those since I moved here. I already made a nice fresh batch of salsa and when he gets home I'll whip them together. I am so looking forward to some quality time!
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Oh and just to let everyone know. I have been responding to comments by email but I have decided to switch to answering in the comment section because i get many 'no reply' comments and have been unable to respond with email!

Hello world!

Today I am quite excited as I received my package of 60 skeins of white floss in the mail. That's right, 60! I loved dyeing my floss so much I decided to do more. If it all turns out well I might even put some of it in my shop. That is...after I have a nice cache for myself. *grin*
SO this afternoon I will be occupied wrapping and tyeing skeins. That's ok..the sooner I can get to the dyeing part, the better. I just love it!


Last evening I finally had a chance to finish my Spiral Sun Paisley Brooch. This is by far my favorite, even though I like all four of them a lot. I really enjoy making these little guys and think I will continue on with them. They are nice projects for when my hands are too tired to deal with a large piece.
Hope you all are having a great week!

Paisley Sun Finished!

Thank you all so much for your kind and encouraging words. I appreciate each and every one of them. You are all very encouraging! I did reduce the number of post per page to speed up the loading time and I hope that helps. Silly me never even considered that might be a problem!


So today finally after so long... I finished the top half of Small World! The paisley sun is finished. I am so happy with it and I cant wait to finish the moon!


As for the pics I posted yesterday. No Eva, it isnt wearable art, although that was a good guess. I am making myself a summer top and trying out an experiment with hand tied loose smocking. What do you think?

Experiments

Please excuse my ranting and ravings from yesterday...we all have off days right?

And now for something completely different *^_^*

What could I be up to now?

The end of the weekend

I dont have a lot to say today. It's been a quiet weekend. We ended up no going anywhere but the grocery store and that was ok. We just rested, spent time together and rested some more!
I got a little more aquainted with twitter and actually had some fun goofing off on there. There are a lot of interesting and talented people using twitter these days. Also TONS of spammers. As its said though, keep the good and throw away the rest.
I set up a Facebook fanpage also. I hate the name of it. Really bugs me. Fan page. like you're some kind of star. It's done though and I will try to keep it updated regularly. Though it seems it does much the same as a blog.
I had a chance to do some stitching the last night and finally completed the face of the sun on 'Small World' I am so happy! I can finally see an end in sight! So here she is in all her glory:

I've been having a lot of misgivings about this blog lately. I know I can tend to be negative so I have been trying to keep my mouth shut. I also have to remind myself that I only started this blog for myself and my family. When I keep my thoughts turned in that direction I'm fine. When I see all the peoples blogs I read and how they have people commenting their posts and big discussions, etc. then I get negative. I have met a few wonderful people here in blogland and I do appreciate them. It seems though that most people arent really interested in what I am saying or doing here and that is why I sometimes wonder if I should continue. But be that as it may. I guess I dont care if Im boring. I will continue for the reasons I started and hopefully I dont bore you all too much :p

Rainbow swirls.

I wove this cloth last night. I LOVE it. I spent this mornign basting it onto a backing and getting it ready to stitch. I thought it would make a nice little coin type purse.

Then I picked out my favorite cobalt blue beads and my new rainbow thread. I thought they would look lovely on it. When I first started out I did think they looked good but before long...


I had this mess and I hated it. So I spent awhile rippnig it all back out and now...I'm too mad to work on it anymore.

Four Day Weekend

I meant to post earlier today but I got lost in everything I had to do. The sun was shining so I took some pics of the items to go in the shop. I still need to get some more shots but I'm closer to getting it done. I also posted several more things in the shop...and boy does that take some time. I guess it hard to streamline it any more than it is but it's very time consuming!
I did get some done on Small World last night and also more tonight. Here is a pic of last nights progress:

I got more done tonight and hope to finish that part sometime in the next few days. Hard to say though, as my hubby has a four day weekend and I'm sure we will be out and about part of the time.
I worked on another sketch today and another experiment also...but I dont have pics of those yet. The sketch is only halfway done so that will be awhile. I will post the other tomorrow if I get a chance to take pics.
As you can tell I'm sure, I have been busy, busy, busy! Sometimes busy is good though *grin*

Up and Down

So yesterday was a roller coaster ride. I hadn't planned on opening my shop. I wanted to wait a few days and take more pics. I still have items to finish, etc, etc, etc. D pointed out that that could go on forever. It's so true. I decided to just bite the bullet and jump in there and get it done. So now it is. A great relief I must admit. NOw I can take the items that are listed and finished and just file them away. They have been out here staring me in the face forever. I will take the tiem to get better pictures sometime in the next week but other than that, I dont have to worry about them anymore. The few that I havent listed just need minor things done to them, hours work at tops. So I can get onto other things. And this is good because I have about four projects buzzing around inside my head trying to get out...and I still have small world to finish. Now I have time to do these.

So today I finished working on a concept sketch. I have had this idea fermenting for a week. I'm not sure I can pull it off, but at least I have the sketch finished now!

Now onto other things....

Etsy Shop

So there we go. I bit the bullet. Not many things up but I DID get it started *^_^*
My Etsy Shop

Another busy day!

So this morning I woke up around 10:30. I realized when I woke up something was weird. (I had no idea what time it was, I don't have a clock next to my bed) First off, D wasn't in bed. HE gets up 45 minutes AFTER me. Secondly, I woke up without the alarm. I got out of bed to find D gone and saw what time it was! I was supposed to be in class at 9! I immediately got on g-mail and asked D what was up. Seems my alarm went off this morning and I didn't budge...not an inch. D got up and turned it off. He assumed I had another bad night and just let me sleep. Then his alarm went off. twice. I didnt budge again. So he went to work.
Well..not only did I NOT budge. I didnt hear a thing. I slept through the whole mess of noises. I can't believe it. I have to admit though. I finally for the first time in over a week FEEL RESTED!!! YAY~!!!!


So I got right to work today. I have lots to do and might as well get them done when I have the energy. I washed out the four dye baths and two flosses i did. I'm quite thrilled with them even if they arent what I was going for. Like I said before, dyeing is an experiment. You never know whats going to come of it. SO these are my two favorites. The other two are on my photostream if you're interested.


My two flosses I dyed came out well. The first is a variegated denim thread, the second...I named halloween *^_^*


I also cut out and seamed the lining for the mermaid bag. I had it lined already but I just didnt like it. I found this adorable print fabric of shells in a blue and decided it deserved a home inside that bag. So now I am hand stitching the lining into the bag and it will be finished!
After that...who knows, I have plenty to keep me occupied today!
Hope you are all having a great day!

Busy day

I have had a busy day today. Right off the bat...French class. Then when I got home I did three dye batches and another two flosses. The second floss got in a tangle and gave me a bunch of problems. I defeated it though *grin*


This afternoon I worked on taking new photos of some of my items. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cymberrain/ not sure I am happy with any of them though. I seriously think I need a new camera...or a new photographer LOL!
I want my photos to be nice on the shop.


I did get a bit more done on the sun paisley last night and it is close to done. So three of these done and the last one almost done!

I am also working on a pencil sketch of mushrooms but its only halfway done so no pics.

Now Im exhausted and ready for bed!

Etsy

No pictures today, sorry. Last night I was up till 6:30 am. Insomnia again. I swear I am seriously considering switching to being an all night person and then my problem will be solved *grin*
So I am seriously gearing up towards opening this etsy shop thing. Today I wrestled with my banner for several hours. Had to resize it and lost half the image. I finally managed to wrangle it into submission but unfortunately much of the quality has been lost. I'm going with it though. I can always update it later right?
Also spent quite awhile filling out all those sections in the shop...shipping policies, etc. So I am feeling much closer to getting this off the ground.
I need to review pictures and write descriptions *cringe* I am not a great writer. I have looked at other peoples shops and they describe their items with such beautiful prose. I'm not sure how important this part is but I hope I measure up to the task.
If everything goes as I plan, this shop will be off the ground by the end of the week...if not sooner. Ya'll keep your fingers crossed for me ;)
Now I am off to spend a little time trying to finish this sun paisley pin. I am trying to finish a variety of items for the shop so it wont be so boring *hehe*
Take care and have a great rest of the weekend!

Candy colors

Last night was awesome! Truly. I absolutely LOVE Hilight Tribe. I heard them for the first time last year at the Reggea Fest. We were walking across the grounds to go get some food when I heard this sound...I immediately veered towards it and was in a trance till they finished playing.
Last night was no different. From the minute they started playing till the very end I couldn't stop moving. I found my cure for insomnia...a Hilight Tribe concert three nights a week should do the trick...and give me a great workout to boot. I discovered muscles I didnt know I had when I woke up this morning
I realize this band isn't for the faint at heart. Didge trance isn't for everyone *grin*

I woke up so excited this morning because I couldn't wait to see how my threads came out. I rinsed each of them out and hand washed them with a bit of dishsoap and the colors were fantastic!


Unfortunately I couldn't get all the dye out that way and was really stymied as to how I could wash them without ending up with a tangled mess. As I said before I am all new to this so its trial by error. I went in search of some netting I knew I had and sewed up a little bag real quick. About 3" x 6" it did the trick perfectly. I just put the threads in the bag, tied it with a rubber band and popped it in the washer with some jeans I needed to wash. I am absolutely thrilled with the results.


I also dyed a little nightie of mine that I never really liked the color of.
I'm a little put out with my camera though. Lately I just can't seem to get good colors with it. I am thinking I might need a new one some day soon...

Update

So today just a quick update on what I've been up to.

I showed you pics of my first dye experiment before it was finished. Well...I was not happy with the results. IN fact, I was so unhappy I immediately did it over again. I was still unhappy!


This is the photo of the finished results of the first two dye experiments. The thread on the right was my first try and the yellow was completely overwhelmed and barely any red at all. I had tipped the plate a little to keep the dye from soaking too much into the yellow and instead it all ran into a pool at the bottom turning the blue area into mud. Very disappointing when you want a rainbow! So I tried again this time using less dye and keeping the plate flat. Again the problem with not enough red. The blue and red just dont seem to be combining right. And I was using turquoise and magenta!
So I am trying again. This time I have a new strategy. I want a shorter variegated thread than DMC puts out but I think I'm trying for too short, so I rewound the threads to make a bigger loop. Then I mixed up a few more colors, Golden yellow, FIretruck Red andSapphire Blue. Now I used a minimum amount of dye so they dont run too far or pool up and I placed the sapphire between the magenta and turquoise hoping for a better violet that way. Also ran the golden yellow into the firetruck red to make a nice transition from the red to the yellow with this result:


I wrapped the plastic over the thread and then scrunched the dye into the threads real well...trying to avoid any white in the centers. I was so pleased with how it was looking that I made three more plates with other variations:


The top plate is a nice magenta-sapphire variegated, the first plate in the second row is the rainbow, next to it is a fire variegated with firetruck red, golden yellow and black...last one is a yellow-magenta variegated. I cant wait to rinse these out tomorrow and see the results!
Oh..and even though I was unhappy with the rainbow effect on the first two threads I still like them and will use them. Thats one fun thing about experimenting with dyeing. Even when you dont get what you were going after, you often get something good anyway ^_^


I also finished up this paisley pin. I am extremely happy with this one. The picture doesnt even come close to bringing it justice but for some reason it refuses to photograph well. The colors wash out. I tried about twenty times! I tried a different way of finishing the back and it came out smooth and just right IMO.


I also finished the stitching on this guy. I dont have the backing on him yet so he is still a little ripply. I cant wait to finish him up and see how he looks then. THis is my favorite so far!

I wont have a chance tonight though. My honey is taking me to see Hilight Tribe. I LOVE them and was so excited when he surprised me with this date! So I am off to get ready. Hope you all have fun tonight too!

Cadaqués, Spain

I promised you all that I would post some pics so I thought I would do that today. Tomorrow I will post some pics of my thread and other project progress.


Cadaqués, Spain was my favorite place we visited I think. It was the home of Salvador Dali for many years. We tried to visit the local museum there but it was closed. After we left here we traveled onto Figueras where the Salvador Dali museum is located and were able to visit it.


To get to a parking area we had to travel along the waterfront on a skinny and winding road. There were many people walking along it and dogs laying in the sun. In fact I was amazed during our visit at the number of dogs running loose about the city. Fortunately none of them seemed dangerous!


This town is very charming. Filled with whitewashed houses that are tossed in a labyrinth of order.


We wandered up and down the skinny, hilly cobblestone streets and found surprises around every corner.


This was an interesting house I thought. With its red painted tree sculpture and garlanded roof.


I loved the wonderful fish sculpture that was hung on the wall.


There were many colorful shops here and there.


We visited a few of them and I was sorely tempted to stock up on goodies.


Many of the little alleys led up onto balconies that overlooked someones sunken garden.


This one was particularly charming with its tiny steps leading down into it and the mass of plants.


This yard was the home of a wonderful bottle tree. It is a little hard to see in this photo but if you click on it, it will open to a larger size where you can see it better. I love bottle trees!
And last but not least...the beautiful sea...


Lil sis couldn't resist a dip!

We visited several other places and I will try to post pics on another day. The visit to carcassone was amazing.
Hope you are all having a great week!