Thursday 5 April 2012

Progress in the garden.. and a felting play day :)

Yesterday saw a return of wintery weather here.. we had snow - with MASSIVE flakes and hail, rain spells and very strong winds all day.  The kids had pressing things to do inside (in the warm!) and Gary quite happily carried on with his project.. finished off this morning by adding the stone chips.  I am really happy with it.. think he has done a lovely job :)

I really should take the pegs off the line BEFORE taking a photo lol
We can't introduce the fishies to their new home until May, when it is warmer.. but that gives us time to set everything up, fill it and let the water settle :)

While all of this was going on I got to PLAY!!  I had been picturing a light, airy poncho.. slightly asymetrical..  the shrinkage has made the finished piece a bit less asymetrical than I had planned.. but I'm really pleased with it. 

Orange and pink (I'm liking this colour combo at the moment)

What I am NOT pleased with is how much the colour run out of the silk! This is a really lovely vintage silk sari - its so sheer its an absolute DREAM for nuno! But I have never had colour run out so badly.. it just keeps on coming out as long as its wet.  Even using cold water (my hands are still orange today - looks like I have been henna'd). I will wear this... and hope like heck that I don't get caught in the rain or I will be orange!  But I couldnt use it to make for anybody else..

At the moment I dont see how I can make use of this lovely sari unless I can find a way to fix the dye... if anybody has any suggestion or experience with this PLEASE, I would LOVE to hear from you..  I hate the thought of this lovely silk sitting unused in my fabric bag forevermore..

xx

8 comments:

Tracy Markey said...

wow! that was a quick transformation. it's looking fab :)

any chance of hiring out your team ... i could do with a hand in the garden!

i love your poncho, the colours are amazing. the only thing i can think of to help with your dye problem is to keep re-washing or would re-fixing it help i wonder? fingers crossed :)x

FeltersJourney said...

Thanks Tracey - I'll pass on your compliment :) They are out there 'playing' today.. or should I say Finishing Off.. moving my pots & bits of driftwood here and there - I just looked out to see my son trying out a wire peacock balanced at the back of the pond..

I have tried another piece of the silk sari washing till it stops running, when the orange got to a dreary peach colour I stopped - but the dye was still running :( Do you know how would I go about re-fixing it? I have only tinkered with dyes and havent a clue how to do that.
x

Terriea Kwong said...

Weather changes a lot these years. Hope spring is underway. Believe your garden will be blooming flowers very soon. Nice color of the wrap. I love the red and orange combo. Sharp and cheerful. I also had my silk "breeding" when doing the nuno felt. Can't stop it just washed again and again. Scraps left. I remind myself if next time to do with the scraps I must not do with light wool on it. Otherwise white will have dyed.

Tracy Markey said...

morning :)

i had hoped that it would be possible to fix the dye by bringing a pan of water to simmering point, adding vinegar and then the garment.

but now that i've checked around on the internet i'm not so sure.

some folk have used vinegar, some salt and other folk say not to try as you don't know what dye type was used initially.

there is a product called retayne but that seems to work for cotton only.

the only other thing i can suggest is washing all of the dye out of the garment and then re-dyeing it. you could use the washed-out sample as a test piece as it would be such a shame to ruin your lovely poncho.

i'm certainly no expert when it comes to dyeing but if you need a hand, i'd be happy to skype. just drop me an email and we can swap skype id's.

fingers crossed :)x

FeltersJourney said...

Hi Terrie, I am looking forward to the lush growth of summer :) We are experiencing typical English weather really at the moment - very changeable.. it keeps us on our toes.

Im more worried about the dye running out and turning ME orange at the moment lol. Unless I can find a way of fixing the colour this will be one for wearing only in dry conditions :)
x

FeltersJourney said...

O Tracey, thank you for looking into it for me! That was so kind of you!

I'll have do a little research and think about what to do.. if theres a way to save it 'as is' that would be my first choice cos its so pretty.. I`ll keep you posted :)
x

Unknown said...

It really does look gorgeous anyway Deborah, maybe some of the girls over on our forum could help with the color setting, i'll ask and come back lol

FeltersJourney said...

Than you Karen :) I appreciate that.
Think I'm going to try zapping it in the microwave.. like when I'm setting dye. I'll let you know how I get on
x