Rag rugging

Today I went to a Children's Centre for a session on making rag rugs. There are many different ways to make a rag rug and many tools to do this with but I kept things simple by demonstrating the "proddy technique". You need hessian or burlap and lots (hundreds) of rectangles of fabric cut from recycled clothing. I love this technique because I can use up stretchy t-shirts and pajamas. 

This lime green and turquoise was looking stunning by the end of the session

This was pastel t-shirts

A pretty pink one

Sometimes the "work" camera goes a bit fuzzy!

This rug was being formed from an old cotton baby blanket rather than hessian.

It was a very good, busy session. Next week I am teaching the ladies how to dye with procion dyes.

New Studio

After feeling sorry for myself, being very ill for the past week and taking oral steroids I am going to share my exciting news (I am sure lots of you have guessed though). This Thursday I will be moving into my new studio in Spalding. I have taught at Unique Studios since it began and I feel it a very peaceful and creative place to be.

The studio is on the first floor, you can see the three windows

It has this courtyard outside which will be perfect for indigo and woad vats. I can just imagine fabrics blowing in the wind to dry.

Views from the upstairs windows looking out of both sides.

I will be sharing the space with Carol Parker, if you don't know her check out her blog here. We are planning an exciting opening event if you can join us. More details soon.

Stitching for Texture

The Stitch for Texture workshop is full and I have added another day on Saturday 7th July 2012. This will be at Unique Cottage Studios in Spalding Lincolnshire.

This workshop is suitable for all levels and you learn about how stitch can create texture within your work. Please contact me via the website if you are interested. I already have had some bookings so I would love to see you. I will be adding more workshops on my newsletter. If you would like to sign up just click here.

Snow Dye Results

As promised some results from last weeks snow dyeing. The purple gave me much more markings and texture than the green one. The pot had more snow and I let it freeze overnight once the dye had been poured over.

The fabric was packed quite tightly into the container.

 The green although a nice colour gave only a pale texture. I know at the time that there was not enough snow to hold in the dye and I left this one inside. I think this will be over-dyed at some point.

This was the view from my bedroom window this morning. I took the photo through glass so all the different shades of green were much more vibrant than this shows. It was a quick run for the sketchbook to try and get everything down.

Finally I will be making an exciting announcement about this place very soon.

Snow Dyeing 2012

Well it happened, snow fell and the opportunity to do some snow dyeing was too great to resist.

It was the wrong kind of snow, not icy enough and "fluffy" however I carried on. I normally lay fabrics onto a mesh tray so that the fabric doesn't stay sat in the dye. Today as I had only prepared about a metre of fabric I stuffed it into a large cullender and crammed the snow on top.

This was procion deep purple and I had mixed two different strengths.

It doesn't take long for the dye to begin to move into the fibres.

I decided to put this mix outside, the plan being that the snow would freeze again.

I did a lime green mix but this wasn't in a very high pot so I was unable to cram as much snow on top.

Daisy was very interested in what I was doing. I rinsed off the green today and am a bit disappointed  in the results. Fantastic colour but not much texture and marks in the cloth. The purple still has ice on it and is looking much more promising. Results soon.

Angela x

Daffodil and Logwood

In the madness of my life at the moment I am trying to find some quiet times to stitch using the last of my daffodil dyed fabric from last year and some logwood that has cooked slowly on top of the wood burner this Winter.

I have used the machine as well for small parts.

Lots of hand stitching to feed my soul and keep me sane.

I love this dyed doily over the daffodil yellow.

This photo is very pale, not sure why - blame the photographer!

A peek at how the final thing might turn out but still a pale image. This is upside down though (thanks Blogger)