Caught On Camera

Hey y'all!

I haven't had much to say lately here on the blog but you know there has been nada slack on my making habits. We recently installed infrared deer cameras in our backyard after a break-in (nothing too bad, we're lucky) and as a result I accidentally documented my comings-and-goings on one of my latest projects: making new "old" flags for Wrangler jean company (they're HQ is in Greensboro!).

Serendipity is such a funny thing. After receiving the latest Textile Arts Center magazine months ago, I followed their instructions for making a rust dyebath, with no real purpose, just out of curiosity.

Aka- 1 part water, 1 part vinegar, and a bunch of rusty metal objects set into a jar for several weeks.

Then I got this freelance job to make new "old" flags, and I thought what better way to make something look old than a rust dyebath?

I wadded up the flags after they were sewn and shoved them in the pickle jar full of the rust solution. Then I would leave them out in my backyard for days on end, allowing them to get rained on and generally exposed to the elements. This would subtly deepen the rust splotches in a nice way. If you pulled one out of the jar and didn't wash it off at all, the rust would deepen dramatically (ie- the 2 on the bottom left photo below).

 These are various stages of rust depth. The bottom left I tried to bleach after the rust color became too deep and apparently rust is not affected by bleach. The bottom right is a black tea stain, much too gray for this project.

Then when I was satisfied with the rust color, I took some sand paper to the fabric and added my "W". These are my guide lines before stitching. Alas! I was so anxious to drop this project off I forgot to get a final pic ... whooooops. It was a really fun project! I've never played with "aging" fabric before, you sorta feel like a mad scientist; dipping, watching, washing, re-dipping. I played with several types of stains in the beginning but the rust proved the best.

~

I also got a couple new toothbrush pairs framed this week. I couldn't decide what to do with the frames, the natural beech just seemed so boring so I grabbed my acrylics and started painting. I was so happy with the results that I decided to make a whole rainbow of toothbrush pairs in this manner.

Seriously, not joking. I made a whole pile of new toothbrushes!! 17 in all. There will be lots of paint mixing in my future :)

And I'm always making new houses when I can. I've started adding solar panels in now that I'm using the knitting machine to make them. My stitches are much tighter with the machine which means I can get more detail in a smaller space. The 2 on the bottom right and the top middle one are machine-knit and the others are hand-knit. Can you see the difference in the stitch size?

I have a few house available for sale on my Etsy page and I would like to add more when I can! That bottom middle house with the solar panel has become my fave and I've been loath to part from it. I guess I need to make more so I can share!!