Tuesday, November 12, 2013

ON THE MEND.

I want to thank everyone for the get well wishes. I'm on the mend. It is taking longer than I thought it would.. Medicine made me feel good this weekend, so I did more than I should have.  I was back in the bed by Sunday afternoon. I had been there till today. I still have a croaking voice.. The Frog has came to visit.
I did get the CCN Santa Village - Post Office almost finished.. I was stitching when I wasn't falling asleep. That cough syrup is a wonder drug.

I had mentioned last post I had some things to share... We have a Black Walnut tree in the backyard.. I usually run over the pods while mowing. This year I decided to save them and try my hand at dyeing some fabrics.. I checked websites on how to... Lori - Notforgotten Farms was included.  I gathered the nuts like a squirrel. My tree only dropped about 10 pods.

 I also bought some Lugana 28 count at Michaels. I thought it was a good price to experiment with. Please Wear Gloves when working with black walnuts. They STAIN hands real good. Like permanent!
Yes... I did remember to put my own in my rush to dye... lol

 I just broke mine up and put them in an old unusable pot. Some sites had you putting them tired up in cheese cloth. That will be the way I do it next time.. I had to strain the liquid because I couldn't wait to see how it would turn out.
I put the fabric on a large cookie sheet and sponged the liquid on it. I then turned the oven on the lowest setting and began the drying process. I kept flipping it over and over until it was dry. I didn't like how dark it was so I put the fabric under some cold running water and it lightened up some. I then hung it outside to dry. This is the finished piece.

 This is the side that I like.
 
 If I want more primitive I will use this side.. Just flip it over.
 
 This is the leftover walnuts. I need to put then in a paper bag to store them for future use. I then thought, why not just cook them up and put the dye in a jar.. I will be looking for some cheese cloth later in the day. I have a post office run to do.

Before I got The Pneumonia... I had started rolling all my fabrics and linens to store. That way there will be no permanent lines. This is just the colors I decided to keep. I have more I plan to use in a Giveaway soon. I'm planning for it around December 1st. So keep checking back on my blog for details coming soon.

I'm heading out to do a couple of small errands. Just around the little town. My legs feel like they will hold me up for at least a little while today...

Sun is shinning here in Alabama and the wind is blowing. A Cold front is headed our way. Weatherman is saying it will be 28 in the morning here. Brrrrrr!
Got that artic air coming from Canada this week. Stay warm my friends and get a lot of stitching, sewing, or crafting done.
Till Later.....


 

15 comments:

Nicole said...

Your linen turned out great!! I'm glad your feeling better!!

Catherine said...

Glad you are feeling better! Your dyeing looks great!!

cucki said...

Glad you are feeling well.
I love your dyeing so much..
Big hugs x

pam said...

do be sure to button up tight- it is really cold here today. Glad you are doing better.

dixiesamplar said...

The linen looks fantastic, April! And all your rolled linen looks perfect for storing...you can bet I'll be around for the giveaway :-)...not that I need any more linen, but it sure does look too nice to pass up, LOL! So glad you are on the mend...take care and don't overdo it though.

Melissa said...

Goodness! I'm glad you are feeling better! I'm sure everyone hate getting sick, but phenomena is a whole other beast!

Your dying looks so cool. And I think it's even better that you did the dying in natural way. So awesome :) And I love the end result too I might add. I'm a sucker for primitive still fabbys...

Hope you're back to 100% veryyyyyy soooooon.

Melissa

Tammy said...

Pneumonia sucks! I hope you get fully well soon and back to feeling great. Love the fabric dyeing-looks like a fun project!

CalamityJr said...

Glad you're feeling better. Great job with the fabric dyeing, and the colors you've rolled look great. You should have whatever you need for your next project!

Robin said...

Glad you are feeling better. You linen looks great. Isn't it fun to try something new?

Chris said...

I am glad that you are feeling better! Don't over do it, pneumonia is nothing to mess around with.
Your dying looks great and your other linens are so pretty.

Stitchinowl said...

Glad to hear you're on the mend. You are certainly keeping busy with your fabric dyeing - very creative!
Carolyn

Wendy S. said...

Hi April! Glad you are starting to feel better. I like how your walnut dyed cloth turned out. It gives me confidence to try to tea dye some fabric I have laying around. =)

Brigitte said...

I just love the result of your dying. Both sides look great and I can imagine how great the stitching will look on them.
Hopefully you'll soon leave the pneumonia completely behind you. Good to read that you already feel better.

ricketyjo said...

Glad you are starting to feel better, but don't do too much! :)

Donna said...

so sorry to read that you are sick. your fabric dyeing looks like fun. always a surprise