More crafty projects

[tictactoepony]

These are like buses! Nothing for a while then a load of projects all appear at once ;)


Today's projects are:

* Some yarn made to be used for snuggly bedsocks
* Experimental wool dying




I got some lovely cashmere/silk fibre for Christmas, so soft I was worried I would accidentally destroy it when using it for anything.
I carefully dyed it using turmeric and blackberries, then plied with some green merino I already had (as I was worried it would be a bit fragile and maybe fall apart, so put something a bit more reliable in with it!)
Worked OK in the end, reminds me of spring crocusses:


The dyed fibre






My other recent project was to see if you could use the food wrap/steaming method to natural dye some fibre. Using the juice you get from pickled beetroot! And the answer is.. very pretty! Can't wait to spin it up.

Comments

[rik.livejournal.com]

I have been crafty also!

My friends got married at the weekend. It was sci-fi/fantasy themed, and was in the local paper.

So, I had to go dressed up too. Finding a suit my size was too much like hard work, and probably too expensive, so I made my own. Which was, of course, more work, and more expensive, but ultimately, a lot more fun, even if it did look pretty bad at the end.

I decided to go as Gordon Freeman from the Half-Life computer game.

Click each picture to see large.

Step 1 - get boiler suit. I could only find white. Oh well.

Step 2 - get cardboard, and cut out all the bits that stand off from the suit.


Step 3 - primer, and Peugot Steel Grey spray paints. Also onto the white boiler suit.


Step 4 - apply masking tape, and spray on the orange


Step 5 - peel off masking tape, and find that the wind caugh tthe orange, and that i oversprayed a bit much, leading to colour leakage. oh well. i have learned.


Step 6 - final layer or two to add logos


Step 7 - add the weapon everyone remembers from the game - a red crowbar, with unpainted ends!


ironically, i had to paint the ends steel grey too.

Step 8 - Apply hot glue to cardboard, and apply to boiler suit. Apply duct tape to be sure. Result: FAT GORDON FREEMAN

[omylouse.livejournal.com]

Wow! that is soooo cool!!!! :D

[squirrel-dreams.livejournal.com]

Nice peaches & cream colour, I thought it'd be more pinky than that.

[tictactoepony.livejournal.com]

That is one brilliant LJ icon....

[ingaborg.livejournal.com]

That's really pretty - I love the gold-and-silver effect with the green.

[yarnspider.livejournal.com]

They look georgious! Don't worry about the Cashmere/silk next time, it really is far more robust than it looks, promise!

what are you going to do with them?

[tictactoepony.livejournal.com]

I am building up a collection of comfy bedsocks and I have a really nice pattern that calls for cashmere.
Though as I have several projects on the go so I may change my mind!

The beet stuff - well, maybe socks, though we shall see :P

[omylouse.livejournal.com]

The beetroot's worked amazingly well! Such lovely warm colours!

[liveisforliving.livejournal.com]

Love the green/yelloe cashmere silk it's so pretty would make a lovely jumper or scarf

[tictactoepony.livejournal.com]

Enough for a scarf, maybe - it would only make about 1/5th of a jumper ;)
It's a tricky one, I'd use socks more but a scarf would show it off more.

[liveisforliving.livejournal.com]

you can never have too many scarfs I've got ten!