Circa Oct. 1939: HMAS BERYL II [ex-HMS BERYL], minesweeper for rent, 111 pounds 12 shillings a month - RAN.

Circa Oct. 1939: HMAS BERYL II [ex-HMS BERYL], minesweeper for rent, 111 pounds 12 shillings a month - RAN., originally uploaded by Kookaburra2011.

Just a piece of trivia today. This is the minesweeper my grandfather Stuart Ganley served on during the second world war. Minesweepers needed a wooden hull so they wouldn't set the mines off that bobbed around just under the surface. Their job was to keep the sea lanes open and free of mines so troop transports, aid and the injured could be ferried back and forth between ports. HMAS Beryl doesn't look like it could withstand a summer swell- but it did, bringing Pa back home to his family in one piece at wars end.

And finally!

Arriving today via the post to The Thread Studio, Dale's new colourway Marrakesh. This was inspired by a photo of spices in a Morrocan spice market.

Penelopeslinenloft

Really pleased with how this piece turned out. This is antique handloomed hemp I purchased from Penelopeslinenloft on etsy. Oh, and the cute bit is it's french.
Iron was the mordant and it was simmered over a camp fire. I have no idea which Eucalyptus leaves they were. I try to pickup as silver hued as possible.

The Cackling Witch

Brianna really likes her music teacher Celeste. She wanted to make something for her birthday so we came up with this. I dyed the silk ciffon scarf with KraftKolour's citrus colour and gave it to Brianna to put rubber bands up and down the length of it to create 'resist' areas. Once that was done, I overdyed it in Wild Raspberry to create the delicious dark fushia colour. Bri says Celeste loved it.


What else have I been up to? Well, Rae is at Halls Gap selling our wares at the annual textile event and so I have been cooking up clothes with the silver leafed eucalyptus we have in Warrandyte. When it's hot, the leaves become more silver and I seem to be able to coax more colour from them. I've put some fabric pieces in the shop today because I have SO MANY ! I didn't relize how much I put in the pots when I'm in the zone.




Also keeping me busy is the small piece I'm stitching at the moment out of the scraps from Venice I sent to TheThreadStudio. I'll post those results hopefully this week.

Venice Rubbing

Using one of Dale's polymer stamps, I have made a rubbing using the silver sennelier oil pastel. I'll wait for the oil to evaporate before ironing and then use this as a base for my pendant.

Eucalyptus dyed silk, simmered gently in a pot over a camp fire with rusty iron.


A linen blouse, same method, different eucalyptus.


A cardy off to keep Marina warm in Russia. ( Well not that warm- it's cotton)


And a silk slip.

Trees in Venice

New hand dyed tissue silk scarves in Venice colourway.

What do I do with the left over materials from the Colour Inspiration Venice packs I made for The Thread Studio? Take them camping of course!

I had trees on the brain. I sketched an outline, cut a paper template and very roughly cut out the tree from the vintage blanketing in the pack.

Using pieces of hand dyed fabrics, I began stitching on my patches. The top of the tree is vintage kimono silk.

I decided that I liked the bush area only randomly covered in stab stitch so I left some areas free. Close up of the variations in colour using the silk yarn from the pack.

I use washi tape to hold the buttons from the pack in place as I stitch them down.

Not finished yet. have a look back after the weekend and the diorama should be finished. Then I start stitching the brooch I have in mind from more pieces out of the Venice pack. I love this colourway! Pack available from The Thread Studio- but only 20 of them going on sale.

Colour in Oz

Venice

I have been away so long I have forgotten how to operate my blog!
My father became seriously ill before Christmas so my attention has been elsewhere for a while. Glad to say he is on the mend.
Meanwhile, these kits are on their way to The Thread Studio to celebrate the addition of Venice colourway to the Cities range.