Dyeing with Plane Tree Bark

  

I haven't dyed anything for awhile, so yesterday I started a dye pot using the bark from the plane tree in our nature stip.  It is just starting to drop its bark.  After boiling for a few hours and steeping overnight, it doesn't seem to be giving much colour.  More boiling and steeping I think.

Fabric Tidy

  

  

Yesterday I went to one of those garbage recyclers, terrible name, but they take waste from industry and sell it for use in art and craft projects, or whatever.  The one I went to is in Bayswater North.  I bought a couple of upholsterer's sample books fo $10.  Most of the pieces are about 20 x 30cm and two larger pieces.  This sparked a clean up of the fabric tubs in the craft room.  The second photo shows the before, four tubs of fabric stuffed in two big and two smaller tubs.  The next two photo are the after, clearly I have been bitten by the Marie Kondo bug.  While I didn't go the extra step and colour co-ordinate, I did seperate the wools from the cottons.  I also got very ruthless and culled a lot of fabric.

Cranky Cat

  

  

After a question from my friend Glynis I thought I would try and make a cat in the style of Ann Wood's Dastardly Owl.  I think I just made him cranky.   I also realise I forgot the whiskers.  I was also going to do lots of layers like the owl, but loved the feel of the grey fabric, so left it.  He is about 20cm to top of ears.

Next Project

Started making something from the pattern pieces from Monday's post.  Hmmmm.

Meet Barney

  

  

When we were having lunch on Tuesday a sweet little dog kept staring at me.  I got brave and asked if I could take his photo.  His name is Barney.   The bottom row of teeth are very wonky which was endearing.  I made another needle book.  Not sure I quite captured Barney, but I have a cute fluffy dog on the cover.

From The Back

Started working on another little doggie, he looks a little startled when I turned it over.

Old Dog Book

  

  

  

This sweet little book arrived yesterday.  It is full of stories, poems and bits and pieces of information about dogs.  The illustrations make me laugh.  Printed in the 1950's.

Working Out the Next Project

After a disaster with the hat knitting yesterday, the yarn wasn't strong enough to cope with the tension from the circular needle, where the extra loop comes out between the knitting, and it ripped.  So that all came off the needles, fortunately I hadn't knitted only a couple of rows from the photo shown yesterday.  Will have to re-think how to knit that particular hat in that particular yarn.  So started working on the pattern pieces for something else.

Next Knitting Project

Cast on using the circular needle a hat.  Following the pattern, but it is not feeling big enough.  Will keep going and we shall see.

Dastardly Owl

  

  

  

This is Ann Wood's @annwood Dastardly Owl pattern.  I had been procrastinating about making him, but I'm glad I stopped procrastinating, he was fun to make.  The body and beak are sewn on the machine, everything else by hand.   Lots of layers.  The Tawny Frogmouth looks like he has a new bigger, tougher buddy.

Trivia Night Table

In the recent tidy up this drawing turned up, I has always been a favourite of mine.  Drawn by our son Mitchell when he was about 3 years old.  I used to run a Trivia Night at Westgate Golf Club, my Dad used to do it and I took over when he passed away.  I did it twice a year for nine years.  Mitchell was born about year 5.  One year he drew this picture of the table he was sitting at.  I asked who that was top left, "That's Mary, she's really loud" was his answer.  I can't remember which one he was, I hope it wasn't the sad one.  By the way, Mitchell turns 21 tomorrow, where does the time go?