Thursday, November 15, 2012

To Dye or Not to Dye...I need your help!

Hi to all my blog friendsI'm so glad that you came to visit today.  I am doing a little happy dance, as I just finished my Weeping Tree samplerSo now that it's done, I'm wondering if it needs some antiquing.    I am in need of your opinion.  This is stitched on 32 count cream fabric, and I'm wondering if I should dip this in some dye.  I've never dyed a finished piece before, so I welcome you thoughts.  I like it the way it looks now, but I'm wondering if it has a 1990's look, instead of a 1843 look.  

Here is a close up of the little sheep made out of an eyelet variation.  So fun to stitch. 

Take a look at that bird next to my initials.  Funny story about him.  I was outside stitching in the warm sun, when I decided I needed a little refreshment.  So I went to take a drink from my water glass that had been sweating in the summer sun, and plop!...A big sweat drop of water dropped on my pattern.  I didn't get too worried about it, I just brushed it off, and kept stitching.  Later I discovered that the ink had run from my pattern onto my fabric!  Yikes, I was in full panic!  I scrubbed on it, I used a tide pen on it, I tried just about everything I could think of, but to no avail.  There was a faded gray ink spot soiling my fabric..so the bird was the idea I came up to cover it up, and it worked out pretty well I think.

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The Weeping Tree Sampler, by the City Stitcher.  Stitched with suggested colors on 32 count cream fabric.  Now on to other things that happended in October.



Last month I won a giveaway from Marly over at Sampler's and Santa's.  Wow, this was a wonderful package to receive!  Thanks so much Marly.  Go over and visit her...she inspires and entertains like no other. 

I had a fun pincushion making day, with my friend Kathryn (no blog).  Kathryn gifted me with the pincushion on the right, and then together we made the others.  This is the Acorn Pincushion pattern by Crabapple Hill.  What a great way to spend the day!

We went on a family vacation last month, and we spent the day on Daytona beach, playing in the sand with my brother's family, and watching...

the amazing Thunderbirds, and many other great aerobatic feats.  Now people in Daytona, Florida have the right idea.  What a perfect way to watch an airshow!  Forget about hot tarmacs, this was actually fun.

The next day we sailed on a Disney Cruise to the Bahamas. Best vacation EVER!   If you are not a fan of  cruising, (I'm usually in this category), then you really need to try Disney.  They do everything right.  My kids can't wait to go again.  We enjoyed a perfect day on Disney's private island
We became pirates for a night, and helped to save the ship.   We posed for a picture with the amazing Mike Super who has a Super de duper magic show, and is a really nice guy too.  All of the shows were amazing.  The best thing about this trip is seeing my son smile the whole time.  He enjoyed every minute of this trip and spent a lot of time hanging out with other kids in the teen lounge.   

My daughter smiled a lot too.  She went sleuthing.  The Disney Dream has this really fun sleuthing activity, where you register a card at this computer screen, and then you run around the ship holding your card up to the pictures.  Sensors in the paintings interact with you in a personal way, animating a unique mystery right before your eyes.  It was incredible.  I can't believe the fun things they have to offer. We swam, ate, and relaxed.  What could be better than that?  More stitching I guess...not a lot of that happened.

As it's so hard to leave something that great, Disney doesn't say goodbye, the characters sing, "See you real soon".  Thanks for visiting my blog today.  I appreciate each and every one of your comments and especially your advice.  I'll see you again in blogland real soon too.  Happy Stitching.



15 comments:

Ann at Beadlework. said...

This is my first visit to your blog so I hope you don't mind me adding my opinion. A huge NO would be my advice. Your sampler looks great the way it is - what if you don't like the end result - it's too late then!

Jennifer said...

Love your latest sampler ! It is beautiful . Looks like the trip was so much fun . Many people have recommended cruising to us for it's accessability so maybe sometime.
Always love to read your posts!

Margaret said...

Oh that's so cool about the cruise!!! So neat! Yeah, i'm not a fan of cruises, but DH wants to go on one. Maybe someday. Love your Weeping Willow finish! Whew on that bird -- good thing you thought of that as a way to cover up the ink stain! It looks perfect! As for dyeing it, hmmm. I don't know. I personally think it looks fine as is. But I suppose if you're adventurous enough, you could always try dyeing it. Aren't I helpful? lol!

Gabi said...

I have to agree with Ann. Your sampler looks just great (LOVE it), and you don't know how it will turn out when it's dyed over.
Personally I never dye a finished piece. If I want a more aged look, I normally choose an overdyed fabric and/or use overdyed threads for stitching.
Somehow I don't trust dying afterwards. :)
That being said, some got some nice results with doing so. It's what you would like to hang on your wall. :)
Lovely family pictures

Jules said...

Your sampler is beautiful and doesn't need a bit of dye added! I would recommend that you find an nice antiquated frame and matte for it though. That will give it more nostalgia!

I love being on boats and have thought about going on a Disney Cruise. Maybe I will plan a cruise through them for me and my niece. I think she would enjoy it too!

Carol said...

I love your sampler as is, Lorraine--that little sheep really is adorable :)

The Disney cruise looks like a blast--what a great family vacation...You all look so relaxed and happy!

Barb said...

What a wonderful family trip. Now about the sampler, I'm the wrong one to ask. I think it looks very nice. I would be afraid to dye it. I'd worry that I just might mess it up.. However, many people do dye things and they look wonderful.It just depends on how brave you are!

Chris said...

I think your sampler is perfect the way it is. I love your little bird fix.
Those pincushions are just fabulous!!
What a fun vacation. So glad that everyone smiles the whole time.

Siobhán said...

I think your sampler looks great as is! If you're on the fence about it, you could always rub some coffee grounds into it here and there to age it up a bit.

Great pics of your trip!

Catherine said...

Fantastic finish. ~ and your "added" bird makes it all your own!! If you decided to stain it after ~ be careful that none of the colors will run.
Your trip looks like a ton of fun! We love Disney, but never have done a cruise.

marly said...

Wow. What a great vacation! Absolutely love my acorn - beautiful work! Weeping Tree is wonderful and I love the eyelet sheep. Would not dye. Aging a tiny bit with a aprayer filled with coffee or just dabbing around the edges, maybe. But it's great the way it is. You'll lose the lighter thread contrast unless you cover them with tape. Too risky! Great bird solution, too.

susanc said...

Your sampler is gorgeous! If you want an antiqued look, how about if you stitch a bit on a small piece of linen with some of the same colors of floss you used for the sampler and then tried dying that with either tea or weak coffee. That way, you could see how it turns out and if the result is not to your liking, you haven't ruined all your hard work. That's what I would do!

Please keep us posted.

Karoline said...

Your sampler is lovely, congratulations

Looks like you had a great holiday

JOLENE said...

Love the acorns you and Kathryn made out of my recycled wool. Glad it is getting put to good use. Enjoy...

Jeanne said...

Loraine I love your finish! I've always liked that sampler. The bird looks quite natural too so a good idea to hide the little spot with it. I'd probably be afraid to dye it but you could try that "Distress It" stuff they sell. I've never used it but I imagine you could water it down and do it in steps or something - you'd have to experiment first. I'm contemplating dying my Pride & Prejudice sampler when I'm done with it as it's too white-ish for me. But I'm going to play around and try things with scrap linens first.

So glad you had fun on your cruise. I'm a big fan of Disneyland/Disneyworld but have never taken a cruise either. When we went to Disneyland to celebrate my 40th birthday I found out I was the same age as Disneyland. :-) Now we go there for all my 'big' birthdays - I just love it, so muh fun. (and we don't have even have any kids either!) Good to see you posting again Loraine.