I had this idea to make a face cloth. Aren't faces so easy to envision and then so darn hard to stitch? They are for me, so I printed out an outline for this first one. I'm not sure that it won't be torn out within the next hour. I tear out nearly everything I stitch, it's always one step forward, three steps backward. But it seems like a less solid line of stitching would make this face more ethereal -- or maybe thread with less contrast would do that, too.
There's a pot of stone soup brewing -- a few more have been added, some real, some wool.
Has anyone dyed silk cloth in a black-bean dye-bath? I'm choosing to start with silk because from nearly all accounts, a thorough mordanting is necessary. I want to skip the mordant and see what happens. If you've black-beaned anything, I'd love to learn from your experiences.
Make full moon art! The full moon is approaching -- where I live in the US it'll be early morning on Thursday, March 8. Share your stitching, photos, drawings, paintings, poetry, etc. by leaving a link in Friday's comments or email me over the next few days!
See you again when the moon is full!
wow. can't wait to see silk come out of that black bean dye bath...organic beans, no less. that's a pretty expensive dye bath. i don't mordant any of my silk and it works just fine.
ReplyDeletei just love your 'face cloth'. that's not what i expected to see when i saw the title of your post.
Deanna, thanks -- yes, a different kind of face cloth! The dye-bath is brewing -- then I'll be cooking the beans for soup so it's also a meal. ;-)
DeleteFaces are so hard, especially if you are doing a line stitching. The natural shading is missing, so they often look flat. I hadn't thought of black bean dye. I read about black soy beans for dyeing, but haven't found any yet. Looking forward to seeing your results. Have a happy!
ReplyDeleteJeannie, are they ever hard, I honestly had nooooo idea. Something to play with, I guess. It's a full moon dye-bath, haven't put any fiber in yet, will show it if anything happens. Or not!
DeleteI am afraid of faces...they never come out as I wish! But you have given me a good idea for a moon face :) And you've reminded me that the greenish doily is outside in the dye pot (the smell of onions was getting to me!) Will watch for more of this pretty face.
ReplyDeleteNancy, glad something came to you!! I'm pretty much not happy with this face but have held back from tearing it out like I wanted to. I get sort of reactive to any of my work that I don't like -- destroy the evidence as fast as I can!! I wonder how your doily looks, I'll be by to see you!
DeleteI was hoping for a Moon tonight, but it turned cloudy, so all I could see was a smiling crescent peeking between the clouds. But that may be just fine for my Moon Art!
ReplyDeleteJo, I'll be hoping for clear skies tonight, too. I think it may just happen, it's like summer outside right now...
DeleteFaces are a tricky think to stitch and I always draw mine with a chalk pencil
ReplyDeleteor a disappearing ink fabric pen. Even then, the face comes out the way it
wants to when you begin stitching. Remember my doll face. I ripped it out probably
3 times to get the face I wanted.
Black beans for dye??? I have never heard of that...but I will say I love eating black
beans! : )
I look forward to seeing how your silk turns out. Fun!
Happy full moon <3
Marie, I was thinking about you when I was working on this because you've created more than a few wonderful faces -- obviously I need to keep it simple, VERY simple! Yes, black beans for the dye-pot and after that, the soup-pot! I'll keep you posted. Happy full moon to you!
Deletefaces are hard. i have a few unfinished ones in my piles. but yours looks like a lovely start. it makes me think of a cameo and still love your stones.
ReplyDeleteCindy, you're right, it looks very cameo-like. We'll see about whether I continue with it or not....!
DeleteI like your ambiguous title, and the beautifully serene face you're stitching...look forward to seeing her finished. It must be rip out and start again time, for I've done that too. I had an idea to stitch an archway and stepping stones for my full moon art, but the Moon had other ideas! My art is now posted on my blog..and I have to say, I just love this process where my mind is making decisions, but my inner wise woman has other ideas...and they're spot on!
ReplyDeleteNanette, yes, not your everyday facecloth, I guess! ;-) We've just got to follow the threads...or the hands.... or anything but the mind!
DeleteYour stone soup made me smile... Really curious about how your dye bath turns out.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that, Deb. Posted the outcome today (moonday).
ReplyDelete