This is what the linen looked like after I painted it with Rit dye...
I used liquid Rit dyes ...the ones in the bottles...and I diluted it a lot. I painted on the linen with a 1" brush and tried to keep the places where the dye would overlap to a minimum to avoid getting a lot of brown ... and then I put some purple splotches on at the end. If I remember correctly... and I'm too lazy to go to the garage and check ... the colors I used were Hyacinth, Apple Green, Tangerine and Lemon Yellow. I laid the linen out on a piece aluminum foil on top of cardboard as I didn't want it to leak through to my kitchen counters. The dye didn't cover the back side as completely as the front side... it may have been that the aluminum foil kept that from happening... so this is definitely "painted" linen ...not dyed. I let it dry and then ironed it with a hot steam iron onto a white paper towel and only got a little dye transfer.
And here is what I've stitched so far...
I love that black and white check border... it has a MacKenzie-Childs vibe to it... and here are some close ups...
The button eyeballs are a nice touch in this section...
And the button eyeballs on the cat remind me of Felix the cat... yeah... I'm old...LOL!
Any who I've accomplished quite a bit of stitching since Monday night... I've given myself a deadline of September 1 to finish this so I can get it off to the framer and back to my house by October 1...and I think it is doable. Each of these sections is less involved than the Lizzie Kate Christmas piece I did.
Today is a great day to sit and stitch... we had a cool rainy morning which lulled me into a nap after a big breakfast with my son and daughter-in-law... I don't have any dinner to prep and my beloved Cincinnati Reds are playing ball on TV...and in their usual fashion playing badly... very very badly...the Cards are up 13 to 3 and its only the 4th inning... oh they make it so hard to love them... right now their stated goal for the year is NOT to end up in last play in their division for the 3rd year in a row...not looking likely to happen.
Well I'll thread up my needle and link up with Kathy's Quilts today and Super Mom - No Cape on Monday. Hope you are having a lovely Sunday afternoon...and I hope your favorite baseball team plays better than my Reds... I can't imagine they can play worse...LOL
happy stitching-
carol fun
Well, how cute is THAT?!!! I would never think to dye the cloth. Gonna be super cute!
ReplyDeleteOh this is a fabulous project! Love the painted fabric as a background for the super cute stitching!
ReplyDeleteThat is a great projects. I must be old too, since when I read "felix the cat", I sang the opening words to the shows song.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really fun project. Your dyed linen adds so much to your cross stitch. I don't think I'd be brave enough to dye my own cloth but you make it sound so easy.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful stitching and dyeing on the fabric, wow! Good luck on your deadline.
ReplyDeleteThe fabric is perfect!!!
ReplyDeleteWay to go on the fabric painting! It looks super and your LK piece looks great on it.
ReplyDeleteYou are well on your way to finishing this project before your October 1st deadline. Love the cat's eyes...I remember Felix too.
ReplyDeleteYou did a fabulous job of dyeing(painting) that linen. It looks so good with the stitching!
ReplyDeleteThe dye adds a lot of charm to your piece! I've never heard of doing something like that to your linen.
ReplyDeleteI love how you dyed that fabric. It is perfect for that piece.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of PAINTING the dye! What a great method... and I think it is perfect for your Halloween cross stitch!
ReplyDeleteThe dyed linen could not be more perfect for that stitch!! I love it and amazed you got so much done already!
ReplyDeleteFunny you mention McKenzie Childs, I was upstate NY in the FingerLake area with a friend to see her daughter play basketball at Keuka College. She was driving and I let out a yell, McKenzie Childs!!! You have to turn back...she had no idea what McKenzie Childs was, she thought I saw a person I knew..I had no idea the store was there and we got a personal tour of the home decorated with all McKenzie Childs furniture and the fabulous shop in a huge barn. It was a nice surprise to our weekend. And yes, the border does remind me too!! Love Lizzie Kate patterns and this one is adorable.
I wrote a post for the blog recently about my beloved Mets and the anguish they are causing me with stitching...so I relate to your REDS!!! Have a great week. Mary@stitchingfriendsforever
Amazing linen Carol - you are so brave to experiment that way.
ReplyDeleteOh I love this! It is such fun. And I love that you dyed the fabric for it... the colors are just perfect for Halloween.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for linking up to last week's Stitchery Link Party and for the link back. Aloha hugs!
Ha! Well, that answers my question about the fabric...you did it yourself! That is an awesome dye job. I just LOVE it!
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