How time flies when you're stitching...

Well it's been a while since the last post...

Been busy stitching and searching myself in those last few months.
Did i find what i was looking for? Probably not, so let's skip to the point of this post: i've been stitchin a lot (in all honesty i'd spend every single moment with a needle in my hands and the beautiful threads... If only that would be possible). 

Let's now take a look at the progress made.

• Leo 

Finished on March, 8 2018. I'm so happy with the result and honestly it looks so much better in real life than it does in this photo.
*Pics of the framed piece to come (hopefully soon)!

• Last Minute project for Christmas 2017

I almost forgot to post this but better late than never, right?

It was fun stitching with three threads, as i already knew the feeling and the outcome it's not so bad with the 3D looks.
It was so much easier than stitching an HAED but I needed it.

• Night Moves

As I'm typig this post I'm prepared to do the #60daysofHAED challenge after partecipating in the #30daysofHAED hosted over Facebook.
The first challenge was easy, focusing one month on only one project it wasn't so hard in my opinion but with this new challenge (that starts April 24th) we will see... Maybe I can commit on stithing Night Moves on 60 days or maybe Spiders Queen will scream at me for attention (I negleted her since having completed the first page so long ago) after the first 30 days... Who knows what will happen?
Returning on the subject at hand: on Night Moves I've surpassed the halfway point and I'm very happy about how it's coming along.

See you soon,

Dye fabric - first try.

As the title of this post say… Well, it took me a great amount of time but I’ve finally managed to dye some fabric. *happy dance*
I’ve used various tea to obtain some color. Specifically, for a total of ten bags i’ve used: 4 black tea, 3 bags of cinnamon/orange, one bag of English breakfast and two bags of mint/lime were put in the boiling water.
Those bags were first infused (since it would be a crime not to drink some really good tea) and then placed to dry a couple of days prior the dyeing process.

I’ve tried on some 72 white Aïda (that equals to 18ct fabric).

First I put on the stove a pot containing simple water to boil. After that I’ve put in some salt, stirred, turned off the stove and then added the tea bags in the pot. *The salt will make the dye color-fast and it will not run in the future. 
I’ve let the tea  bags simmer for 10  minutes then I’ve take them off.

In the meantime I’ve washed the fabric and rinsed it well from all the starch.

.

When the 10 minutes passed I’ve put the still damp fabric in the tea and let it simmer about 25 minutes. *I’ve controlled the time. After the first 15 minutes I’ve checked the fabric and then added another 10 minutes. I wanted the fabric to be completely uniform in color, so it needed to be fully under the dye water.

When the time’s up, I washed the fabric with a generous amount of vinegar (just to be sure the color won’t bleed) and then run it under some water.

Just before washing there was some tea residue but it didn’t ruin the fabric nor bleed a darker shade of color. 

I’ve let it dry outside and this is the final result rven though the photo is a bit darker than the original colour…

I'm quite happy with how the little piece of fabric turned out. 

Now, I only need to find a small design and put in good use the fabric. 🤔 Do you have some ideas or suggestion in what to cross stitch on there?

                                                  I wish you many happy hours of stitching!

                   See you soon,