So, a few weeks ago, I put aside what I was meant to be working on and pulled these old hexie flowers out of a cupboard. They are left overs from the first quilt I ever made, and to be honest, I don't really like them, or the quilt, which has since gone to Oxfam. The colours and fabrics just don't do it for me now that I've developed a better sense of what I do like. There is far too much going on in the flowers, I'd clearly just bought everything in the shop that took my magpie-like fancy without considering how the fabrics might go together. After nearly throwing them away however, I decided the flowers might be worth salvaging after all, and if lucky, the gently faded, vintage appearance I was originally aiming for could be faked. All that was needed was some bleach and a pot of tea…
Painting with bleach has made the greys and purples almost totally vanish! |
The results aren't too bad. Serendipity played its part when the bleach ate away some of the fabric, meaning the holes had to be patched and darned–just like a genuinely antique textile. It's an odd thing, faking your own heirlooms (the textiles version of old money versus new?) but I think the result is fairly convincing. I'll continue to add more needle weaving as this is my most recent stitch obsession, then use it as a sampler for trying out other stitches when my current obsession fades.
Needle weaving, or darning, is my current obsession. |
I'm not going to set a finish date for this, or even have an idea of what it might end up as. For now, it's just my little comfort blanket that I work on when I want some sewing me time.
Elizabeth,
x.
Oh, absolutely, there is a need to selfishly enjoy creating something for oneself without giving a hoot of what others might say.
ReplyDeleteIt is fun to make things for others, too, be it a commissioned work with specific requirements or some surprise for a friend, but if it is a hobby we have the right to do it just for our own satisfaction.
What a great idea of giving new life to a garish quilt by manhandling it! Bleach, a sunny window, tea, sandpaper, patching, darning, uneven wadding being stuffed into parts of the quilt are all things we can do to add a vintage look to a quilt. Your needle weaving adds a lot off structure as well. ENJOY!
Love all that you are doing with your hexies so it becomes just they way you want them.
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