Trying Dyeing.....

Inspired by a comment from Lynn at Sea Angels a while ago, I decided to have a go at dyeing fabrics.
This oatmeal coloured French linen chemise with simple tucks and initials was my first project....

 I dyed it black along with some white Oska linen trousers and a green stripe Noa Noa coat dress that I had accidentally splashed with bleach.

I was delighted with the results, especially the bleach damage which has vanished completely.

Since then there has been no stopping me and yesterday saw the second French chemise enter the indigo blue dye with other things.

The Oska top which was originally lime green, has gone a darker shade of blue compared to the cream chemise which I think makes it all the more interesting.

 Needing a few more pieces to dye and with nothing to lose, I decided to throw in these boring off white crochet mats....

They turned out much prettier than I expected and can you believe I hadn't even noticed that they had crochet butterflies around the edge!

This intact and beautifully embroidered runner had been soaked to remove some stains, unfortunately this made the yellow dye of the flowers bleed onto the white linen.

Instead of cutting out the butterflies and discarding the rest, I popped it in with the other things and crossed my fingers.

Not quite what I had hoped for, but it is a learning curve!
( Probably should have just cut out the butterflies as I had planned initially )


Some plain cream, stained linen mats went in too and are now in the process of being printed with a French theme.....

Why not give it a go...especially with old linen.

*Word of warning...some modern clothes have polyester thread which does not take the dye. I still have green thread on the now black Noa Noa coat dress...

Hope you all have a lovely weekend and thank you once again for your kind comments.....they are very much appreciated.

Julie x

P.S. Sorry about the colour variations and dodgy camera work.....taken on my phone in the Conservatory with the sun playing hide and seek behind the clouds!

Silver plate and new pieces.....

  

Some new acquisitions for the Fairs this week include..... two good quality silver plated  tea sets,.the one on the left is made for Mappin and Webb with initials RL in a cartouche, the other has lovely relief detail. 

Both need polishing, as I think they have sat unused in a cupboard for years.

 

 A boxed set of fish knives and forks (also to polish ), a length of pretty floral, vintage linen by Warner...

And the cutest print of a child and horse signed and dated 1914....

With the sweetest caption.....

 'OU TAN HAVE A BITE HORSIE

All together now....aaahhh!

 A pretty hand painted teaset with nice big tea cups and a length of floral barkcloth that I will make into cushions.

Finally, two large, satin cushion covers with ruched edge and quilting detail.

Very boudoir..ish don't you think.....?

Hope you all enjoy the rest of the week and a big hello to all my new followers....thank you!

Julie x

Purchases from Paris....

Fleamarket finds from Paris had to be compressed into my hand luggage, but I managed.... with a tin 2CV,

A wooden butter mould, a small box and a large drawstring bag made from floppy linen.

Some embroidery booklets.....one for alphabets for samplers, the other with designs for monograms which include 10 pages of transfers.....all different styles,

Examples of cross stitch designs......

Alphabets.....

Animals.....

Crowns....

And some "real life" monograms from old sheets that I will make into cushions....

Naturally, I also managed to find room for the macaroon essentials.....

Hope you all have a good weekend....I am at New College, Durham on Sunday with some new things,

Silver plate, glass, pretty bits of jewellery...

Decided it is going to be a sparkly, girly theme for Sunday.....plus a bit of boys stuff  too....

Off to pack,
See you soon,

Julie x

I'm back.....

Two large Vide-Greniers and a Brocante to wander through at the weekend in Paris.

Little cupboards I could have bought.....

Interesting kitchen stuff.....

And banana boxes full of old linen, monogrammed sheets, napkins, pillowcases....

This old mannequin caught my eye propped up behind a junky stall.....a little battered but quite quirky with its strange limb arrangement.

Only to discover after a conversation with the stall holder that it was not for sale at all..... it had been discarded with the rubbish and was free to a good home..... AAAGH!

No way could I have got it home on Easyjet ( hand luggage only) and pleading with my daughter to take it home to her apartment fell on extremely deaf ears.

"You've got to be joking! I'm not carrying that thing back on the Metro"

 Enough said....

So there it had to stay.

A quick whizz round a food market with their lovely fruit and veg displays  (to take my mind off the mannequin)

Even the seafood was fresh....

Flowers purchased for daughter's apartment, ( still thinking that the mannequin would have been far more dramatic... )

Then on for a spot of culture at the Grand Palais for the Monumenta exhibition.....

Anish Kapoor's huge structure filled the vast Nave....

The scale of the thing was enormous....

And stepping inside the structure was a strange, yet contemplative experience....

Quite surreal and eerily silent....no one talked as they gazed up and took photographs in the dark.


Back outside and lots of walking ensued, over the bridge towards Invalides.....

Padlocks on the statues.....

And padlocks on this bridge, are a symbol of a couples attachment to each other...having been "joined together as one" ....apparently.

I presume if it doesn't work out you have to go back with the key and unlock it?

Long way from Taiwan though....

A bit of street art on the way to the Marais ......clever.

To visit a shop that I have heard lots about, yet never visited....MERCI

We were not at all disappointed and the refreshments were superb....

Pistachio cake washed down with citronnade....lime, lemon and ginger with fresh mint.

Delicious...

 Finally in case you were wondering why I was in Paris, it was to attend a farewell party for long standing friends at the British Embassy,

Pimms and Champagne on the Terrace...followed by evening supper in a gorgeous apartment on Boulevard Hausemann.....

Meeting up with old friends I haven't seen for over 30 years....wonderful.

 Thank you Mark and  Jill  for inviting us all to be part of your special day....not even the heavy cloudburst at one stage could spoil the occasion.

Best wishes for your new adventure....

Julie x