broken iron

so tonight i figured I would tackle some of the ironing of work shirts and throw in ironing some of the lovely dyed silk from this weekend.  I cut half yard pieces of the ends of the yellow, orange, peach, pink, lilac, and green. I got my silk soaked in best press and then dried in the dryer and I get to the last piece and I keep having all these problems with the fabric sticking to the iron and the wrinkles arn't steam out properly.   I struggle through it and go to unplug the iron and it is barely hot.  damn it the iron broke.  now what do I do tonight.  the bebekins is asleep and hubby is off somewhere playing with friends.  I can't finish ironing the clothes cause well the iron isn't getting hot.  I can't work on baby girls dress cause it needs the interfacing fused to the silk for the bodice.  can't work on my submission for AAQ contest cause well  I need to get my freezer paper hexagons to stick to the silk with the iron.  I can't work on the rose fairies cause I am working on the long seams and like to press them open before adding the next piece.   I guess I can work on something else*sighs*

Since I can't work on my project I might as well write the post on ironing freshly dyed silk.  when you dye silk you are subjecting it to heat and being wadded up and wrung out and squished. you end up with something that looks like it will have permanent wrinkles. while the silk setting on the iron is a low heat with no steam.  this is good for a finished garment.  the dyeing process is pretty good at setting in wrinkles.  so here is the easiest way to get them out.  last wash to get the rest of the dye out use a cream rinse for hair on the silk.  this helps soften the fibers.  dry the silk on tumble dry in the dryer.  this will help release alot of the wrinkles, but alas there will be the stubborn ones.  I would recommend the next step even if you are using a heavier silk then the 5 mm habotai I am using (think shear almost gauzy).  I soaked the fabric in best press and put it in the tumble dryer for about 10 minutes.  this stiffens the fabric some so that you can iron it with out distorting it.  Habotai in particular is very easy to distort when ironing it, even the heavy habotai.  something like a dupioni or a noil not as easy to distort.   If the fabric is the stiffness you desire,  you will just use steam on your fabric to get the wrinkles to release and get a beautifully smooth press.  if you want it stiffer you will spray it down with more best press and press it smooth. don't be afraid of using a really hot iron, a hot iron makes this easier to press silk, so does steam and damp silk.

I am using the 5mm habotai on a couple project cause I want the shear effect of the fabric and the way when you have several layer the light plays with it.   when I use the pink on a backing of a quilt I am going to use several layers cause it is a thin fabric and the several layers should give me the intensity of color play and the strength.

Silk and more silk

The sillk dyeing went really well this weekend. I got some Jacquard procion MX which is a cold water dye that can be used for silk. you add some vinegar to the mixture to make it an acid dye. I also got some Jacquard Green Lable Silk Dye. It can be heat set or it can be set with dyeset. I heat set it steaming it in the microwave instead of on the stove. I got some wonderfuly luminous colors. I was going for pastel springy colors not the really really vibrant bright colors. I dyed the fabric in 4 yardish incriments. I am going to use the yellow, orange and orangy reds to make a sunflower quilt. The pink is going to be backing for my rose fairy quilt. I think it will be become baby girls. she spent so much time this weekend rolling in the silk.

The pink silk I dyed with Rosey Petal RIT dye, using 1 cup of vinegar in the dye bath.  I did this in the wash machine and there are about 9 yards of the silk that I did all at once.  it dyed true to the package and is the right rosey pink to match the rose flower fairies

There are two greens shown here.  two diffrent dye types, same color, same fabric.  the olivey color is a kelly green RIT dye with the vinegar.  The springy green is the kelly green Jacquard green label silk dye microwave steamed.  this just shows the difference between they dye type can make.

Lessons I have Learned about Dyeing Silk

I got married 5 years ago and before the wedding my soon to be husband looked at me and said I don't want to wear a suit/tux.  I responded with so what do you want to wear instead.  he thought about it and said I want to wear a samurai outfit.  so to make Samuari outfits for the groom 5 groomsman and 1 bridesmaid I bought 100 yards of white habotai silk.  I learned a fair amount about dyeing silk at that time.  after was all said and done I still had 35 yards left over  (it was still cheaper to buy the two bolts than it would have to buy it as 70 yards and not have the leftover).  After the wedding the silk got packed in a box and put away in storage where it sat.  Mom is remodeling her house and the box of silk was found the other day.  


while watching my daughter repeatedly dive into the luxurious pile of silk the way you would a pile of leaves in the fall I was thinking well some of the habotai is 60 inches wide perfect to go on the back of a lap quilt and what would feel better than this luxurious silk against you.  and the thin 36 inch wide habotai is semitransparent and if you put it on top of the heavier habotai and quilted it you could get some amazing results with the play of light on the back of a quilt. or adding 2-3 layers of the think habotai on the back could give amazing light play or pieced on top you could get some amazing results.  but as I am trying to finish some quilts backing it is.


So after a trip to get some dye I set about dyeing the fabric.  I was at Joann getting some zippers so I grabbed what they had, which was RIT dye.  I remembered it worked OK but wasn't the ideal dye for silk.  I got some green and some pink dye.  the pink dye came out the color i expected, a  nice rosy pink to go with the pink flower fairies.  so then I did the green batch and the green did not come out anything like I expected.  I totally forgot the rule about the RIT dye which is made for cotton does not always produce the expected color on silk.    I kinda like the muted asparagus green.  but kinda don't.  I was going for a more green less grey color.  There is an specialty art supply store town that carries Jacquard acid dyes, green label silk dyes and Procion MX dyes.   The problem with the art store is it is open regular business hours which is well when I am at work, the reason I didn't go there in the first place.  These acid dyes are made for protein fibers like silk and wool.  I used them in the past for incredibly vibrant results.  The lining of all of the jackets for the wedding was vibrant red habotai.  


Lesson 1) skip the RIT dye and go directly to the correct dye, especially if you are wanting a green or other cool color.
Lesson 2) If you use RIT Dye warm tones come out decently cool tones are hit or miss. greens are terrible.  hard to get them to come out true.  All the colors come out better if you add one cup of vinegar to the dye bath.  
Lesson 3) when you are done dyeing the silk used a hair conditioning treatment on it like you would after dyeing your own hair.  it is a protein fiber and like after dyeing your own hair conditioning it after dyeing gives the fabric some love.
Lesson 4) don't stick you hand in the hot wet dye soaked fabric with out rubber gloves on cause other wise your finger nails will be stained green for days

More UFO thoughts

I realized tonnight as I am sewing the binding on a quilt that I have to keep forcing my self to work on just to get it done.  I realized why I have no motivation to finish it.  I am a perfectionist enough that I am not happy with the quilt, i put it away and not work on it cause it is easier to do that than rip out all of the stitches and fix it or fix the quilting.  I made the top and did the quilting when my skill was that of a beginner.  I have ripped all of the quilting out of a quilt cause I didnt like it.  and when I am not happy with a project I then to put it away and it becomes an unfinished project.

UFO Update

So a while ago I posted my UFO list. I have worked on some up the projects so I am makeing an update on stuff I finished
1) bebekins octopus quilt need to undo the side of satin binding and do it a different way. one side left to hand sew down

2) bebekins dino quilt 1 needs to be finished quilting

3) Quilted netbook case. need to finish binding and add zipper.

V1 got taken completely apart will re assemble it in a better way. I came up with V2 and the prototype went well. so I am making a second one that I am photographing the steps so I can put a pattern together for it.

4) fish quilt top done needs to be quilted (probably should sent to a long arm quilter to have it done)

5) koi quilt top done needs to be quilted (probably should sent to a long arm quilter to have it done)

6) pink fairy bag needs quilting and final assembly

6)7) green fairy bag needs quilting and assembly

screw the quilting I am changing the way I am putting it together and it needs handles then it will be done

8) pillow to match cat quilt we made grandma for christmas

7)9) Brown Bear Brown bear curtians for bebekins room at grandmas. we made one set now we need to finish other. I pulled out he fabric and started to iron it

8)10) Brown Bear Brown Bear quilt to match said curtains for the bebekins room at grandmas. it is cut out and stacked ready to be chain sewn

9)11)Petie rose fairies needs final sashing sewn on then quilting

10)12)Sunshine fairies pieces cut and started piecing

11)13) wedding quilt for amy and david. about half the blocks pieced

14) spring out fit for the bebekins. have the top almost done, then it is the pants. (probaly should be top priority before she out grows it.

12)15) bachelor button fairy quilt. embroirdrey and applique done and half pieced

13)16) fairy book. half the pages quilted. then needs either button holes for the ribbon or eyelets for the ribbon to be tied together.

14)17) christmas fairy quilt applique done needs final assembly

1518) bebekins alphabet quilt. half quilted.

19) Quilted books. I have three half sewn and need final edge stitching and making it a book type deal I have about 4 more that are cut out and need sewing and stuffs.

20) stuffed salmon they are cute out and needs stuffing and closing of the fish.

16)21) cousins matching octopi quilts. have cut and partially pieced Not sure if this counts as one project or two since there are two quilts for the twins.

17)22) space quilt 1 needs sashing and then quilting

18)23) growth chart wall hanging. needs quilting.

19)24) strip quilt experiment. I should just make it into a table runner and be done with it.

Blarg!!!

That is a good description of the weekend.  the baby and the husband are both sick.  bebekins has had it since last week and husband started coming down with it saturday.  it all exhausted me.  I did on saturday dump all of my fabric of all my little stashes around the house and sort it nicely by color into tubs. A) I have alot of fabric. and b) I know I like blue and green but seriously I have about 8 time the blue fabric of what I have of red, orange and yellow combined.  can you tell what colors I don't like. and I have almost as much green fabric as I have blue fabric.  I got one UFO done this weekend and that was to finish the stuffed salmon for the bebekins.  she loves shishies (fishies) and has been playing with it alot this weekend.  at least she hasn't tried to put it in with the actually shishes I am not sure they would like a 2.5ft salmon swimming with them.

I took the morning off of work to take care of the poor sick ones.  and they are both sleeping still.  eventually the bebe will wake up and I will take her to grandmas and have to go into work my self.  I did figure out last week how to fix the v1 of the laptop case to make it work I think.  the prototype of v2 came out wonderful as I discussed in the last post.  I need to make a second one to photograph as I make so I can illustrate the pattern.  I cut the pieces last week and was going to work on it this weekend but didn't get there.  by the time I could sew yesterday I was entirely too tired to do much except sit and stare at the wall.  I feel like such a slacker for not getting anything done. but I did get stuff done.  I got the fabric sorted and I got one thing checked off the list of stuff that needs to get done.  I just didn't accomplish what I wanted to accomplish.

Lappy case V2

So v2 much more sucessful. and while doesn't include my favorite flower fairies, the Eden fabric I used is super cute. I got about 80% of the way done with v1 and ran into a ton of constructions problems. and it wasn't going together how I wanted it. so I went back to the drawing board. I ran across a cute little pattern for a reversible purse and wow it fits my netbook almost perfectly. modifying the pattern to add a zipper makes it not reversible but I wanted the zipper cause more secure to me to keep the lappy safe in the case in my purse. I lined the back of the outer back of the outer fabric with a iron on vinyl backing to keep water out of the lappy case. cause well I have a 2 year old and well water proof is good. there are stitch holes around the edge so can't guarentee its 100% water proof but water resistant enough to keep spilled liquids/rain out of my lappy as I go some where. I also put 1/4in closed cell foam between the outer fabric and the lining as the main protection for the laptop. it is the standard foam used in many commercial laptop cases. I then put 1/8in loft cotton bamboo batting behind the lining fabric to add a small amount of extra soft padding for the lappy. my laptop measures 10x7x1 and the finished case is 12x9x1 well 2 if the lappy is in it. I am going to try to make the pattern for my larger laptop and see how the pattern transitions to a larger size. it is 14x10x2

thinking a project through

I got several unfinished projects done this weekend or at least progress on some of them.  I went to the store to get some stuff I need to finish some of the projects, and I came up with so many more ideas.

I posted about the V2 and V3 of the fairy totes I was making.  they had got put to the side as I got distracted with ooooh shiny new project.  I suffer alot from the ooooh shiny, and I want to try this new idea or that new idea.  I went back to work on them this weekend.  and I modified the construction half way through.  I finished the smaller pink one for the bebekins and realized at three points through it I should have changed the construction as this point and that point through the progress.  so while the adage measure twice cut once is a good one but doesn't work quite as well when you change how are you doing things partially through the project.  the bag is still cute and if you arn't me you might now notice the problems

So is it a new project if I finish it in one night?

I stayed home yesterday cause I was felling crappy. I have the upper resp cold going around. enough to make you feel miserable but not really sick. So I spent part of the working on some projects. I finished the outfit for the bebekins. one UFO down, still way too many to finish. I made the outfit big enough for her to be able to wear it this summer. The pants are supposed to be capri length not ankle length. though I will say I did add about two inches in length to both the top and the pants, since she is so tall for her age. she is a sweety. Notes on the project. the directions to make the yoke. dumbest instructions ever. I am not happy with the way it came out. I would have done it differently and would have had a better finished look. only I realized this after I had done way too many seams to want to undo them and then do the whole thing my way. also invisible zipper feet wow they make putting an invisible zipper in so much easier. if I do this more often I should get a metal one over the plastic one I got for like $2. the plastic one works but I didn't like the way it kept moving around on me.

So once we finished the outfit. I didn't pick up a UFO I started a new project. but does it really count on my no new projects diet till I finish some of the UFOs. so I finished a project. one to check off the list. and it is a cute little tote bag for the babykins to carry her crayons and coloring books in. it has lots of pockets for her to put things in. including individual pockets to hold 8 crayons or colored pencils or markers. or as a bag for her to randomly put her toys in and play. She could also use it as a cute little bag to put her stuff in when she starts pre-school this summer. I love the fabric I used. it is timeless treasures fabric. and great for a toddler play bag.

side with two small pockets

side 2. strip has slots of 8 crayons with a small

pocket in the center

I am going to try to knock some more projects off of the list. I am thinking of 1)fixing the binding on the bebekins octopus quilt 2) finishing at least the treasure bears book, 4) the pillow to match the quilt for mom 4) rose fairies. granted I am feeling well enough to be back at work but still terribly crappy. I am not sure how much energy I will have. but at least there is a goal list

UFOs

sewing night was a smashing success. As we were going through my stash looking for stuff for a quilt I would pick something up and look at this unfinished project and that unfinished project. OMG I am so not allowed to start any more projects till I finish some of the UFOs, I mean seriously. we can list the projects. (oldest to newest)

1) bebekins octopus quilt need to undo the side of satin binding and do it a different way.

2) bebekins dino quilt 1 needs to be finished quilting

3) Quilted netbook case. need to finish binding and add zipper.

4) fish quilt top done needs to be quilted (probably should sent to a long arm quilter to have it done)

5) koi quilt top done needs to be quilted (probably should sent to a long arm quilter to have it done)

6) pink fairy bag needs quilting and final assembly

7) green fairy bag needs quilting and assembly

8) pillow to match cat quilt we made grandma for christmas

9) Brown Bear Brown bear curtians for bebekins room at grandmas. we made one set now we need to finish other

10) Brown Bear Brown Bear quilt to match said curtains for the bebekins room at grandmas. it is cut out and stacked ready to be chain sewn

11)Petie rose fairies needs final sashing sewn on then quilting

12)Sunshine fairies pieces cut and started piecing

13) wedding quilt for amy and david. about half the blocks pieced

14) spring out fit for the bebekins. have the top almost done, then it is the pants. (probaly should be top priority before she out grows it.

15) bachelor button fairy quilt. embroirdrey and applique done and half pieced

16) fairy book. half the pages quilted. then needs either button holes for the ribbon or eyelets for the ribbon to be tied together.

17) christmas fairy quilt applique done needs final assembly

18) bebekins alphabet quilt. half quilted.

19) Quilted books. I have three half sewn and need final edge stitching and making it a book type deal I have about 4 more that are cut out and need sewing and stuffs.

20) stuffed salmon they are cute out and needs stuffing and closing of the fish.

21) cousins matching octopi quilts. have cut and partially pieced Not sure if this counts as one project or two since there are two quilts for the twins.

22) space quilt 1 needs sashing and then quilting

23) growth chart wall hanging. needs quilting.

24) strip quilt experiment. I should just make it into a table runner and be done with it.

I bet if I looked I could come up with a couple other UFOs

and these are just the projects that are half done. I have a list about 3 times as long of projects I want to do and need to finish some first before I can start them

I have heard about people on a fabric diet. they can't buy any more fabric till they do something with the stash they have. I have to go on a project diet. I have to finish these projects before I can start any more.

Pictures and Musings

So I took some pictures. Here is Lola in Folklorica.

Here is a bag I made using a pattern I got from the moda bake shop. I used a frolic charm pack. I modified the corners a bit and marvelously my netbook fits in it brilliantly. so I have some more ideas to use a similar style as the carrying case for my netbook. I am having some issues with the binding on the previously mentioned netbook sleeve. more the binding is not laying like I want it to given the number of layers and the foam causing it to poof out and it looks fine pinned in place but is rough to hand sew it in place. I am thinking I could modify this bag into a marvelous lappy case. I will add a zipper along the top and I will put batting on both sides and a layer of the closed cell foam between it. I might do something silly like put iron on vinyl on the back to add some water proofing and some stiffness. but that is where I ran into issues with the previous case was the very heavy stiff waterproof canvas I used as a backing to the lining fabric.




here is baby girl in the dress I made. the picture is horrible I was trying to take it with my phone and her on the go. we finished her dress last friday and we finished two of the quilts for the twin cousins she is getting for her birthday. sorry don't have pictures of those. They are frayed edge flannel quilts. I made to previously for the bebekins and they are some of her favorite quilts. she has one at home and one at grandmas. anyway she got to wear the dress to the baby shower on saturday and show it off.



so many ideas so little time. I have the starting of a pattern for Baby Girls Dinosaurs Parade quilt drawn out and the fabric for the side 9 patch in it cut out. I have friends coming over for a sewing night tonnight. may or may not acutally get anything done. I might finish the pillow to go with the cat quilt I made mom for chirstmas. that way I could get them out of the house and space for more projects. I really need to get some UFOs done before I start something new. but I got three projects finished in the last week so I think I should still finish the petite rose fairy quilt before I start something new, but I want to start the dino quilt.

project updates

So many projects so little time. I got the laptop case partially done. I have to finish the binding and then it will be done. it is quite nice. haven't finished the binding cause I got distracted with ooh shiny . we went to the store to get the zipper for the case and the bebekins fell in love with this sparkley ladybug fabric so I got some and then had to find a project to use it in. specifically a project for her. I looked around and finally picked out a pattern by izzy and ivy Macy giggles and going to use the ladybug for the skirt. and make her a matching purse with lola goes shopping also by izzy and ivy. so we got the patterns and the fabric and wow lola is huge, I could fit the bebekins in lola. I finished lola for me in the folklorica fabrics. it is gorgeous and huge. I really need to take pictures. so for the bebekins we went to kinkos reduced the pattern by 50% and a much better size for an almost 2 year old to play with. we have the dress and bag patterns cut out. tonights project hopefully be to finish the gathers on the skirt. That is if I don't get distracted by the bebekins or the husband or mass effect 2.