GD: Wild Rose

One very patient mama who is waiting for a grad has been unlucky recently! Or should I say I`ve been unlucky trying to make her dream grad come true?
The wrap (linen Moss) I`ve purchased for her to be dyed appeared to be size 5 instead of 6 so...I didn`t want to go through all that returning hassle and decided to dye it.

Colours used here are Baby Pink, Brown Rose and some mixture of light greens.






Wild Rose is going to live in Canada!

GD: Quetzal (Ecru) Pfau

I was lucky to get 2 Ecru Pfau wraps for myself. By mistake, but I`m glad, as one stays natty forever, while the other one has just taken a bath.
But what`s with the name?
You see, I`m an archaeologist. I worked in my profession from graduation in 2003 right until 9 months pregnant in summer 2009, and even though I`m now a stay-at-home-mum, I still think I`ll be coming back to digging one day, and hopefully, maybe also will fulfill my dream of doing a PhD finally in my field. And my field of interest and expertise lies in Mesoamerican civilisations. Maya civilisation, to be precise....
But ok, enough with daydreaming!(This blog is becoming more and more personal, wow;)

Quetzal is a beautifully coloured bird that lives in Central American forests. It was worshipped by various cultures in that area, as many features of this bird were transferred into some important deities. The kings-priests of Maya were using quetzal feathers in their ceremonial outfits.

Now I`m not a Maya queen but I wanted my beloved Ecru Pfau wrap to resemble the mighty Quetzal plumage (except for the red!I don`t "do" red;). Just to remind me that deep inside my dreams are still alive.

I`ve used 6 colour mixtures to dye this wrap, basic colours being: Teal Green, Emerald Green, Chartreuse, Turquoise, Sapphire and Cobalt/Strong Navy.
Colours near the rails have blended more than I had anticipated, but with a bit of inclination the differences can still be seen:)
The only thing I`m not entirely happy with is the Teal rail on the green side, that somehow lost its` true shade (maybe there was too much green on the canvas already...?), but I`ll redip that end when I have a possibility.
For now I`m loving it as it is!

GD: Royal Ecru Pfau

When one sweet UK mama asked me to transform her brand new Ecru Pfau, I was thrilled, of course, as I knew by then I`d love dyeing this wrap. And I do!
This is the second EP I have been privileged to dye and again I`m loving its` beautiful features that are still clearly visible through the colours.
And the colours Heather chose seem so suitable for this wrap as well; she was inspired by a 2007 /anniversary Pfau wrap she found in the net, dyed purple, blue and green. It was however was dyed lengthwise. I did it "traditional" way, widthwise, so the colours could be visible altogether while wrapping.
I truly hope Heather`s little boy will love his "keacocks" when they get back home!

Dyes used here: Emeralnd Green with Aquamarine; a mixture of various blues with Electric Blue prevailing; Imperial Purple with some Lavender and Cobalt.

GD: Rose Garden Rosalinde

There is one mama out there who has always seemed so optimistic and positive about life to me, even though we`ve only "met" on the babywearing forum...so when she asked me to transform her linen Rosalinde I expected some lively colour choice.
And she decided on lively colours, yet in the same time, very feminine and delicate.
She wanted roses, and she got roses:)
I hope she`ll enjoy wrapping with this sling, and will always maintain this uplifting attitude!

And Rosa has been dyed with Baby Pink with a bit of Fuchsia, and a mixture of reds, where Jacquard`s Fire Engine Red played a major role, followed by some Dharma`s Burgundy and Chinese Red.

GD: Chicago Sunset (Ecru) Pfau

Go Bears! Chicago Bears, that is...:)

When Didymos released my long dreamed of natural coloured Ecru Pfau with 50% linen, the babywearing world went a little frenzy, and no wonder! It`s one of the most beautiful AND perfect wraps ever made. I got one of course, actually two, and I love it straight after just one wash!



One sweet US mama also got one for her little boys, and had it sent to me for a makeover. The colours she chose not only work so perfectly well together, they also belong to one of my favourite sets. And of course are a great match for a family supporting Chicago Bears!
It`s been a great pleasure to work with Alisa again, and creating this very special gradation on a very special wrap for a very special person!
All I can add-Chicago is also a very special place to me. My dear friend from the times when we were very young girls lives there. And my very own and personal brother with his beautiful wife and 2 liitle kids lives there as well! Their son, and my nephiew Niko was born only 3 weeks after my daughter, and we are to meet yet...
Well, I just have to go to that America finally!:)

And here`s Chicago Sunset in all its` glory:

GD: Indio Turquoise Dreams

When this mama sent me her linen Indio for a makeover, her mind was firmly set on colours she saw on a wrap dyed by Iza, which were aqua green/blue and dark purple.
But she later changed her mind, deciding on turquoise and more violet-hue purple.
That`s how this gradation was created, and again I just love how beautifully the Indio pattern has been underlined by this specific watery shade of blue! Indios are great for dyeing:)

GD: Rainforest Azur

This wrap was previously dyed strong blue on one side, so technically, it was supposed to be an easy task to turn it into one with Amazonian jungle greens.
Of course, choosing the right shade of green and the amount of dye had to be a bit of a gamble and the end result remained a big unknown. But the world belongs to the brave ones, so the owner of this linen Azur decided to go for it with faith it`d turn all right:)
And I think it did!

GD: Forest Lake

I was wondering if there was any sense in posting pictures of this gradation here, as it`s not going to happen. But while it existed, it looked quite nice, so maybe it can be some inspiration for someone, as I really enjoyed creating this.
Gradation was ordered by Ania, a very very sweet mama whom I`ve known virtually for a while now, as our children are the same age. She wanted a blue-green combination with another "earthy" colour.
This was to be done on a linen Moss.
At first , after applying Sapphire Blue, I added the earthy colour (Rusty Orange) in the middle, then going for the Emerald Green. But somehow it didn`t look right, so I covered the orange with more green, which made the green in that part look a bit ...autumnal. I`ve added some brown at the rail, and this was created:





When I tentatively showed it to Ania, she loved the greens and blues, but had to think about the brown. And I couldn`t quite get over that rusty orange in the middle that was giving the green a strange tinting in that part...perhaps all would be well, perhaps she would love it in person, but because I get ridiculously pedantic at times, I offered to make another grad for her on another Moss , and this one went straight to the strip club:)
So these similar greens and blues will be recreated, with addition of something warmer, yet better thought of.
Thank you Ania for your patience.

GD: Rainforest Indio v3

This is a natty Indio that I did for the lovely Sandra some time ago. She received it, and liked it, but decided she wanted a third, vivid colour in the middle, and also perhaps more jewel toned greens altogether. She asked me if I could do it in a spare moment. And I agreed, not that I have too much spare time on my hands, but Sandra is such a sweet and kind person that you simply can`t say "no":)
Besides, I really felt this could be done in a more challenging way, and I was curious about the result myself!
So here it is, a third (and hopefully the last!) version of this gradation.
I hope she will love it and post tons of beautiful pictures:)

GD: Violet Lagoon

This stripped by its` owner linen Azur had been waiting to be dyed for a while, but finally, while I had been struggling with 2 other wraps, I managed to transform it.
Joanna, a Polish mama who asked for dyeing it, also wanted it to be done in a slightly unusual way-she wanted the middle part of the wrap only hardly touched by the colour, for it to concentrate on the rails mainly.
I tried my best to follow this request (and it`s never easy actually NOT to dye;), and with the use of Turquoise mixed with a little bit of Caribbean Blue on one side, and some purples mixed for the other side, the Violet Lagoon was born.
I think she won`t be calling her wrap The Ugly One anymore;)

An update, some new fluff and a project

I have just finished a gradation on linen Moss for a very sweet mama from Poland (which I will show tomorrow as it`s still hanging on the "crane":); another linen beastie, a stripped Azur is prepared for a dip for tomorrow. This one is for another Polish lady and has been waiting for a few weeks now in the queue, but its` time has come finally.
And there`s the Rainforest grad on which I have to do some magical trick-definitely a plan for the weekend.

In the meantime I`d like to show off some of my recent acquisitions, which are so very special to me that I doubt I`ll be ever able to part with them.

First is the famous Rose silk indio, released by Didymos on 24th February, 2 days after my 32nd birthday (that number really looks bad!), so I treat it as a birthday present from me to I:)
It`s truly beautiful inspite of the pink, which in this case doesn`t bother me at all.
I love it from the first sight!



And then there is my custom full buckle ergo carrier made by the most talented, absolutely fabulous Aneta from http://www.tullimy.pl/
I sent her a 100% organically grown hemp corduroy which I dyed grey along with some Michael Moore fabric, and she created this wonderful thing:





I don`t think I`ve ever used anything as comfortable as this carrier. I am truly and deeply in awe! Thank you Aneta.

And last, but not least, my recent project (which to be honest has been in the making for a while now as I`m permanently free - time deprived). It`s a pure mix of organic hemp and silk; I had it hemmed by a professional London seamstress who has done an excellent job indeed. I`ve dyed it fuchsia pink using acid dyes, and still need to do a gradation from one rail, maybe with some Imperial Purple...? And then I`d like for it to be tested by babywearing mamas. Hopefully I`ll find time soon to finish that, and even more hopefully, I`ll find mamas ready to try it!
But from my own home testing so far I can tell it`s so supportive, and it wraps so neatly that it can be a proper summer wrap. What`s not to love about hemp and silk in the end...?
Here goes one picture for the start:



And before I finally go to sleep, here`s my little helper and constant inspiration, during our short break in snowy Poland. She wasn`t very fond of the snow, but nevertheless wanted to thank dear Sandra for something special she had sent!

GD: Deep Sea Hemp Indio

A lovely and soft hemp Indio was sent by one UK mama to be transformed. She wanted a shade of teal and some dark navy blue to resemble the blue sea, so the Deep Sea it became.
I love hemp and dyeig hemp wraps, so this one hase been just another pleasure to me:)

I`ve used a mixture of blues and greens for the teal side; a Wedgwood blue for the middle to give it silvery shimmery transition, and a Strong Navy with Cobalt Blue for the other side.

GD: (Carmin) Starfish

Another shoal of carmin fishies swam my direction to be transformed. This time they crossed the whole wide ocean, sent by a lovely US mama:)
Her colour inspiration were two solid dyed wraps from a certain BW forum; she was also able to tell me the exact colours those were dyed with. I did some adjustments though,as with this type of wrap it just wouldn`t work...and even with that, I had to redip the purple side as it came out slightly too pinkish initially.

The final result is quite yummy I think, with the proper aquamarine and deep purple shades.
Dyes used here: Plum Blossom, Plum, Lavender; Aquamarine, Electric Blue and Azure Blue.