Sunday 17 April 2011

GD: Pamir Jewels

I wanted to post this before going away for a few weeks, even though I`m knackered by finishing various tasks and organizing us for the journey (as we all know, men are useless in it, just playing they`ve got everything under control, and then suddenly starting to look frantically for their passports 2 minutes before closing the house door). So, that all and cleaning, and loundry, and some shopping and....but enough of that, shhh.
Now it`s time for the Emperor of All the Wraps.

I know and feel that all the wraps are special, not only to their owners, but to me also, when I`m dyeing them.
But I can`t help the fact that I`ve been living in awe since my very own Pamir entered my door. There`s something simply magical about this wrap, something that cannot be reasonably explained. It`s almost as I can feel the warmth of the hands that weave it, one thread by one, for hours and days...and now that I`ve decided the fate of my Pamir (of which I`ll be saying more when I`m back in May), I appreciate its` uniqueness even more.
That is why I hope Julie, who sent me her beautiful wrap to be dyed, will love it truly and forever!

To dye this wrap, I`ve used mostly Sapphire Blue, Emerald Green, Aquamarine and some Teal.




Saturday 16 April 2011

4 Zaras from the past

As I`m going away for Easter in a few days` time, I`m only finishing 2 more wraps at the moment, which I will hopefully show tomorrow.
So, as a gap filler, I`d like to present you 4 Zaras that I dyed for one amazing lady`s wrap shop back in winter last year (it`s really April already?!)
There were actually 5 of them, but I didn`t take any decent photographs of the Zara She.
The colours were chosen by the owner, with my modifications where it was needed.




Thursday 14 April 2011

GD: Tuscany Zara

Some time ago I was asked by one US mama to create a gradation for her; she wasn`t sure about the colours then, and didn`t have a wrap for it yet. Recently then, taking advantage of Ellevil`s sale, I got her a Zara Natur which is one of my favourite wraps of all. And because Nicole decided on colours as well, this Zara was finally dyed with colours I used for Tuscany Indio gradation.
It came out beautiful, I know I shouldn`t be saying it, but it`s just another tribute to wonderful Zara design and weave!
So, Tuscany Zara is currently on the way to America, and I hope lovely Nicole won`t find it too...vivid! Yes, she`s actually the first mama to want the colours less saturated:)

Dyes used here: Yucca Green, Lemon Yellow with Soft Orange and Dark Brown with Chocolate Brown.




Erica vel Winter Heath or Violett Pfau brought to life

Out of habit (or should I say, addiction), I ordered a new Violet Pfau wrap from Didymos, hoping it would strip nicely to soft pink colour, but this Cold Turkey wouldn`t just cooperate...so, last night, while my set-up was occupied by another wrap, I took the bird to the bathtub.
And out it came, all sweet and girly, reminding me of those early spring flowers, bearing the Latin name of Erica Carnea. Commonly known as Winter Heath.
But Erica is a pretty name, and so is my Cold Turkey now!
A word of explanation: pink is not my colour of choice normally, but I make some exceptions with wraps:) and with this sort of purple not too many colours would really go well I think...



Wednesday 13 April 2011

Wild (Garnet) Pfau and Manilla Envelope aka Camel Indio Hemp

There are things that seem easy at first, but the result can be so unpredictable that in the end they`re not easy at all...
Lovely Spanish mama sent me her Garnet Pfau to be stripped and dyed. So, stripping WAS easy. Then, as she wasn`t really sure what colour he wanted for it to be dyed, I suggested something light, like delicate chocolatey brown, as she wanted to keep the contrast. It appealed to her, so the birds took a plunge.
And they came out walnut-y brown with light chocolate hue. It is really hard to describe the colour, but it reminds me of coffee latte with chocolate and caramel, as the linen`s golden/brass thread is quite distinguishable.
Well, I hope it`ll appeal to Charo more when she sees it in person!I can totally see her using this wrap though)





Then goes a natty hemp indio that I dyed naturally according to the wish of another mama, this time a British one:) She envisioned a camel/teddy bear/light biscuit colour and acquiring it was, in spite of the first impression, quite of a task! Alas, I think I did it, as the hempy is already back home, tortured and molested to restore its` previous floppy condition:)



Monday 11 April 2011

GD: Orchid Rosalinde

I know I`ve done a Zara Orchid some time ago, but these colours I associate with classic orchid gradations, so I thought that this Rosalinde could become part of my virtual orchids glasshouse too...
This one has been asked for by a lovely Spanish mama, and I`m very happy that it`ll live in a warm climate country!
I`m also glad that it came to me this time of year, now that we`re literally having early summer here in London, with all the blooming trees and balmy weather. I hope it`ll stay that way!
Thanks to this, I was able to photograph Nieves` wrap in our backgarden, as there`s no better set up than outdoors.




Saturday 9 April 2011

Aquamarin (Carmin) Fische

I think I`ve tried to use both German and English for the title, so there you have, a pseudo-polyglotic mixture;)
But you all know what`s this all about. 50% linen CF stripped from its` original Strawberry and Cream colours, and then dyed Aquamarine (of some sort). In other words, a faux AF.
To be honest, I was aiming at a slightly different shade. But, because I was dyeing it in the middle of the night, having finished something else (and in a way, stealing this moment to finally do something with my sad, unloved pink wrap-ah yes, I bought one AGAIN, missing it after having sold my first one), I was quite knackered (add to it a sleep refusing 20 - months old toddler), so didn`t have power to keep it in the dye bath for long enough.
It came out aquamarine-ish blue, with green fishies, which I quite like! Looks like a nice summer wrap now, and this time, it will STAY, I promise:)
I have a plan to dip it again sometime when I have an opportunity, because the shade I want for it belongs to my top faves of all. So, one day the ACF will change the scales, but as for now, it`s looking like this:





Ok, that`s enough of musings, time to get back to the tub!:)

Wednesday 6 April 2011

GD: Seastorm Moss

Remember the Moss that was sent to me by a certain Polish mama to be dyed blue-green-earthy?
Well, it ended up a bit complicated, which resulted with getting Ania another Moss (thanks to the help of lovely Trish!) and stripping this one, and waiting to be redyed.
I`ve managed to do it between the orders.
I`m happy that the stripping was so gentle that it didn`t remove all the dark Moss thread, so it has kept quite a contrast still.
I chose dark grey with a slight mossy green hue, and saturated blue. Like sudden storm above sea.





And it`s available for purchase now.

Tuesday 5 April 2011

GD: Sunny Meadow Moss

Extremely patient and overwhelmingly lovely Ania is finally getting her gradation dyed wrap!
After a lot of trouble and thanks to super sweet Trish, I got a wrap for Ania and managed to dye it for her.
Ania`s initial idea was gem blue-green combo with a warmer "earthy" tone in between; then she wanted something more "peacocky" and/or "rainforesty";)
In the end I`ve blended those ideas and created a Sunny Meadow. It actually reminds me a lot of the times when, as a small child, I used to spend almost every summer holiday months at my grandparents` in the Polish sea region. In their village there was a calm small river/large stream flowing, and there was a huge, wonderfully colourful meadow, filled with divine smell, sunshine and bees, dragonflies and butterflies. I loved just lyeing in the grass there, among the forever blooming wild flowers, under the warm sunrays, just looking at the lazy river current.
So, my Sunny Meadow full of good memories and wishes will be soon flying to Ania and her cute little ones. I hope they`ll love it!




GD: Ocean Hemp

2 hemp Indios were sent to me by one lovely mama to be dyed: 1 solid colour, 1 gradation to remind her beloved Didy Iris wrap.
Halfway through the dyeing though I received a pm asking how was the job going;) She decided she wanted that grad on a different type of wrap, so the hempy would be going...Well, I was in the middle of dyeing it already:)
In the end we decided to finish it off with some light sea relating shade, and that`s how Ocean Hemp came to life. Iris will be apparently recreated on a 55% beastie, and this hemp will most probably appear on FSOT soon.

Colours used here: Teal with Cobalt Blue, Turquoise and Aquamarine.





The "camel" hemp needs still to be finished though.

Friday 1 April 2011

GD: Zara She Aquatic

Silk Zaras by Ellevil are absolutely wonderful in every sense. They also dye beautiful, and in such a way that it is not possible to wreck them:)
Of course, colour misshaps can happen but are usually easy to correct.
One lovely UK mama has sent her newly acquired Zara She not long ago to dye it for a certain special occasion her family is going to celebrate this month:)
She wanted it in watery colours, turquoise preferably.
So Zara had a bath that changed her into shimmery turquoise water washing out on light grey pebbles...



...which was nice, but that pure turquoise seemed a little too blue for Tamsin. So I decided to have a go with mixing some dyes and overdyeing it slightly. Mixing magic worked and a VERY watery Zara She was born. I must say I like it so much that I`m actually contemplating getting a naked ZS for myself to dye exactly the same way:)
I hope it`ll be loved and will bring some joy on that special day!





GD: Summer Delight Moss

Yet another linen beastie came for transformation; this one is going to live in Malaysia, so has to present itself accordingly to its surroundings. And Malaysia is full of lively colours, isn`t it, with all the vegetation and fruit and delights of the p(a)late:)
So, Mossy has become a raspberry and chocolate dessert, which tastes best eaten under the blue sky!