How true that song is, Regina Spektor tells me how it works: "You're young until you're not/ you love until you don't/ you try until you can't..." I feel that is entirely true some days, that life is a cycle I'm in that doesn't stop just because I feel overwhelmed.
Anyway, on to the meat and potatoes...
I am typing this from my very own computer! It's not set up the way I would need it to be yet, that will be a project for the week after next, after this show at the Wild Buffalo is over. I am stressing about about it quite a bit, actually. I feel like I took the time to start this business and now have no time to keep up with it. When I looked at starting my own business crafting, I thought "well, I can do it at my own pace and then I can have time to build up some inventory and organize before I have to concentrate on building marketing momentum." I feel like it's running away with me, though, like I have no time to market at my own choice because my connections are such that opportunites are being thrown in my path NOW and if I don't take them, I'll miss out on chances I wouldn't have had, were I anyone else. (I am also reading "The Tipping Point" and have decided that I am a Connector, which makes it easy for me to find connections I hadn't thought of, but difficult to keep momentum going for projects after the initial investment of interest. That book is really really fascinating, and I find I can't put it down when I should be doing other things...)
I have dyed a good number of slips to go along with the bags. I was so focused on that project after we did our first dyelot, and I was trying to understand WHY. I think it's because with dyeing things that are pre-made, I end up with maximum yield for minimum effort. I can see the results, a half dozen at a time. Also, I'll share a secret with you. I love sewing things, I absolutely adore the final touches that I understand (as a sewer) will make that garment a bit more wearable or that bag a bit more sturdy or what have you. I hate the beginning. I hate pinning out my pattern to fabric, hate the cutting out of each individual piece. As a crafter who mainly relies on sewing as my hobby and business, this really sucks. My mom and I used to joke that she should cut out all my projects and I would do the finishing work on all of hers. I love putting that extra line of topstich in, just for sturdiness and contrast in a different color, I love that touch of hand embroidery that finishes a project, or the buttonhole being done just so. I hate the beginning, poking my fingers with pins, using my spacial reasoning aht is nigh on non-existant, rolling over the tips of my fingernails with my rotary cutter and cursing loudly at the dogs as they jostle the table.
I went to Dakota Art to buy dye today. I taked to Meg from NW Handspun Yarns, and she told me all about dyeing fabric and how she's been doing it for quite a while. She reaffirmed that I need acid dye, and where to get it. She made sure to tell me NOT to get fiber reacitve dye, and why I shouldn't, and told me where to ask and who to talk to at Dakota. When I went into Dakota, I talked to Alex's friend Dawn, who is always wonderfully nice and very very smart. I told her what Meg had told me. We talked a bit about dyeing and what she had experience with. I picked up the three primary dye basics, got the info sheet with the instructions from her, made my purchase, and left. I came home to dye the last batch what I hoped would be a nice terracotta color.
I noticed while I was dyeing that the color was staying in the pot instead of absorbing into the clothing. It looked like this:
I got online, and sure enough, I had bought the wrong kind of dye. Shit. I went back over and looked, and though they were dyed, they were not the dark color I'd been hoping for. I'll be running them through the wash on warm a couple times to make sure all the dye is out. Quite honestly, I've had more fun with the Rit Dye than the other stuff, but maybe when I get a chance to buy the CORRECT dye, I'll have more fun. The dye comes in handy when I get a blazer that is otherwise perfect except for a faded or bleached patch, or find some fabric that is mostly slavageable and a cool print and good weight that would benefit from dyeing and look cooler as an end result.
I am going to turn most of what I have into things to sell at the Buffalo show and see if "O! Fun to shop!" and "Four Stars" might want to take whatever doesn't sell. I will check it out.
so here are the rest of the pictures:
Before: This is the small pile of slips I dyed tonight...
these are the after pics with the lime green batch, right when they are rinsed and sitting for a while in a bowl of cold water and vinegar. Do you want to hazard a guess how good my kitchen has smelled the last few days?
This is a closeup of some crochet embellishments I dyed along with the slips to stitch on later. I bought a table runner for $.49 and cut it into several pieces to use in the different dyelots. It usually dyed a much different color due to being a different fabric content, and some of them came out quite cool!
Before I had the seafom ones rinsed and hung, I was trying to dry them on the rail for our backdoor. This made it difficult to move in and out of the house through that door, which made our beautiful deck inacessible.
These are the first two of the slips drying on the deck in the sun. The weather has been so beautiful, I thought it would be a crime not to use it to my advantage.
I really like this last one because it shows exactly what I was doing while these were drying that morning: Sleeping in the sun, reading a book and lounging. My deck is perfect for that, and I love the flowers in the background. My pansies are doing so well, and look so pretty with these bright colors!
Well, it's late enough that I should really sleep. I might be able to tear John away from the Wii if I get to him before he hits the next big boss fight.
Thought about you quite a bit today while walking around in the sunshine. I missed your laugh and your easy way of speaking to everyone we come across. I talked to Carly a bit on the phone about the heat, and how if she can't handle summer here, she doesn't know what we're going to do when we get to New York! We're going to sit down when she comes to visit, and hammer out some details that hopefully will let her rest easy and just enjoy the trip. I think getting some more definitives about the trip and less of an ambiguous "Well yup, we're travellin' to NEW YORK CITY!!!" might make her feel a bit more confident about the course of our visit.
I am looking forward to swimming with you in a creek and wearing some of these beautiful creations we're making! I can't wait to show you more pics later as they become completed!
For now though, I am letting the creative side of my brain rest for the night. I have 2 bags and 4 slips to do tomorrow (my daily goal on days off) so I should crash on out. I also want to see my husband in the sunshine tomorrow, and take the dogs to Lake Padden. We'll see if we can fit it all in.
I sign off sending you love and sweet frothy frilly slippy dreams.
--Opie
No comments:
Post a Comment