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Issue: July-August 2008

Welcome . . .

to the July - August newsletter. I totally missed July (almost), so I am combining this issue to cover it all.

Summer is flying by - it's hard to believe that August is almost here. Soon we will be sending children back to school and raking leaves. Where does the time go?

There are still so many things going on here. My days are very hectic but should settle a bit once the first of August goes by. I am looking forward to getting ready for Fall rug hooking classes and to have a little more time to hook things for myself.

I hope your summer has been a fun and safe one, without terrible weather issues. My concerns turn this month to my hooking friends in Texas where they experienced a hurricane this past week. Prayers are offered for everyone's safety and well-being.

quick links

Quick Links are links to other websites that I think you will find useful and interesting. Places that are fun to explore, articles that are interesting to read, and people I just love!

Early American Life magazine & Yankee Peddler Festival

Early American Life magazine has invited me to demonstrate my fiber art in their booth at the Yankee Peddler Festival on September 14th. Come to Clay Park in Canal Fulton OH and see me! I'll have hooked rugs, needle punch and needle felting on display and for sale. I will demonstrate rug hooking and needle felting throughout the day.

Paula Burch's Dye Lessons

You'll find some fun examples and instructions on all sorts of dyeing methods here. Have some fun and learn!

Bags & Totes

Hey needle punchers! Are you looking for some cool bags or totes that you can overdye and use to embellish with your needle punched pieces? Check out the variety at Dharma Trading.com

Wool Dying - the natural way

As I tend to my flower beds these dog days of summer, I am reminded of the possibilities of reaping plant materials to use as natural dyes for rug hooking wool, as well as yarns, threads, and silk. Natural dyes are safer than most chemical or synthetic dyes, which is an issue for some. Natural dyeing is also a way to further use what nature has provided the gardener. If you make dye harvesting a routine part of your gardening, you will constantly have dye available, without ordering all those little packets of chemical dyes.

Even though I have not planted flowers specifically with the idea of using them for dyeing purposes, it seems I do have quite a few that can be used: black-eyed Susan, clematis, hibiscus, ivy, lamb's ear, lily, mint, pansy, peony, rhododendron, sage, and a few more. There are many plants (even grass) that you can use to create natural dyes for wool.  You can also find natural dye materials in the grocery store!

This method of dyeing can be so much fun, especially if you are the experimental type. It can be difficult to exactly reproduce a color, so you must be willing to accept it as a inexact method. But my, it can be fun! And natural dyeing is steeped in the roots of traditional rug hooking; it was the way of our foremothers, and can help us feel closer to the origins of the craft.

If I have intrigued you, I highly recommend the book, The Complete Natural Dyeing Guide by Marie Sugar, and published by Rug Hooking Magazine. It is currently out of print, but it can still be found online.

If you choose to give this a try, email and share your experiences in natural dyeing with me - I'd love to hear from you!

Save Your Pennies

Did you think I was going to leave you hanging without a dye recipe? Not a chance. You say you don't have a green thumb, and don't want to mess with plant materials for dyeing? Well, you don't have to . . . believe it or not, Uncle Sam has provided something that we can use to dye our wool a beautiful grey-blue color - pennies! Yes, pennies! Light fastness of this dye recipe is excellent! Give it a try . . .

You'll need about 250 pennies, ammonia, vinegar, but no mordant (a plus!). Gather your usual wool dyeing tools and pots. Soak the wool in tepid water for about 30 minutes before you start.

1. Place about 250 old or new pennies into a large pot of tap water, and then add 1 cup of ammonia.

2. Add 1/2-yard wet wool, and then stir.

3. Put a tight-fitting lid on the pot and place it in the garage or basement (or somewhere that you'll not be bothered by the smell.)

4. Stir the wool daily and watch the wool color develop; each day, the color will intensify a little. The longer the wool sits in the pot, the darker it will become.

5. When you like the color, prepare another large pot of water and add 1 cup of vinegar. Rinse the wool in this mixture; the vinegar will help set the color and remove the ammonia smell from the wool.

6. Place the wool in your washer with about 1 teaspoon of baby shampoo and wash on warm wash/cool rinse setting.

7. Dry the wool in the dryer with a fabric softener sheet and a bath towel to fluff it up. Remove as soon as it is dry. Now hook something beautiful with your wool.

Subscribers: Do you have a favorite website or shop you'd like to share with everyone? Send me the link in an email and I will share related information in a future Quick Links column.

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Antique Stain Your Punch Needle Projects

To achieve a stained, antique look for your completed punch needle projects, give this simple stain a whirl. The results will be a moderate stain; you might wish to practice on a test piece first, and then you can adjust your solution if you want the dye darker or lighter.

What You Need:

• tea solution for an orange-ish-pink stain= 1/3 cup hot water mixed with 1 heaping teaspoon instant tea granules

or

• coffee solution (older looking brown stain)=1/3 cup hot water mixed with 1 heaping teaspoon instant coffee

• stiff bristle brush

• household iron

• cookie sheet or other suitable work surface

• terry towel

• hair dryer

1. Place steam-ironed punched needle work face up on an old cookie sheet or another suitable work surface that will catch the tea solution.
    

2. Using an old stiff bristle paint brush, apply your stain to the fabric and even the floss areas of your piece. Keep in mind that the stain will look darker when it is wet, and appear lighter as it dries.

3. Place finished piece on an old terry towel and dry it with a hair dryer to heat set the stain.  Add more stain solution to deepen the stain if you want it darker all over or just in certain spots. Finish drying the piece on a cookie sheet in a slow oven, or allow it to air dry overnight.

That's it for now . . . I hope you have some happy dyeing in the days to come!

Sally

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Sally Van Nuys          Amherst Folk Art & Rug Hooking      141 Woodhill Drive     Amherst, OH 44001         440-984-3486 Home Studio

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