Thursday, August 13, 2009

My Creative Space - The Past, Present & Future

The Past
An unexpected gift with a simple "you'll probably need to dye it because the colour is not great. Is that OK?".

"Of course not," I replied, filled with an equal mix of love from this act of kindness, and fear of not having a clue on what is involved in dyeing. Hazy memories of tie-dyed tshirts came flooding back to me... an arty phase I was not eager to relive.




The Present

I decided to try and step outside my comfort zone and not go for black. A dark green seemed like a subtle shift in colour I could manage. But standing in the chemist - overwhelmed by all millions of little tins - I panicked and stuck with what I know (and love). So armed with my $4 tin of Ebony Black, I read and reread the instructions.... it felt like a recipe for disaster!


Maybe it was the original colour of the jumper or something I buggered up in the process, but my should-be-ebony-black jumper is now a gorgeous deep green.


I'm not at all disappointed and sort of love that the jumper took control and helped me stick to my original decision.

The Future
....to refashion this deep green jumper into a fabulous top I love to wear. I have been completely inspired by some awesome refashioning here and here. And of course here.... the post from the gorgeous unexpected gift giver that started all this craziness! Cross your fingers for me.....

Check out other spaces full of creativeness at Kooyotoo...

41 comments:

Unknown said...

I think it is just perfect..Have fun turning it into "your own".

Tammy said...

Oh nice work! Looking forward to seeing it refashioned!

Selina said...

good luck! can't wait to see the end result!

Michelle said...

I love the green! Much prettier than black (and I LOVE black). Looking forward to seeing the end result!

ELK said...

nothing could be prettier than this color...it was meant to be!

CurlyPops said...

I think the colour you ended up with is lovely. What sort of dye did you use?

kellie said...

You gotta love those unexpected turns for the better. A great adventure. Good luck with the next step.

Pippi creates said...

Nothing like leaving it to your materials to decide the outcome. Great colour. I will be interested to see what it becomes.

annamaria potamiti said...

Hey this unexpected turn of events was a total success!
Have a lovely day wearing your old-new jumper!
Annamaria

edward and lilly said...

It's gorgeous, what a great colour!

Michelle said...

I think it turned out a great colour. Can't wait to see the results of your refashioning.

Kylie said...

I love that colour! What a fabulous job :) K

june at noon said...

Now that's a happy accident. Great color. Have fun creating!

dillpickle said...

I think you're very brave! Gina is very good at enforcing creativity by gifting something and telling you to do something with it! Have fun with your refashioning adventures :-)

Cathy said...

obviously meant to be - looks fantastic (the colour)!

Kirsty said...

It's a terrific colour. I can't wait to see your refashion.

http://woollywotnots.wordpress.com said...

Well done. I've never braved dying, but I think it is something so handy to have the skills for, in order, to transform garments. Have fun!

Melanie said...

the out come was great. well done. I have never had success with dying so lucky you.

Thea said...

It is a great colour and I know dyeing knits is difficult. We used acid dyes at college but they are soooo much work and the ingredients need to be precisely weighed out.

Sandrine said...

according to my small knowledge on dying, the colour will depend on the fabric so it can turn out different even with the same dye...So happy ending as I think the colour is probably more interesting:)Looking forward to the future now:))

Holly said...

How fortuitous to get what you were after all along! I love the colour too, I'm feeling a bit over black, maybe it's because Spring is near (oh yes it is!).

Lucy Bowler said...

Aha, you got the colour you were looking for anyway! Says a lot about the strange workings of the universe!

Tania said...

You trickster you! You sounded so confident about the whole dying thing whereas all along you were as terrified as I! Well done on tackling a comfort zone. It's showing a whole heap of promise already!

Gina said...

I love the green... seems black is trying to move on and you're just beginning to take the hint!!!

I'm so thrilled that you're giving this a shot, I love that I'm forcing you to do something I"VE never attempted. Rude. But effective! Thanks for playing :-)

Wowzers, I'm late with my space today.

Bron said...

hooray!! I love a good refash - can't wait to see what you do with it!

Jennie said...

I never thought of checking the chemist for fabric dye. Will shop around next time!

Melanie said...

Dyeing is fun. And not at all scary, really. I miss it, must find some time to get a bit more done (kid free time. Hahahaha)

MooBear Designs said...

Expect the unexpected... How awesome are clutterpunks creations... I just like looking at the results of creations...so inspiring to read and look through. *Throws fist in the air* Up Cyclers United...

xo Steph

Cindy said...

How exciting - I can't wait to see what more makes it. I love the colour, can't wait to see the refashion

rachel @ teawithlucy said...

That colour is delicious!

handmaiden said...

fingers are doubly crossed! pity it did not come out blac, maybe u need 2 tins

Maria Rose said...

Looks great. You are not alone in your fear of using dyes!

frutejuce said...

I love the colour and this is from another who only wears black (and I mean only!).

Alisa : Ink Caravan said...

Hmm, dying can be so unpredictable. Black can have so many undertones, it could have turned out a muddy magenta ~ but lucky you, this green is really nice, probably nicer than if you'd actually bought a green.

Liesl said...

You know, I have the same issue when I try and make black icing for cakes - it always comes out deep green. The colour looks beautiful on your jumper (and not so authentic when you are icing Thomas The Tank Engine). Looking forward to seeing the re-fashion.

Elyse said...

how fun!

popped over to look at your cute blog header. it makes me smile!

xo

Karin van Dam said...

It turned out great. My only experience with dying some piece of clothing was 1) that top didn't turn out dark red, but some vague pinkish colour and 2) all the things I put into my washing machine after that turned pinkish too. So I decided never to dye in the washing machine anymore. Whether or not I will dare to try it another way stays to be seen..

Can't wait to see your refashioning! I love those projects. I recently turned an old t-shirt of mine into a t-shirt for my littlest one and I love it, especially because of the fact that it was a refashioning project. Very rewarding I can tell you!

Leslie said...

I love the change in color. So beautiful!

LaurieStar said...

Oooh! I super love the way it came out. I love green and it's what I like to call a "happy accident!" Awesome!
Thanks for visiting me again this week! I love hearing from all my new friends! :)

A Spoonful Of Sugar said...

Gorgeous colour! Would love to try dyeing one day.

Unknown said...

What dye are you using?
The one I am using costs $12 a packet ahhhh!
And at first go it turned out PURPLE!

I love the colour yours has gone though :)
I cannot wait to see the restyle!!

Nicky
(www.alittlebitprecious.blogspot.com)