Wash... and go!

Following on from the previous post...

This morning I was so happy to have found several pieces of fabric, which I bought way (way!) back when and which have been M.I.A. for a few years. Someone had stashed them in a black plastic garbage bag, right at the back of the attic.















I'm very happy to see these fabrics again, and they couldn't have showed up at a more perfect moment, as most of them are either white or cream (like the piece of raw silk fabric in the image above), and this is a new - and terribley uncharacteristic - direction that I'm moving in at the moment. Pale!

Anyway, having been stashed up there for years, they all needed to be washed, and so I set to work, with my super-dooper, state-of-the-arts twin tub! While I was waiting for the wash to finish, I started to notice some amazing patterns happening in the machine! Quick... grab the camera! Here are a few of my favourite snaps:

























































It's like roses... and clouds... and whipped cream with blueberries! It's like this old thing...















... a cloud study I did a couple of years back in oil on paper, and that I got mad with and threw away.

After a while, the water was looking pretty grungy, and when it was draining I snapped these:

























































And what I wanted to show you was how the last image...



















... makes a traditional five-patch square like this...



















... into something new and exciting!

How do you like that spin?

You see, inspiration really can come from just about anywhere!!!

Added 10th February: Check out this!

New... Summer/Autumn 2010

In the past 24 hours I've been stitching and thinking... tearing, and cutting... stitching and thinking... blah, blah, blah.

Now, you get to have a very early sneak preview of what I'm working on for the bainbridge & houseberg lines for Summer/Autumn 2010.

That's right, Summer/Autumn! Because I think they go better together. As do Winter/Spring.















You recognize this, right? The little leaf stamped cloth, but now embroidered. Same-color-on-same-color, I love that, as I've mentioned in previous posts.

So, this is the value of play. When I started playing, I wasn't planning that the soft pale cloth, of still no name, would be anything. I was just doodling with stitches, fabric paint and recycled cotton cloth. But you know how, something miraculous happens... a little shift... a faint glimmer.... and if you can capture that, it all falls into place, unforced. That's what happened! Of course... there are many hours of sweat and tears involved, before one reaches that moment. ;}



















So I took it all apart again. Lost that Wheatear stitched bit, that was becoming so problematic for me, (but don't worry, I haven't thrown it away, it always pays to stash stuff like that for a rainy day). Last night, I started working with this gorgeous scrap of chocolate and natural, printed linen, of which there is hardly any, and so I've been saving for "something special".



















I think this is it! ❥ A chikankari and dessert inspired piece! ❥ I'm being serious! You never know where inspiration can fall from.

I can't tell you how happy I'm feeling today!

I also want to share this because I enjoyed finding it and I think you will too. And, to give a warm welcome to the blogging community to a special lady called Tao, who is an amazing chef, and a neighbor of mine, here on the Osa Peninsula. Happy blogging Tao! :)