Sunday's eye candy

We have had quite a relaxing day today - we went down the road for breakfast, Ian has been cleaning all the gutters in readiness for more rain and I have spent quite a time cleaning up a large area of stuff. I have made a pile more of the Time to Experiment packs - these are so popular at shows and I always have plenty to make. They are always excellent value - I use either a hand-dyed flimsie or hand -dyed wool felt and add loads of wonderful hand and machine threads and stuff to each pack - first I made a heap of Indian Splendour ones

 and then Love in a Mist - I must say that this is not really my colour but Jacinta seems to love it. So some colours are her choice and others are mine - that is what you call a compromise.

 Then I sorted all the silk rods out - there are heaps in various containers and I thought it time I packed them all. We used to buy them from a supplier in Australia and they were not so attractive and Jacinta and Martien didn't like dyeing them. Now we are importing our own and they are the lovely thick ones. When the silk is spun the waste clings to a rod ( I watched it when I was in Thailand a few years back and was fascinated). You peel the rod off the rod and voila! You can use them as is or pull off the many layers and stretch them out into a wonderful textured strip - or roll them up for flowers. I know people in Brisbane enjoyed seeing the flowers I had made for my Paris shoe book and I used a little strip in my journal in yesterday's pics. Jacinta is course is dyeing them but I spray them with Starburst Sprays and am very happy with the effect - I have no intention of washing them. You can iron them flat if you want. Or make silk paper with them as they have sericen in them. Just great for all sorts of things.

 This is my big pile of hand dyed ones I need to package - tomorrow....

Grant is off sailing somewhere in Italy and has promised he will update his blog - other than that I have no idea but waiting, Grant.....