Slowly. . .

I'm getting back to 'normal' after ten days away from work and my other routines.  Today I've been playing some in the studio.  I got the edges zigzagged around this little piece I finished while I was in Florida--

I knew I'd need something to work on while I was there, so I threw together this little piece figuring I'd do the handwork.  Call it a sample or test piece for my 12 by 12 group for 'Prairie'- it's loosely based on a photo of prairie grasses.  The 12 by 12 piece will be similar, with different fabrics.  And it won't be hand embroidered!  I'll use this one in a demo for my Surface Design group meeting in November on how to mount and mat small fiber pieces.

A new product came up on a couple of my fiber lists- Decolourant Plus.  I saw an ad for it from Quilting Arts online, I think, and it piqued my curiosity.  When list members were offered a free sample to try, I jumped on it.  First I tried it on two notoriously difficult colors to discharge- turquoise and fuschia.  Here's the results-

This was an already-quilted sample.  I applied the Decolourant with a foam roller using a light touch, I didn't want it in the 'valleys' created by the quilting.  The bottom part is with just the Decolourant, the top part is with the Decolourant Plus, which adds a color in addition to discharging the fabric.  I got a Deep Purple color.  I rather like how that looks, I'm not too crazy about the discharge with just the Decolourant on turquoise.  Here's a closer up look at that--

Then I tried both of them on a scrap of fuschia fabric, using a thermofax screen and a stamp.  I like the effect on the fuschia better--

You can definitely see the discharge effect on the flip side of the purple.  I for one like being able to deposit a specific color if I want, I think I will be trying this some more.

A couple of people have done this just with sunlight.  We don't have any of that right now, it has been cloudy and rainy all week.  So I now have two different black fabrics with Decolourant on them, sitting under a heat lamp.  If nothing else, it will dry it quicker- and maybe I'll luck out and it will discharge too.

On a not-fabric related note- I think I mentioned recently that I've finally joined the bandwagon and bought myself an iPod.  It's turning out that I don't listen to music much on it, but I do lots of other things!  I found a free app called 'Lose it' that a number of reviews said was very helpful for losing weight.  It's nothing but a food diary and database of calorie and nutrient counts, but it's amazing the difference it can make when you track that.  One week into it, and I've lost a pound and a half.  I'm taking this slow and easy, and not making huge changes to the way I eat anyway.  I guess I'm lucky in that I don't much like junk or fast foods, and I love fresh fruits and veggies.  We'll see, but I'm hopeful I can keep this up and be at my goal weight next March.

And now I'm off to try something I've sworn for years I'd never do- knit socks!  Judy convinced me that it is fun, it can be done without double pointed needles (which I hate)- so I got some yarn and size 3 circular needles.  First step is to figure out the toe-up cast-on- you'll know my progress (or lack thereof) later this weekend!