Wednesday, January 11, 2012

pretty pins and a clarification about the iron dye


I've gotten a good start at organizing my embroidery floss.  It's taking a bit longer than I thought, but I keep telling myself that it will be worth the effort.



At any rate, they look pretty lined up on my table.


A few of you had asked about the greying solution I used on the pins, so I thought I'd clarify just a bit.
I take an old jar and fill it with about 1 1/2 cups of white vinegar and add a pad of steel wool.  I used 000 steel wool, but I suspect you could use any grade, or even other steel objects like nails.  I let my solution sit for 24 hours, remove the steel wool, and use this solution to paint on the wood.  The solution you saw in yesterday's post has been around a while and it is quite rusty.  A new solution will still be clear, not rusty and scary like mine.  Be sure to use a jar that you don't mind getting covered in rust.

I dunked the clothespins in the solution, shaking the jar until they were fully coated, then removed them to dry.  After they dried, I rinsed them well with water and dried them again.  You'll get different effects depending on the type of wood you use, and you can also choose to water down your solution for a more subtle effect.  It's good fun.

Hope that helps.  Happy Tuesday!

19 comments:

Mitsy / ArtMind said...

Lisa, I'm in LOVE with your pins and emboidery floss. I'm very colorsensitive and seeing these pretty colors just makes me happy. :)

Colette said...

Thank you for that. I should be doing course work but love seeing your posts. The pegs do look really good, well worth the effort.

We have brilo pads in the uk, soap filled steel wool pads, wonder if they would work the same or if the soap will react with the vinegar.

Thank you for such a lovely and inspiring blog.
x

Katie said...

I don't know how I haven't been following your blog! Love these photos and your blog. Off to check out your shop,too. :)

Els said...

Aaaaaah Lisa, I LOVE this colourful display (me being a "rainbow person" ;-) .....)
All the best for a colourful and creative 2012 !

Dame De Coeur said...

merci !!!j'adore l'effet est maintenant j'ai la recette !!simple mais super chouette!!

Wear Your Wild said...

Man Lisa! I wish I could come play at your house. I read the post yesterday. Today's visuals are amazing. Thanks for clarifying the directions. I'll have to try this sometimes.
Happy New Year. xo

Craftysquirrel said...

Right - I am off to find some wooden clothes pegs - love love love this idea and it looks even better with lots of them together.

Julie Clay Illustration said...

Those pegs looks so neat and sweet, it's inspiring in itself. I keep meaning to tidy, but I'm so busy, things are just piling up and up.....They'll find me buried in my workroom one of these days!

Allisunny S. said...

All of those colors have me salivating as though they were candies!! Well done!

xo,
Allison

Scrapiana said...

Simply beautiful! Thank you, thank you for sharing that much-needed burst of colour (and subtle grey pins!).

Valerie said...

I must look at yesterday's post, but am so loving these lovely mess of colors on the pins, and the organization! You have listed a beautiful recipe for aging your pins. I wonder if it helps make it so the wood doesn't tarnish the floss over time?
x, Val

Unknown said...

A beautiful way to get organized.
And the spring holds the loose thread at the end.
I think I will use a sharpie to write the dmc# on the wooden pin. I hate the paper wrappers in my thread box (like they are much help once separated from the thread!)

Thanks!

Lisa Gatz said...

Thanks for the clarification! I was really wondering about that. Your pins look fabulous!

Anonymous said...

Definitely worth it! Much prettier than my steel shower ring solution to the floss problem. I've considered a wooden solution too but don't think I'd have space for clothespins. Perhaps I'll need to get my little hand saw out again :)
I love your wood agin solution, fantastic!

joanie said...

Hmmm, don't know why my comment just posted as anon, I must have misclicked, it was me!

Margie Oomen said...

are you going to be hanging them on your kitchen wall next to the fleece rainbow

Brittany said...

Goal: Organize my studio in such a way as to be this beautiful. I love the iron dyeing technique! It definitely would have bothered me to have such new clothespins next to the perfectly weathered ones. Don't worry, you're not alone :)

Oltreverso said...

Thank's for this raimbow! It's very nice!
Paola

Lora said...

I've just finished making a batch of love birds for valentines day, and I like to sew clothes pins to the bottom so they can be clipped to branches, baskets, nests, or whatever. Now I have beautiful aged clothespins. Mine didn't get as dark as yours, but they are perfect for my project. I also aged a thrift store embroidery hoop that I plan to use as a frame for a in process project. Is this technique where the term pickled wood originated? It smelled like I was making pickles, so I'm guessing must be related...

As always, thanks for your great blog. I missed chance to comment on what I'd like to see. Just more of the same. Exactly what you have given us is exactly what I'd like to see.

Lora

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