May 1, 2013

Handmade Color Giveaway

Last month, (whoa! how is it possible that it is May???) subscribers to the Sampler of the Month club got a skein of hand dyed perle cotton from The Occasional Purl.  Don't you love variegated threads?  I really appreciate something that changes quickly as I work, keeping me interested.  I tell myself I'll stitch until it turns yellow, then can't resist waiting until it's orange again!


In addition to the threads, The Occassional Purl also dyed two color packs of cotton fabric and embroidery floss for two lucky winners of this blog post.  

The reds are hand-dyed with Cochineal, Rose Madder, and Brazil Wood:



The yellows are hand dyed with Chamomile, Onion Skin, and Cutch:



 Which do you like better?  I'm a red girl myself, but I love that rich Onion skin color.  

As you can tell by my background for this photoshoot, I'm not one for muted colors, but I love the way these naturally dyed colors combine with brighter colors, adding contrast.  To enter to win one of these two packs, leave a comment below telling about how you would use them.  I'll pick two winners next Monday, May 6th.  Good luck!


28 comments:

  1. I'm interesting in using these beautiful materials in the books that I'm making. The colors complement my focus on Minnesota's prairies and fields!

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  3. Recently I've become inspired to use variegated thread in my projects centered on multiracial identity. I love the idea of the color changing without my choosing—a surprise of new color is much like being multiracial and expressing many identities in one person… letting people see the various colors of myself. I also use self-dyed fabric (with tea) so this thread would be a nice addition.

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  4. Love those colors.. Linda gerig

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  5. i am a big fan of variegated thread ... and i really love that it is naturally dyed .

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  6. I would make a lovely embroidery piece for my guest bedroom! I love them both!!!! <3

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  7. Ooo, they're yummy. I'd make a three square wallhanging and I'd match the same colour thread to the fabric so it was more about texture than colour.

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  8. I would love to use these to make a little embroidery piece for my aunt who just lost her mom. I want to embroider it with flowers so that she has something pretty hanging around the house to make her smile. I really love the red, but I think I could pick some bright reds and greens to go with the yellow fabric!!

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  9. I would use them with my ecoprinted fabrics.

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  10. I love variegated threads... these are more subtle than my usual choices perfect for some desert landscapes in the works

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  11. I'd stitch them together to make a book cover. Love the colors

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  12. So pretty :) Right now the paisley sampler is called to me, so I think I'd use both colours to stitch one up, and probably the fabric as some kind of pieced-border.

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  13. Oooo, I'd use them to focus on texture with my stitches. Kind of a subtle, tone-on-tone piece. I always work with so much color... focusing on texture would be a wonderful way to push myself!

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  14. I would use them on my next fabric journal page, which I'm doing as part of an art quilt challenge with a local group. Those red colours are very tempting!

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  15. well, I'm a knitter. (should I not have made that confession here???) But ever since I bought 4 (FOUR!!) of your samplers at Squam last year, I've been playing again with embroidery......I would most definitely make an embellished project bag. Depending on the sizes of the fabric...a little handquilting might come into play as well....crazy quilt styling!

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    1. Ha! I always feel a bit sheepish at Squam since I'm NOT a knitter!

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  16. I would use the thread for the Original Sampler that is in the mail and on its way here. The fabric I am not sure about - maybe another embroidery project after I learn the stitches better.

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  17. I would use them to make a bag. I love being able to carry my work around to keep looking at it and enjoying it. I adore the reds especially.

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  18. I would love to win either choice. They all look so yummy!! I would probably have to look at them for awhile before I can actualy USE them... I am thinking I might use the floss for one of my dropcloth samplers and the fabric for a finishing/border... maybe a pillow for my craft room!

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  19. I'd love to win the "red set". Part of the year I live in Oaxaca, Mexico, where there is a great historical tradition for using the dye of the cochineal parasite that grows on nopal cactus. At one point in time, Oaxaca had great wealth from importing cochineal to Europe. It is still used today for dyeing all sorts of fibers & textiles. Incorporating these red threads & fabrics, I would love to make a sampler of Zapotec designs found everywhere in Oaxaca.

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  20. I love both of the sets but my favorite is the red set because I am currently working on an art quilt that is red black and white. I would use them to stitch around the patterns of the base cloth which I monoprinted.

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  21. I am about to start embroidering a large peacock with flowers. I think the red colors for the background/flowers would really make the blues and greens of the peacock pop!

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  22. I love the yellows! They look as if they would fit right into a project I am working on (in my head, so far). A friend is a very talented artist who revisions classic superheroes. He has several prints and is gaining some followers in the geek community. I want to take one of his prints and embroider it as a gift.

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  23. very beautiful!
    i would perhaps make a simple scarf with running stitch that i saw instructions for on "design sponge." thanks for the chance!

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  24. I'd love to use these in one of your monthly samplers. Thanks for the chance to win! -Vanessa

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  25. I have a birthday embroidery for my mom that I've been working on for a while, I'd love some variagation in there! She loves stuff like that. Thanks for the giveaway!!

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  26. I think I am a bit too late for the competition but I am thinking of a rather lewd composition of a naked woman in a rose garden! if you have any thread left let me know!

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