Saturday, February 11, 2017

My Tapestry Is Not White Anymore!

I have decided that my white tapestry (you can see it here) has been out in The Elements long enough.
I went out and took it out of the flower pot it has been resting in recently - maybe not resting, maybe it was developing.

Anyway, today seems like a good day to have a look at it and see if I think it might be possible to put it in the exhibition. I suspect it may not look that good but who knows?

 Here is it in the flower pot. Note that it is under the hollyhock plant and the flowers do really fall on and near it. Then I help it along by putting the ones that miss the pot into the pot. It has built up quite a layer over the last few weeks.

 You can just see the edges and small patches of the tapestry. Two of the edges have curled up, not sure why.

 This is the back. I shouldn't have been surprised to see wildlife living on it but I was! Now they are all safely back in the pot, back under the layer of rotting flowers. 
 This is the disgusting-looking underneath of the flowers, which was in close contact with the tapestry.
 The top, definitely not white anymore. 
Wonder what it will look like when/if I rinse it. 
I will leave it out in the sun for a while to let it totally dry (the underneath was actually damp) and then decide if just brushing it will be enough or if I need to wash it out. 


 I put the flowers back to protect the creatures that were living under the blanket of flowers. 
 The back seems lighter.  
Note the pretty purple warp yarns. Wonder if they will survive washing. 

2 comments:

theregatha said...

Very exciting. Did you use different threads? I am curious if there is a distinct shading difference one you wash the piece, depending on texture and fibre differences

Mary said...

Hi theregatha, Yes, I used two different threads. One is of a mix of whites from the Australian Tapestry Workshop. Those threads are all wool. Then I used some novelty, textured thread that I have had for ages. I am not sure what it is made of, so can't tell if it is all natural fibres or not. But it has not taken on the colour as strongly.