Winter Scarves

The chilly weather is definitely creeping in! I always love the turning of the seasons and seeing the changing colours of leaves, even the way the air feels in the morning brings a sense of excitement, like something new is coming.... a new season!

I've adapted my range accordingly with these silky merino knit scarves. They're soft, warm, durable and easy to wear. And they were my most popular item at the recent NEW CRAFT @ Queen Victoria Market. 

I'll be back there again with more scarves next Sunday (and in fact the 1st Sunday of every month till the end of the year)

Hope to see you there!

PS. By the way, you can now follow me for a behind the scenes peek on Instagram @ ahomefortandy

...... as well as FaceBook, Twitter and Pinterest

Happy Easter!

Easter weekend is always a lovely time to involve the little ones in the family in some Easter related activities, and this year we spent time with my sister who's family now includes a four year old and a new born. As well as home-made hot cross buns and an Easter egg hunt, we tried our hands at decorating eggs. These coloured and patterned eggs, dyed in onion skins and garden leaves are a natural alternative to the usual blue and pink food dyed versions I remember doing as a kid. (I'm not sure Master Four was as enthralled through the entire process as I was!)

This is India Flint's method as described in her inspiring book Eco Colour.

I do hope you've all enjoyed some Easter family time too.

A few simple ingredients.

Wrapped up, ready for the dye bath.

The lovely results!

Lots to report...

The good woman herself, India Flint.

Beautiful bundles emerging from the dye bath.

My silky merino dress dyed with eucalyptus, beetroot and assorted leaves.

Dress detail.

Of course the internet goes down when I'm bursting with news! Anyway, we're back in 2014 so let me update you....

First of all, I attended a three day eco-dyeing workshop with India Flint, the guru of the technique on which I base all my work these days.  India has a very practical and good humoured approach to her work and embraces the beauty in imperfection. That said, everything she produces looks like perfection to me! She had us designing, hand-stitching and dyeing a garment of our own using a gorgeous silk/merino knit fabric which I've since stocked up on and used in my recent dyeing sessions. Needless to say, I emerged with a head full of ideas and inspiration, plus a new dress to add to my wardrobe!

It all happened just in time for my first market which happened today. Craft Victoria has curated a market to be held at the Queen Victoria Markets, Melbourne on the first Sunday of every month. Today was a great success for A Home For Tandy in so many ways. It was lovely to chat to the public (i.e not just my friends!) and gauge their reaction to my work. Many had great suggestions and positive feedback and I feel I'm on my way to building a presence in the hand-made market place.

Another big plus was collecting a mailing list to which I can send my new quarterly newsletter. This will include all  A Home For Tandy's news as well as interesting information about eco-dyeing etc. If you'd like to be added to the mailing list, simply send an email to info@ahomefortandy.com. I look forward to hearing from you!