Posted by Red Wolf at 4:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The dye in your blue jeans could soon be used to kill cancer cells, say scientists.

UK researchers are employing tiny gold nanoparticles, 1/5000th the thickness of a human hair, to deliver the chemical compound directly into cancer cells, tearing them apart instantly.

The common dye found in blue jeans and ballpoint pens is called phthalocyanine and is a light-activated, or photosensitive, agent with cell-destroying properties.

This has been known for at least 15 years but, until now, scientists have not been able to successfully deliver it into cells; hence there's no harm in wearing blue jeans.

Blue jean dye kills cancer cells — BBC News (via digg)

Posted by Red Wolf at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No idea if it's available in Australia, but Miles Kimball has a flexible little magnifying glass attaches right to your finger, enlarging your view for sewing, knitting, crafts, and hobby projects. If you can't get your hands on one, it should be too difficult to cobble something together from bit and bobs around the house.

Magnifying Finger Attachment — Miles KimBall (via CRAFT: blog)

Posted by Red Wolf at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Prototype Your Own Soft Toys
KnitOwl has an excellent and extensive write up on the process of prototyping your own soft toys or plushies. I like how she says to keep all your prototypes even the not perfect ones because they need homes too.

Designing soft toys to sew — KnitOwl (via CRAFT: blog)

Posted by Red Wolf at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to report of Manipur State AIDS Control Society (MACS), the number of HIV positive women in Manipur till August this year is 5323. Besides tapping their weaving skills, formation of SHGs have also provided a platform to understand each others' problem and share each moment of happiness and sorrow among the HIV infected/affected women who seem to have at also found purpose and joy of living alive.

Female HIV sufferers strive for economic emancipation — The Sangai Express

Posted by Red Wolf at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The September guest speaker was Jane Goodes from Wrap with Love.

Jane is a volunteer working for Wrap with Love. This organisation was started in late 1992 by Sonia Gidley-King OAM who was recuperating from breast cancer surgery and saw a TV program about people in Africa who had no blankets. She started knitting squares and joining them in to rugs. Over the years it has grown to 25,000 volunteers all over Australia making rugs which are then distributed through a network of aid agencies to 75 countries including Australia. Every year the ABC breakfast show hosts a knit-in with all the NSW regional stations taking part.

Jane and another volunteer brought along some beautiful examples to show us, some crocheted, one made from squares cut from an op-shop machine knitted jumper. They also had some small and large squares and odd shapes which would be difficult to fit into a blanket and would have to be undone and redone. One fun wrap was made using fringed and furry yarns plus appliquéd faces, figures and flowers.

Each wrap takes 150 hours to make, can be crocheted, knitted or quilted. The yarn can be 8 ply or any mix of finer yarns to make that weight. Spotlight recently donated $5,000 of wool and the Mongolian Embassy donated $1,000. They receive other donations of yarns and money which go into making wraps. Prue had recently put together some rugs using what they call "feral" squares which are made from assorted colours and are sent in by knitters all over NSW. Each wrap now has a label which says Wrap with love from Australia.

Posted by Prue Hill at 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As textiles age they often become more yellow in appearance. This is particularly true of white wools, Yellowing can be a sign of acidic deterioration products which originate from the wool. These by-products are water soluble. The removal of this yellowing can be desirable to prolong the life of the textile. Removal of the acidic by-products will not return the item to white. Aged fibres develop a rich, creamy patina — a sign of the textile's authenticity and age. To remove this patina would weaken the fibres and reduce the value of the item.

It is also important to note that the white cloth, which we are used to seeing, is a modern invention. "Whiter than white" is obtained by optical brighteners (these dyes glow under a black light) and they are a fairly new dye development. If an old item were to be cleaned to today's standards of whiteness, it would no longer appear authentic and its value would be lessened.

Never use commercial washing powders or bleaching products on historic items, as the optical brighteners will change the colour of your textile. Chemical residues from these products are damaging. In time, this new damage will cause yellowing and so the cycle continues.

Bleaching is either an oxidative or reductive process. Either can be extremely damaging to fibres. In fact, items have been known to turn green, if the wrong bleach is used over residues from the other process. On occasion a conservation bleaching may be recommended. There are several methods used:

Light bleaching using UV light. An item is immersed in water to absorb the excess UV to ensure no damaging rays affect it. This process requires skill and time. It is unsuitable for fibres which are weakened and may split on swelling with water.

Oxidative bleaching: The textile is exposed to dilute hydrogen peroxide in a moisture chamber under extremely controlled conditions.

Reductive bleaching: Sodium bora hydride is used to convert the damaged cellulose molecules to the pre-yellow state. This is a process, which can strengthen cellulose fibres. It is not suitable for wool or silk. It is not suitable for cotton items which cannot be immersed. Sodium bora hydride can't be bought without a special proper laboratory and shouldn't, as it can be explosive (combined with water) and very dangerous if not used properly.

I never use commercial or chlorine bleaching products. Bleaching would only be recommended if the staining on the item were detrimental to the item's appearance. Bleaching is carried out over several hours at extremely low concentrations and monitored for the entire time. Bleaching relies on a chemical reaction between the solution and the cloth and this makes the procedure unpredictable and risky.

Discuss the risks carefully with me so you can make an informed choice before exposing your precious textile to the dangers of bleaching.

Reprinted with permission of:

Victoria Gill
Conservator/Director
Endangered Heritage Pty Ltd
Shop 4 Duffy Place
PO BOX 7257
Duffy ACT 2611
P 02 6287 1291
F 02 6287 1209
M 04 1481 5436l

They have a retail line of archival products and an object conservator who works in metal ceramics glass etc. Saving valuable and sentimental heritage items from extinction because the next generation deserves the opportunity to cherish its past. www.endangeredheritage.com

Posted by Prue Hill at 3:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ralph Griswold who founded the web site with thousands of weaving drafts, www.handweaving.net has died.

Ralph's contributions to the weaving community were almost beyond measure. Though he himself never learned to weave, he brought his insatiable intellectual curiosity to the process of learning all he could about weaving, built up a large and eclectic weaving library, and leaves us with an online archive of weaving and other textile-related documents probably second to none available to any other handcraft group.

Posted by Red Wolf at 2:02 PM | Permalink

Even with a row counter it's easy with complicated patterns (or even not) to get row counting all jumbled up. Turtlegirl's got a great solution with her beaded pattern row counter.

How to Make a Pattern Row Counter — Turtlegirl's Bloggy Thing (via CRAFT: blog)

Posted by Red Wolf at 9:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chiltern will take a look at the past on Sunday with wool-spinning, barrel-making and a display of television and radio equipment from the 1960s.

The Chiltern Ironbark Festival has its biggest line-up yet this year, with new tour addition Chilternwood Studios expected to be a highlight.

Lights, camera, action at Ironbark Festival — The Border Mail

Posted by Red Wolf at 9:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is a really nice brooch made from tape measure tape by Liana Kabel.

(via CRAFT: blog)

Posted by Red Wolf at 9:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Artist Natasha Fadeeva makes almost unbearably cute stuffed animals from mohair and needle-felt.

Stuffed Animals — Natasha Fadeeva (via Neat-o-rama)

Posted by Red Wolf at 9:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you can never find the right box for your crafty gifts, why not do it yourself? Download the free PDFs and get some card stock.

Printable Boxes in Many Styles — PackageTech.com (via CRAFT: blog)

Posted by Red Wolf at 9:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cuff bracelets may be just the thing for smll amounts of handwoven fabric. bubba*tink has put together a tutorial on how to make your own.

Cuff bracelets make me drooool.....Now Wiv TUTORIAL!! yey — Craftster (via CRAFT: blog)

Posted by Red Wolf at 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wheat weaving is a lost art that has slipped through the cracks of time. When the braiding or twisting of hair came into fashion, someone also thought up the idea of softening wheat by soaking it in water so it too could be woven and twisted to create a beautiful piece to save and cherish.

Debbie Wagner, Culbertson, enjoys doing just that — wheat weaving. She creates wheat pieces instead of sending flowers in remembrance of loved ones. She also uses wheat art for wedding decorations or to send a small thank you to a friend.

Wheat weaving a lost art — Sidney Herald

Posted by Red Wolf at 9:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Knitty has a great article on techniques for repairing damaged knitwear fixes; seams coming undone, pulls, tears and holes, etc.

Repairing Knitwear — Knitty (via CRAFT: blog)

Posted by Red Wolf at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)