Daredevil or stupid?

Hiya.  I know I've made some of you cringe before, but this may top them all.  When I coffee stained my old light sage Aida Santas, I was happy with the change.  My first attempt and I got a little sloppy with the stain.  Just as with inkpad aging, a light touch with a brush gives more control.  I either dabbed or sprayed the coffee and made somewhat of a mess.  I'm still practicing with the inkpad and found that the first contact is very dark so I touch the brush to a scrap piece one time after swiping the inkpad and it works better for me.  It also came off for me with the stamp cleaner but needs to be washed or dabbed with a little soap so the cleaner doesn't leave a mark.  Getting complicated isn't it?  Well think about this!  Clorox!  Yep.  Here they are before...

And here they are after...

 

I did the whole group and although I love aging (not my own - my stitchery), I like to see contrast of light threads, especially on Santa.

 

Here's what I did.  Using a Q-tip, I lightly moistened the end, pulled the tip, cut off the excess, and rolled the fuzz for a tight end.   By not having a lot of cotton on the tip, it can't hold much liquid, and I had more control with it narrower. Then I dipped it in straight bleach, not enough to have it sopping wet, just touched it to the small amount I poured into the bottle's cap.  Very gently and lightly, went over the stitches.   Since they are raised from the fabric and the cotton tip is moistened, not dripping wet, the bleach didn't touch the fabric or spread to other threads.  I even used a toothpick that was dipped to touch the top of the stitch in areas like these..

I can see in this photo that I didn't get all the stitches.  They are so close to the fabric color that I missed them, but they're fine.  The cuffs and hems which contain reds and greens in these designs, did not change.  The tip needs to be twisted to tighten often so no stray fuzz touches anywhere else. I almost made a large error by not realizing that the bleach was on my fingertips every time I twisted.  But I caught that before I made any finger spots on the pieces.  So there you go.  Another reckless maneuver that came out well!

I had planned on stitching them again on linen but they were my first Santas, and are a reminder to the days when it was all new to me.  I've decided to hang them with all the others, including my recent finishes, one one tree instead of scattered on several.  That's tomorrow.  Being a reckless daredevil wore me out.

 

Thanks for visiting!!