Yard sale rescue and painting on silk

I went to a local church yard sale on Friday and found a small pile of doilies. Most had condition problems, which is not a problem for me, as I cut them up to use bits of them in CQ. (NEVER THROW AWAY A TORN OR STAINED DOILY, READERS! SEND THEM TO ME!)
Here are two examples. The colorful one was apparently made by crocheting small motifs and stitching them together in spots with sewing thread, which is a lovely idea, but it didn't stay together too well. The white doily has some grey stains on it, but the unstained individual circles are wonderful, and just a nice size at 3.5". Even the stained ones aren't completely useless, as the unstained part can be peeking out of a corner, with the edges covered by fabric patches.


Here's part of what I kept after taking them apart. The red and blue bits were really tiny and I didn't try to save them. The outer white border will have to be used by tucking the fraying inner edge under a fabric patch, but it will work the same as a strip of lace. Hey, it's handmade and it gives a new life to another artist's thrown-away work; that's recycling at its best!

Just some more painted motifs I've been playing around with. The gate is inspired by my very own garden gate, which my grandfather built in probably 1953. It was white like this at one time, but now is a lovely weathered grey, warped and well-loved (much like myself).

These two were done on commission for a wonderfully generous friend from CQ for Newbies. She loved my painted chipmunk so much that she offered to buy it AND asked if I could also do some pansies and a swan for her. I hope she'll be as pleased with them as I am by the fact that she asked for them!