Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Stitching and Printed Fabric Bee Article


I've been working on two decorative wall hangings for an upcoming class at Artistic Artifacts called, Fabric Printing at Home: A Kitchen Sampler. Both of the fabrics for these hangings were made for the recycling chapter in my book. I like the folk art motifs and thought that they'd be fun as wall pieces.


I've been stitching the butterflies (or are they moths? Not sure yet!). I'm still on the fence about how I want to do them. I was using some French knots on the wing spots but now I'm not sure if they overwhelm the subtleties of the printing. On this one, I'm focusing on using tiny running stitches just to see if I like that better. It feels great to be stitching!


I also wanted to mention some exciting news! Lynn Krawczyk, one of the co-founders of The Printed Fabric Bee has written an article about the group in the December 2014/January 2015 Quilting Arts Magazine called, Finding Your Artistic Voice. It's a great article about working as part of a group that has a common interest (surface design), and how it's a great opportunity to be challenged and to grow. Hope you pick up a copy and read it!

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Searching for Roy G Biv III: Brown Update #4


We're continuing beyond the rainbow with BROWN this month.

Here are my selection of BROWNS...

Skidaway Island, Georgia trees...


and mud!



A jellyfish from Tybee Island, Georgia.


 Mushrooms from Maine.


Bark cloth from San Francisco



Bricks at Fort Sumter (South Carolina)


Ice Cream from Charleston, South Carolina.


Where did you find BROWN this month? To join in the fun, post up to five BROWN photos on  your blog and leave a comment here or on Jennifer Coyne Qudeen's blog. We'll link back to your post for a colorful blog hop! You have up to Saturday the 22nd at midnight (Eastern USA time) to post. Can't wait to see what you find!

Sharmon Davidson got into a truly BROWN spirit this month. Love the cairn and altar.

Maya at Million Little Stitches has lots of found BROWN...especially love the Fashion Institute sign!

Jennifer has a bit of wonderful BROWN this and that...I love that close up of the underside of a mushroom!

Mary Ann at Blue Sky Dreaming has spectacular desert BROWNS!

Barbara at Salt Air and Pistachios has a rich variety of BROWNS.

Jill at Recycled Daze has nature walk BROWNS.

Lisa at arzigoglare has scrumptious BROWNS...I'm still wiping the drool from my lips! 

Margaret at Charleton Stitcher has some wonderful BROWNS from her travels and nearby her home.

 

And here are Joan's BROWN contributions this month!

Curious chipmunk.

Thermal springs at Yellowstone National Park.

Brown bear.



The fun continues for the final month of this year's Search with a blogger's choice on Thursday, December 18.






Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Itchin' to Stitch and Roy Reminder


After seeing what students were working on my Story Cloth class, I found myself itchin' to stitch!


I first decided to finish the second of two reversible placemats with a hand stitched border. I have one of these featured in my upcoming book, Fabric Printing at Home. I incised recycled foam to create the designs.

Detail

Next, I decided to get a start on my own story cloth! I printed the butterfly (or moth?) design (see above) also as a book sample (another recyclable!). I think some hand stitching on the butterflies will add a bit of punch to the piece. Because the butterflies were flying off the edges of the fabric, I decided to add some border strips. Usually, I add these at the end but I'm planning to stitch a bit on the borders as well. I want to use this piece for a sample for a class I'll be teaching at Artistic Artifacts on January 31 and February 1 called, Fabric Printing at Home: A Kitchen Sampler.

Needles from Papillon Creative's Etsy shop.

One of the reasons I got so itchy, was these new needles! One of my students, Barbara Mathews-Cieleszky, has a wonderful online shop called, Papillon Creative. She brought these lovely needles and some beautiful threads to class...and we all went on a little shopping spree! The needles are made by a French company and they are so superior to what you can get at the local craft store. I especially love the applique needles...so strong and sharp...you just want to sew with them!!!

Barbara also has some other lovely hand goods and craft supplies in her Etsy shop.

And now for the reminder....Roy is coming on Thursday!!! For those of you unfamiliar with Roy, he's a very colorful fellow! Of course, I'm talking about Roy G Biv, (the colors of the rainbow), and our monthly blog hop. We're a bit beyond the rainbow now and this month's color is BROWN. This Thursday, November 20, post up to five BROWN photos on your blog and leave a comment here or on Jennifer Coyne Qudeen's blog and we will link to your blog post. It's lots of fun so hope you join in this month!!


Thursday, November 13, 2014

Story Cloth Wrap Up

Ann Z.: Seasons Mandala

 Last night, was the final class of the Fall session of  Fabric Painting, Printing and Stitching to Tell a Story with Cloth (aka Story Cloth). I'm excited to share the progress of these storytellers!

Alice H. experimenting with Running Stitch.
Alice H.
Amy L.: Dragon.
Amy L.: Sheep.
Amy L.: Horses
Amy S.
Amy S.: Folded, painted and printed fabric.
Barbara M-C.: Caravan.
Barbara M-C.: Detail.
Barbara M-C.: Detail.
Barbara M-C.: Protection cloth (created between the Spring and Fall sessions).
Judy M.: Gelatin print.
Judy M.: Gelatin print.
Mel C.: Bird and flower.
Mel C.: "Seeds" (French knots) and couched twine.
Pam D.: Women.
Susan P.: Ancients.
Susan P.: Ancients and symbols.
Susan P.: Vast Forever (Created between Spring and Fall sessions)
Susan P.: Vast Forever detail.
I'm looking forward to a Story Cloth get together in a few months to see how the stories turn out. I thoroughly enjoyed working with this fabulous group of creative women! Thanks for a GREAT class!!!

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

And the Pre-Order Fabric Giveaway Winner Is....

...Beth Latture!

Congrats Beth. You're the winner of these four fat quarter fabrics!


 Thanks to all of you who participated in the Pre-order Giveaway for, Fabric Printing at Home.


There will be more giveaways and events along the way...so stay tuned!

I also wanted to mention a wonderful review of my book by fabulous fiber artist Gerrie Congdon! Gerrie is a member of The Printed Fabric Bee and astounds me each month with her fabric designs. Thanks, Gerrie!


Saturday, November 8, 2014

Last Days of the Giveaway

Here are the four fat quarters you could win!

Just a reminder that we are in the last days of the pre-order giveaway for Fabric Printing at Home.

The giveaway ends at midnight on Monday, November 10.

Just a refresher (and a quick one!):

If you'd like to get a personalized signed bookplate and a chance to win some nifty fat quarter hand painted and printed fabrics, do the following:

Go to your favorite online bookseller and pre-order Fabric Printing at Home. Send your proof of purchase to fabricprintingathome@gmail.com and let me know that you want to be in the giveaway. Provide a mailing address too so I can send you your goodies! I'll be sure to email you back to let you know that I received your information.

I'll be choosing the winner of the fabric giveaway on Tuesday, November 11.

If you already pre-ordered a copy of the book (prior to knowing about the giveaway) you are still eligible. Just send an email with the proof of purchase and you're as good as gold!

Thanks!

Thursday, November 6, 2014

OMG...I'm an Author!!!


 IT'S HERE!!

My advance copy of Fabric Printing at Home...

Here are some first photos of my new "baby"...





It's been a dream of mine for such a long time...now it's a reality (even though it still feels a little unreal! :) )

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

The Printed Fabric Bee Science Giveaway

My contribution this month: Petri dishes!

I'm a few days late in completing the fabric for the Printed Fabric Bee this month. The Queen this month was Jackie Lams and her theme was science.

I had to ponder the theme for a while. I finally settled on the idea of petri dishes.

Here's how I made the fabric:

I started out by using the interior diameter of a masking tape roll as a template for the petri dishes. I first drew the circles with a disappearing marker and then went back over the circles with a Pigma pen.


 I painted the interiors of the circles with diluted fuchsia Pebeo Setacolor Transparent fabric paint.


I then painted the areas surrounding the circles with a combination of violet and ultramarine Pebeo Setacolor Transparen fabric paints.


While the paint was still wet, I sprinkled kosher salt and ice melt into the fuchsia circles.


After the fabric dried, I brushed off the salt (which textured the paint) and heat set the fabric paint. I then washed and dried the fabric, before printing the cardboard block designs.

The print blocks were made out of circular pieces of cardboard. I created the designs with a hot glue gun. I wanted them to look like the bacteria and molds that might be grown in a petri dish.

I printed with black Pebeo Setacolor Opaque fabric paint.

After the printed designs dried, I decided that I wanted the background color to be darker so I ended up painting it a couple of more times.


Each month, in addition to making a fabric for the Queen, each member of the bee also makes a 6" version to be part of a fabric giveaway. Here's my contribution.


And here are the rest of the fabrics for the giveaway.


You may have noticed that we have some new members! Now you can win eleven fabric squares!

To enter the giveaway leave a comment at The Printed Fabric Bee blog. The winner will be chosen on November 17. Good luck!

Here are the blogs of other Bee members. Check them out and learn how each member made her fabric:
Deborah Boschert
Lisa Chin
Gerrie Congdon 
Jane Davila
Carol R. Eaton
Judy Gula
Lynda Heines
Leslie Tucker Jenison
Lynn Krawczyk
Jackie Lams
Susan Purney Mark