All Caught Up! The Printed Fabric Bee Architecture Theme Challenge

I'm finally all caught up with my Printed Fabric Bee fabrics! It's been a great two years of learning, stretching and making new virtual friends. I've now also had the pleasure of meeting some of my PFB buds in person! What a treat! This has been an awesome group and an awesome experience! Some of us have agreed to continue and, as I mentioned in the last post, we are coming up with a new format. All of this will start in January...so stay tuned!

I just finished the Architecture theme fabric for Deborah Boschert. The winner of the fabric collection was chosen on September 15...congrats to Nancy Roberts...I'll be sending the 6" square off to you this week.

Here's how I made the fabric...

Deborah requested blues for her fabric color. I mixed up a couple of blue transparent fabric paints and free-hand painted the background.

To give the piece a bit of texture, I slipped one of my hot glue on cardboard texture blocks under the fabric and did some brayer rubbings using a couple of blue opaque fabric paint colors.

For the architectural motifs, I researched on Pinterest and found some column and arch designs which I enlarged and traced. I then transferred the designs and carved a number of Speedy Carve print blocks. I also created some adhesive fun foam blocks in the shapes of some of the motifs. I had such a great time playing with layering that I ended up creating two pieces for Deborah.

Here's the second piece I designed for Deborah.

And here is the 6" square that will be heading Nancy's way.

This theme stymied me for a while...but I'm finally happy with my solution.

The Printed Fabric Bee Caribbean (Ocean) Giveaway

It's time, once again, for a Printed Fabric Bee Giveaway. This is the last giveaway of the year. The group is "re-grouping" and will have an exciting new series of online "how-tos" and giveaways starting in January 2016. We'll be spending more time posting on the official The Printed Fabric Bee blog. I'm really looking forward to it!

In the meantime...this month's Queen Bee is Judy Gula. Judy requested a 12" x 12" fabric with the theme Caribbean Ocean...colors were up to us. Well...you can probably see that the "ocean" part of the theme seemed to slip my mind...only the "Caribbean" part seemed to register. Fortunately, Judy is a good sport and seemed just fine with my tropical addition to her collection.

Here's how I made the fabric...

I tore strips of freezer paper and ironed them to my fabric. Then I painted between the strips, alternating colors and let the fabric dry before removing the freezer paper.

I cut a slice from a large turnip and used a cookie cutter to cut a shaped piece. I carved a design in the turnip slice with my linoleum cutters. I also cut a large carrot and carved that for the smaller motifs. You can see the final fabric at the top of this post. If you want to see some more inspiring ideas about how to print with fruit and veggies...I have an entire chapter about it in my book, Fabric Printing at Home!

Here is my 6" giveaway fabric.

And here are the giveaway fabrics for this collection so far.

To be eligible to win, leave a comment on The Printed Fabric Bee blog or on Judy Gula's blog. Judy will be announcing a winner on October 15. Good luck!!

See how the rest of the Bee members created their pieces...

Jane Davila

Jackie Lams

Carol Eaton

Leslie Jenison

Susan Purney Mark

Lisa Chin

Gerrie Congdon

Lynn Krawczyk

Deborah Boschert

Lynda Heines

Another Printed Fabric Giveaway...Architecture!

It's been a while since my last post and I have a bit of "housekeeping" to do. The Printed Fabric Bee is having another fabric giveaway. This month, Deborah Boschert was Queen Bee and her theme was Architecture...12"x 12" and all blues.

Above are the 6" giveaway fabrics so far...many more to come...including mine! If you want to be eligible to win, be sure to leave a comment on either Deborah's blog or The Printed Fabric Bee blog. She'll be picking a winner on September 15th!

I've been a busy bee myself...I'll be heading off to Cleveland, Ohio in a week and a half to tape two TV segments for Quilting Arts TV! I'm very excited....and a little bit nervous! What an honor to be asked! So...I've been spending many hours in the studio painting and printing fabric in preparation. A big box full of samples and supplies headed off to Cleveland yesterday.

Today, was the first day of my Healing Cloth workshop...I'll be posting about it tomorrow...such promise so far!

The Printed Fabric Bee Giveaway: Insects!

July's Queen Bee was Jane Davila and she requested that we Worker Bees create fabrics that incorporated insect designs.

I was inspired by my recent trip to Cape Cod. We stayed in a house in the woods...which also happened to have a wonderful ocean view (the best of both worlds). What surprised me the most was the constant fluttering that was going on in that woods...not butterflies...but moths! I'd always thought of moths as being nocturnal creatures...not so, in this case!

My moth design was based on a paper cut design I'd done a number of years ago. I reduced it down and modified it a bit. I made a tracing of the design and then transferred it to a Speedball Speedy Carve block to carve.

For the background, I found some dyed fabric in my stash. I decided to add some more texture with a hot glue block which I slipped under the fabric and then rolled over with two different paint colors. To me, the texture of the rubbings represented the pines and scrub oak.

I slipped a hot glue block under my fabric for brayer rubbings.

I then over-printed with the carved block in three different colors (see fabric at top of post). A fluttering forest design!

Here is my 6" square that is part of the monthly fabric giveaway.

And here are some of the other fabrics you can win.

To be eligible to win, visit Jane Davila's blog or The Printed Fabric Bee blog and leave a comment. Jane will be announcing a winner on August 15. Good luck!

Be sure to stop by the blogs of the other Bee members to find out how they created their fabrics.
Lynn Krawczyk
Judy Gula
Jane Davila
Lynda Heines
Deborah Boschert
Lisa Chin
Gerrie Congdon
Susan Purney Mark
Carol R. Eaton
Jackie Lams
Leslie TuckerJenison

The Printed Fabric Bee Vintage Giveaway

Detail of Vintage fabric.

It's time, once again, for another Printed Fabric Bee Giveaway! This month, Lynn Krawczyk was the Queen Bee and her theme was Vintage. I scratched my head a bit about that theme...then went through a number of possible ideas until I realized that the answer was in my grandmother's sewing basket!

I inherited Nanny Schein's sewing basket, and folks who have taken either my Story Cloth or Healing Cloth class know that I am in the process of completing a book about Nanny through the objects in the sewing basket. It occurred to me that the wonderful scissors in that basket would make a great subject for a Vintage fabric.

Here are the three pairs of scissors from the basket.

I photocopied them and then traced them.

Photocopy and tracing.

Then I transferred the designs to Speedball Speedy Carve blocks and carved them.

I chose some fabric from my stash that I'd created by printing a resist onto the fabric before painting it. I randomly printed with the carved blocks with black and Sienna brown Setacolor fabric paints.

Here is the final fabric.

And the six inch square that you can win as part of the giveaway.

Here are some of the other fabrics you can win from the other Bee members.

In order to be eligible to win this collection of Vintage fabrics, leave a comment on either Lynn's blog or The Printed Fabric Bee Facebook page (under the photo of the collection). Lynn will announce the winner on July 11. Good luck!

Be sure to stop by the blogs of the other Bee members to find out how they created their fabrics.
Judy Gula
Jane Davila
Lynda Heines
Deborah Boschert
Lisa Chin
Gerrie Congdon
Susan Purney Mark
Carol R. Eaton
Jackie Lams
Leslie TuckerJenison

The Printed Fabric Bee: Marks with Found Objects Fabric Giveaway

It's time, once again, for another Printed Fabric Bee Challenge and Giveaway! This month the Queen Bee was Leslie Tucker Jenison. Leslie requested that we print fabric "making marks with found objects". She wanted neutrals with a "pop" of color...though I think I ended up doing color with a "pop" of neutrals! This fabric design was inspired by one of the fabrics I made for the Fabric Printing at Home Scavenger Hunt.

Here's how I made my fabric...

The first layer was printed with a block made by gluing lentils to a piece of cardboard.

For the second layer, I decided to use a plastic takeout coffee top.

For the third and forth layers, I used two of my very favorite "found" objects...a milk bottle top and a "C" battery!

I thought I was finished, but then realized that the fabric needed something more. So I printed with the edge of a business card and then a piece of corrugated cardboard. I really like how that came out and plan to use that idea again. Sorry, I forgot to take photos of this step!

Here is Leslie's final fabric.

And here is the 6" square you can win by leaving a comment on either The Printed Fabric Bee blog or  The Printed Fabric Bee Facebook page under the photo of the collection.

Leslie will announce a winner on June 15. Good luck!!

Be sure to visit the blogs of the other Bee members to see how they made their fabrics:

Carol R. Eaton
Jackie Lams
Lynda Heines
Gerrie Congdon
Susan Purney Mark
Deborah Boschert
Jane Davila
Lisa Chin
Lynn Krawczyk
Leslie Jenison
Judy Gula 

The Printed Fabric Bee Geometrics Giveaway

I'm a bit behind in announcing that it's time for the monthly fabric giveaway from The Printed Fabric Bee. Gerrie Congdon was this month's Queen Bee and her fabric theme was Geometry. The above mosaic shows you the fabrics so far and the rest of us are now working away on our pieces. I plan to work on mine on Thursday and will post about it on Friday. BUT in the meantime, if you would like the opportunity to win the 6" square selections of the fabrics featured above you'll need to either stop by Gerrie's blog or The Printed Fabric Bee blog and leave a comment. Gerrie is selecting a winner on May 15th...so don't delay!

And the Winner is...

...Barbara Woods!

Congrats, Barbara! Please email me with your mailing address (threadborn@cox.net) and I'll send off the mola-inspired fabric collection from The Printed Fabric Bee.

Hope that these fabrics inspire you and that you let us know what you end up creating with them.

Mola-licious! Last chance to enter to win the giveaway!

What a treat to receive packages full of mola-licious fabrics! In case you are scratching your head, I was Queen of The Printed Fabric Bee for the month of March. My theme was molas...the colorful layered reverse applique designs created by the Kuna women of the San Blas Islands (Panama).

I've been drooling over the results! I love how the fabrics seem to complement each other...Great job Bee members!

Today is the last chance for you to leave a comment on my April 2nd post or on The Printed Fabric Bee blog, in order to have your name included in the giveaway drawing for 6" versions of these and additional fabrics. I'll be announcing the winner tomorrow. Good luck!

The Printed Fabric Bee Giveaway: Molas!

It's time, once again, for The Printed Fabric Bee Giveaway. For those of you unfamiliar with The Printed Fabric Bee, we are a group of 12 surface design enthusiasts. Each month, one member is designated the Queen. The Queen gets to select a theme and colors for her fabric collection and the rest of the members get to work. The result is an original and eclectic collection of fabrics. And since we like to spread the fun around, each month we put together a collection of 6" square versions of the fabric that you can win!


This month I was the Queen! My theme was Molas. I just love molas... a reverse applique technique developed by the Kuna Indians. I'm attracted to the symmetry, the contrast and bright colors and also the playfulness and mastery of the technique. I'm so excited to have the Bee members interpret this theme.


Now...for the giveaway...Here is what you have to do...leave a comment on this blog post or go over to The Printed Fabric Bee blog and leave one there. I'll be choosing a winner on Wednesday, April 15th (just to cheer someone up on Tax Day!). You'll have up to midnight Eastern USA time on April 14th to leave your comment.


In the meantime, stop off at each of the Bee member's blogs to find out how they created their mola fabric designs. Good luck!!!

Carol R. Eaton
Jackie Lams
Lynda Heines
Gerrie Congdon
Susan Purney Mark
Deborah Boschert
Jane Davila
Lisa Chin
Lynn Krawczyk
Leslie Jenison
Judy Gula

The Printed Fabric Bee Giveaway: Forest Floor Final Update

This month's theme is the "Forest Floor".

For those of you unfamiliar with The Printed Fabric Bee, we are a group of 12 surface design enthusiasts. Each month, one member is designated the Queen. The Queen gets to select a theme and colors for her fabric collection and the rest of the members get to work. The result is an original and eclectic collection of fabrics. And since we like to spread the fun around, each month we put together a collection of 6" square versions of the fabric that you can win!

This month's Queen Bee was Carol R. Eaton and her theme was the Forest Floor.

I decided that I wanted to work with one of my favorite kitchen resists...confectioners' sugar syrup! I love the rich, velvety marks that this resist makes. I have a great microwave recipe for this resist in my new book, Fabric Printing at Home.

I also decided that I wanted to do two layers of brayer rubbings using the resist and one of my favorite print blocks...a hot glue on cardboard block.

I slipped a hot glue block under the fabric and rolled a layer of the sugar syrup over the fabric to pick up the designs.

After the sugar syrup resist dried, I painted washes of fabric paint over the resist. After heat setting the paint, I washed out the resist and repeated the whole process with a different hot glue block design.

With the background complete, I printed with a carved Speedy Carve block with images of dandelion leaves.

See the first image in this post for the final result.

And here is the six-inch fabric square that you can win.

Here are all the fabrics (so far) that are in the giveaway this month...what a great collection!

Carol will be choosing a giveaway winner on March 15th. You can enter by either leaving a comment on Carol's blog or The Printed Fabric Bee blog under the Forest Floor 6" square giveaway mosaic. Good luck!

Visit other Bee members' blogs and find out how they created their fabrics!
Jackie Lams
Lynda Heines
Gerrie Congdon
Susan Purney Mark
Deborah Boschert
Jane Davila
Lisa Chin
Lynn Krawczyk
Leslie Jenison
Judy Gula

The Printed Fabric Bee: Old World Maps Giveaway!

It's time once again for a giveaway from The Printed Fabric Bee...the first of 2015!

This month Lisa Chin was our Queen Bee and her theme was Old World Maps. This was a tricky one for me and I'm now working on my second try. So...in the meantime, enjoy the fabrics in this mosaic and you'll be seeing my contribution soon.

For a chance to win 6" squares from the eleven worker bees, leave a comment under the mosaic at The Printed Fabric Bee blog or at Lisa Chin's blog post on the giveaway. She'll be closing comments on January 15th.

Good luck! Now it's back to the studio to tackle my fabric!

Check out the other members' fabrics:
Lynda Heines
Deborah Boschert
Jackie Lams
Carol Eaton
Lynn Krawczyk
Gerrie Congdon
Jane Davila
Leslie Jenison
Susan Purney Mark
Judy Gula

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!

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!

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