Celebration of Textiles!

Star fruit, limes,  and corn.

Yesterday was my first teaching event of a five-weekends-in-a-row teaching marathon!

Lots of activity at my printing hands-on.

I was at Celebration of Textiles, the annual event at The Textile Museum where fiber is the focus. There are demos of fiber techniques including needle felting (by my friend, Erika Cleveland--who makes incredible felt dolls and sculptures), weaving, knitting, quilting and spinning. This year, there was also African dancing and music (which I only heard). There was also my hands-on where folks could hand print a bandana using veggies and fruit, craft foam stamps and textures.

Some of the fruits and veggies for printing.

The hands-on was definitely a hit! We started with at least 100 blank color bandanas and used them all. I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all the helpful volunteers and especially to my great friend, Laura Freeman. Laura was the perfect person to help out since she is a pre-school teacher (very organized and patient!). The crazy wind gust were our only challenge...which I'm assuming had to do with hurricane Hermine.

Here is a selection of the printed bandanas. It was really interesting to see families interacting and in some cases the results were a group effort.

I had to laugh at one sweet little toddler who managed to paint more of himself than his bandana!

And leave it to kids to come up with some fabulous painted designs...

One young boy walked away wearing his bandana as a super hero cape....Perfect!

Day #7: Fabric Printing at Home Scavenger Hunt Update #3

Today is Day #7 of the Fabric Printing at Home Scavenger Hunt. It's time to reveal your Texture Prints!

But first, let me reveal how I made the Texture Prints from yesterday's post:

1. Broccoli
2. Thumbtacks stuck in corrugated cardboard
3. Bubblewrap
4. Lentils glued to cardboard
5. Strips of corrugated cardboard rolled and glued to cardboard
6. Rolled paper cut into cross-sections and glued to cardboard
7. Household sponge

How many did you guess correctly?

The winner of yesterday's giveaway is Karla Koerber...congrats! You just won two Detailer Writers that you can use for drawing/writing with paint or resists. Please send me your mailing information (threadborn@gmail.com) so I can send them off to you.

Now that you've seen some of my ideas for texture, I hope that you'll join in the fun and try your hand at printing some kitchen textures! Just print your textures on fabric or paper, take a photo and post to your blog or Facebook page. Leave a comment on this blog post with a link to your post. I'll continue to update this post throughout today so that we enjoy sharing our prints. If you don't have a blog or Facebook page, send me an email with your printed texture photo(s) and I'll post them here for you.

REMEMBER that taking part in any one of the Printing Challenges makes you eligible to win the Grand Prize of four great books from Quarry (including Fabric Printing at Home)! You can also continue to contribute to any of the previous Printing Challenges (Circle Prints and Line Prints).

If you'd like a few printing pointers, you can visit the most recent issue of Julie B Booth Surface Design News.

Texture Prints Challenge
Thanks for participating in this third of five printing challenges! (I'll be updating the links as they come in.)

Karla Koerber has a wonderful album of kitchen textures...looks like she had great fun with this printing challenge!

Deb B. has a great step-by-step using her texture blocks...some really lively results!

Sue and Elizabeth of PGFiber2Art printed their selection of textures on dyed Color Catchers. A new product for me to explore!!

Now for the next Challenge:
Challenge #4: Find items in your kitchen to create Rubbings on fabric or paper.
Please post your Rubbings on Thursday, May 7th. Leave a comment on my blog post on that day with a link to your prints.

HINT: The easiest description of a Rubbing is to slip a flat texture, texture block or objects under your fabric and then roll a layer of paint over the top to pick up the designs/textures from below. You can also use paint or dye sticks, crayons or pencils to do rubbings. I'll have a short tutorial tomorrow on Rubbings.


I often like to use a Rubbing as a first layer on my printed fabrics. Rubbings can also be great fun to do with resists...

Brayer rubbing using confectioners' sugar resist.

Here is a fabric I made by slipping a cardboard block with hot glue designs under the fabric and rolling over it with confectioners' sugar resist. You can find out more about Rubbings and Resists in Chapter 6: Irresistible: Fabric Resists Using Kitchen Ingredients in my book, Fabric Printing at Home.


Don't forget tomorrow is the next Guessing Game and Giveaway Challenge...don't miss your chance to win a prize! All you have to do tomorrow is leave a comment!!

Day #5: Fabric Printing at Home Scavenger Hunt Update #4

It's Day #5 of the Fabric Printing at Home Scavenger Hunt. Hope you've been working away on some Line Prints...today is reveal day! In case you're just stopping by, feel free to join in on this Printing Challenge #2...all you have to do is find objects/materials in your home (especially the kitchen!) that will print lines, print with the object(s) on fabric or paper, take a photo of your print and post it. Leave a comment on this post and I'll link to your post (be it on your blog or Facebook). For some ideas, you can see the Line Prints that I posted yesterday. I am also leaving the Printing Challenge #1 (Circle Prints) open for those of you who would like to participate in that challenge.

If you don't have a blog or Facebook page...please feel free to email me your photos (threadborn@gmail.com) and I'll post them here for you.

Remember that you have to participate in at least one of the Printing Challenges in order to be eligible for the Grand Prize Giveaway of four great books from Quarry (including Fabric Printing at Home!).

I'm also letting the Guessing Game and Giveaway Challenge run through today. If you'd like the chance to win a Linoleum Carving Tool Set, please leave a comment here. Take a guess at what I used to create my Line Prints. You're eligible to win even if you don't guess (but do try!) as long as you leave a comment.

Line Prints Challenge
Thanks for participating in this second of five printing challenges! (I'll be updating the links as they come in.)

Lynn Krawczyk (the fabulous!) has printed her colorful lines using coffee stirrers (seems appropriate :) ). She has a super step-by-step too!

Karla Korber has some line prints on her Facebook page. I love the color combos...very light and airy!

Deb B. is having lots of fun with her Gelli Plate and printing lines. She jumped off from Lynn K.'s idea and used popsicle sticks. Love the results!

Elizabeth at PGFiber2Art found some innovative ways to use kitchen items to create lines on fabric. Take a look!

Now for the next Challenge:
Challenge #3: Find items in your kitchen that will print textures.
Please post your Texture Prints on Tuesday, May 5th. Leave a comment on my blog post on that day with a link to your prints.

If you want to know some fabric printing basics, click here to read the latest issue of Julie B Booth Surface Design News.

HINT: Texture can be found in the veggie bin and the pantry! In Chapter 3: Beyond the Potato Print: Using Vegetables and Fruit to Create Fabric Designs in my book, Fabric Printing at Home, I talk able how to use some vegetables such as cabbage to create overall background textures. Don't forget that you can also glue small items to cardboard too! And, of course there are the obvious textures such as shelf liner (Chapter 2: Kitchen Textures and Found Object Printing).

Cabbage prints.

For a more thorough discussion about what reads as texture, take a look at my post from the Fabric Printing at Home Blog Tour in February.

Looking forward to seeing your Texture Prints on May 5th! Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for the next Guessing Game and Giveaway Challenge!!!

 

Day #13: Fabric Printing at Home Blog Tour

It's Day #13 of the Fabric Printing at Home Blog Tour...it could be your lucky day (just had to say that since it's also Friday the 13th!)! Today the Tour heads over to visit Terri Stegmiller's blog. Terri loves to create artwork featuring birds, flowers, cats and girls. She also has a line of stencil and thermofax designs.

Terri is a mixed-media artist and designer from North Dakota, USA. She enjoys creating art quilts that feature layers of design, color and whimsy. Her favorite quilt subjects include girls, cats, flowers and birds. Terri also enjoys creating her own fabrics with original designs and has a line of stencils available through StencilGirl Products (stencilgirlproducts.com).  Terri's work has appeared in several books and publications and her quilts have appeared in several international exhibits. You can see more of Terri's work on the Internet at www.terristegmiller.com and stegart.blogspot.com
  
Be sure to stop by Terri's blog today and leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Fabric Printing at Home. Terri also has three gorgeous hand-printed fabrics that she'll be giving away to a second lucky winner!

Reading Texture
I've been contemplating what we "read" as texture when looking at a multi-layered (painted/printed) piece of fabric. I define texture as an overall background effect that sets off the other more dominant elements in the design. Texture can be "obvious" for example, when printing with a block covered with lentils (see Lynda Heines blog post or Texture Squared pp.34-43 in Fabric Printing at Home) or rolling an ear of corn across the fabric (see Lynn Krawczyk's blog post or Creating Background Textures with Vegetables pp.50-53 in Fabric Printing at Home). A combination of repetition of shapes and the small scale of the individual elements contribute to us viewing these prints as texture.

But can other types of blocks "read" as texture and if so, what causes us to see them as texture? Here are some thoughts (and some fabric samples!).

Scale: The typical texture block often has small-scale elements that when printed give an overall textural effect. Larger designs can imitate this small-scale feel if the design is broken up or comprised of a number of smaller elements.

Fabric printed with incised foam block. The concentric circle designs in the large round foam block give an overall effect that "reads" as texture.

Color blending: If the printed design is the same color as the background fabric or slightly lighter, darker, warmer or cooler than the background color, it will blend and "read" as texture.

Fabric printed with incised foam blocks. The larger block is a slightly darker green than the color of the background fabric and "reads" as a texture.

Color contrast: If the focal/dominant elements of the fabric design strongly contrast with the background print, the background print will read as a texture.

Fabric printed with incised foam blocks. The black focal prints contrast sharply with the pale blue prints of the larger block. The block printed in the pale blue "reads" as a texture in this piece.

Repetition: If a print is repeated across a piece of fabric, it can often "read" as texture.

Fabric printed with fruit. The repeating prints with cantaloupe rind "read" as texture.

Overlapping prints: Print designs or parts of designs that overlap can appear as texture (see Cheryl Sleboda's blog post about printing with a carrot).

Fabric printed with a string block. Overlapping prints using a block wrapped with string "read" as texture.

Of course, most of the time, the qualities that make a print appear as a background texture don't appear singly. For example, color contrast and color blending can appear in the same piece of fabric.

How do you use texture in your work? Do you have a favorite method/technique for bringing texture into your work (printing, stitching, beading...?)? How does the addition of texture enhance your work?

Learn about incised foam designs in Chapter 5: Recycled and Repurposed  pp. 90-91
Learn about printing with fruit in Chapter 3: Beyond the Potato Print p. 57.
Learn about printing with string blocks in Chapter 2: Kitchen Textures and Found Object Printing pp. 36-37. All in Fabric Printing at Home!

Today's giveaway is one yard of Kona Prepared for Dyeing Fabric. Leave a comment for a chance to win. I will choose a winner at 11:00 PM Eastern USA time. Check tomorrow's post to see if you are the winner. Your comment also enters you in the final drawing at noon on February 15 for a free copy of Fabric Printing at Home: Quick and Easy Fabric Design Using Fresh Produce and Found Objects.

 And now for the winner of yesterday's giveaway (one yd of Kona PFD)...congratulations to Marcia Coling! Please email me with your contact information (threadborn@cox.net) so I can send off your prize.

Tomorrow is the last day of the tour. Our final stop is  Jackie Lams blog. Jackie is an amazing mixed media and graphic artist.  She finds much inspiration from her growing family (yay Baby Q.!) Find out more about her in tomorrow's post.

Be sure to visit all the stops on the Tour. Please note, I've added the deadlines to enter the giveaways at each stop:
 
February 2 (winner will be chosen on Feb 14): Lisa Chin 
February 3 (winner will be chosen noon Feb 15-book and stencils!): Lynn Krawczyk
February 4 (winner will be chosen end of Feb 13): Jane Davila 

February 5 (winner will be chosen on Feb 14): Carol R. Eaton

February 6 (winner will be chosen end of Feb 13- 2 book copies!): Judy Gula 

February 7(winner: Deb Clarke): Susan Purney Mark 

February 8 (winner will be chosen on Feb 15): Teri Lucas 

February 9 (winner will be chosen on Feb14): Jennifer Coyne Qudeen 

February 10 (winner will be chosen on Feb 17): Deborah Boschert 

February 11 (winner will be chosen on Feb 14- 2 book copies!): Lynda Heines 

February 12 (winner will be chosen 5PM on Feb 16): Cheryl Sleboda 

February 13 (winner will be chosen on Feb 15- book and fabric!): Terri Stegmiller 

February 14: Jackie Lams

Into the Woods (with The Printed Fabric Bee)

Yesterday afternoon I locked myself in the studio...I was determined to get Carol Eaton's woodlands fabric done!

I decided to go in a different direction than my original plan. I'd been working on Carol's fabric over the weekend and it was just not jelling (or is it gelling? blue glue gel joke :)) I was working with layers of blue glue gel and paint but it was just too much and not reminding me of woodlands of ANY kind.

I stepped back and went simple. I painted a light brown background and then pulled out one of my favorite texture blocks made out of broken spaghetti.

I printed with white paint to represent this unending winter.

Next, I used two stencils cut from freezer paper. I originally used these stencils for printing a theme fabric about my grandmother's garden. I chose what I considered to be early spring colors.

I added a few painted details.

Above is the final fabric. I rather like it!

Six-inch giveaway fabric

If you'd like a six-inch square of this fabric along with eight other lovely woodland-themed fabrics, don't forget to go to either Carol R. Eaton's or The Printed Fabric Bee's blog and leave a comment. The drawing is April 12th.

Textures Week

Turning these textures into fabric designs

This week I'm working on the Kitchen Textures and Found Objects chapter of my upcoming book, Fabric Printing at Home. I'm down in the studio carving, printing, painting and stenciling. Above is part of my kitchen texture stash.

Detail of one of my attempts at Textured Materials.

As usual, I'm being too much of a perfectionist. Three attempts at a sampler for the Textured Materials section of the chapter. Fortunately, I'll probably be able to use two of the fabric pieces--one for the sampler and the other for a beauty shot or on the cover.

Back to work!

More Black & White: Texture Samplers

 The next issue of Julie B Booth Surface Design News is coming out tomorrow. Usually, it's an early morning release, but will more likely be an early afternoon release tomorrow. This gives those of you interested in signing up a bit more time!

Spaghetti block print

The focus this month is on kitchen textures, which I'm calling Textures Time Three. You will learn how to make two different types of print blocks and then learn some different ways to print those blocks. I created a number of samplers before moving on to do some color fabrics (which you can see in the newsletter).

Spaghetti and almonds

I hope you will consider signing up. It's easy. Just add your email to the sign up in the right hand column of this blog. You can also read the past issues by clicking on the Past Newsletter Issues under the Newsletter Archives.

I'm off to work. Sunday could be interesting here in the Mid-Atlantic. Frankenstorm is coming!