Studio Weekend

This weekend some of my students came to my home studio to have a bit of a messy time. Graded dyeing, silk painting and batik were among some of the techniques we explored.

My husband had bought me a wax pot for my birthday and this was the perfect opportunity to try it out

Lots of wonderful experimenting going on

Transfer paints with a stitched resist. I love the mottled background.

Bleach effects on hand dyed fabric and velvet.

Silk painting and salt effects

Folded and pegged fabric it looks like a tiled floor. I am very pleased with this one.

Tray dyeing before rinsing out.  The colours will be paler when it is dried.

Stacks of dyed fabric to take home.

Jenny's silk painting

Sarah's 

And Jan's

I am looking forward to our next lesson to see how the dyed fabric has turned out.

Bev

A Colourful Week

Well again it is Friday and the week has flown by. 

I did graded dyeing with the level 1 City & Guilds students which makes me want to do more and more. I love the different shades that can be achieved with just one dye bath. 

This is this weeks results and I already have itchy fingers to print, stencil or screen print. 

At the Beginners patchwork class at Tudor Rose, several students had finished their quilt tops. This meant a busy day layering up, pinning and basting 5 quilts. It is great to see so many reaching this stage. 

The level 1 City & Guilds class also came to and end and I now look forward to getting these students through the final stage to completion. The new course will be starting in September.

Along with changes planned in my studio space it looks like it will be a busy summer and I will share the developments with you over the next few months. Getting quotes from builders is taking more time than I thought it would though.

Now, with such a rainy day and listening to the thunder rolling round, it is back to the sketchbook as I am working on a series of foundation pieced patterns. All will be revealed soon.

Bev

Finally back in the Studio

I seem to have had a few days playing with transfer paints, which has been wonderful as I have been away from being creative for far too long. As you will have noticed from the lack of blogging.

It started on Saturday when I ran a mini workshop for my branch of the Embroiderers' Guild using transfer paints and appliqué. 

Now to finish the appliqué and add some embroidery for a fun cushion workshop. I auditioned the shapes againt different backgrounds and photogtraphed them to help me choose between them. I find that If I take photographs and distance myself from the work helps me. 

Tuesdays meeting of Calico was more ways with transfer paints.
I decided to experiment with using items as a resist. Some were slightly problematical as I melted the nylon lace onto the fabric. Luckily it peeled off but something I must take more care with in the future.

Bev

The Pencil Museum

The Summer is nearly over and there certainly is a slight snap in the air. Things have been busy on the home front with sorting out some of the clutter accumulated over many years. There has also been time to catch up with family further afield. Being from the Lake District I do miss the mountains and I can feel myself relax when I catch sight of them. The weather was beautiful and there's no better place to be than Keswick, for me anyway.

Every time I go back 'home' the town has changed. We seem to play spot the new shop. It is almost a relief when the new shops are not more outdoor clothing. There is a lovely new interior shop called Poets Interiors which is in the old dining room of the Royal Oak Hotel. The wonderful listed stained glass windows with portraits of Lake poets and some of their verse makes this shop unique. 

Another first for me this trip, was that we had time to visit the Pencil Museum. The factory is long gone but the museum is on part of the factory site. There is a feeling of nostalgia in this visit, as my mother was a book keeper at the pencil factory and the managers secretary at the Royal Oak Hotel. 

The story behind pencil making is fascinating and I hadn't realised what goes into something that I take quite for granted. The science behind the production of accurate colours, makes this humble everyday item something really special.

Derwent Pencils

One of my favourite Derwent Pencil products has to be the Inktense Range and I was lucky to be given this wonderful set last Christmas. They are vibrant water soluble ink pencils. The full depth of colour is not revealed until water has been added. They can be also be used on fabric.

This is a idea sample for a fan. The leaves are applied and then trapunto quilted for a 3D effect. I used the Inktense pencils to add shading to the plain green fabric. 
Lots of potential for this art material I feel.

Bev

Blue John Block #2

Colour choices and dyeing

Going back to my source picture I cut out small squares of different colours which I then tried to reproduce using water colours. This was the preparation for dyeing fabrics for the Blue John quilt.

Using tray dyeing and procion dyes from Art Van Go on polycotton  I created some wonderfully textured fabrics.

This is the grey, blue and purple palette, and the warmer yellow, orange and browns

I had in mind  terrazzo floor tiles and marble for this quilt so didn't want uniform colours

More design ideas using the 6 piece block. Not quite what I am looking for yet.

Bev

  

Thinking Time

This week I have been thinking, preparing, designing, more thinking, and a bit of sampling. 

I have mentioned the working title of the piece I am thinking about in earlier posts.

Bluebells and Blossoms

Will it be a quilt, or an embroidery? I still don't know. 

This planning stage is always what takes me the longest time. 

I have tray dyed some fabric which I think will make the background to the piece. I think I will dye some darker browns and greens this week. 

I love how unpredictable this way of dyeing is. The results can be very dramatic.

I am starting to think about the background and how I will piece the sections. 

When I have a few more blocks constructed I will have a play on my design wall to create the background for the appliqué and embroidery.

Happy Bank Holiday

Bev

Fun with Ironing

A photo blog today.

Ironing is not my favourite past time but I've just had a great hour with disperse dyed papers creating some fabrics for a workshop idea that is currently in my head.

Have a good weekend

Bev

I have been asked how I did them so for those who are interested.

Papers were painted with the disperse dyes.

Poly cotton fabric scrunched and folded ( use baking parchment or greaseproof paper sandwich  to prevent dye transferring to your iron or board)

painted paper, when dry placed painted side down onto the fabric. Greaseproof on top and dry iron to transfer the dye.

Unscrunch, rescrunch and repeat with another coloured paper until you get the effect you want.

Have fun

Bev