Ok, so I had to do it again!

I had to do some more screen print. Since I only have the one thermofax screen it is the same, just a different color way.

Again I used a piece of fabric that I over dyed. You can see the original design in the picture below. It was cream base with a leaf pattern. This light aqua dye didn't cover the leaves as much as the other one. I let the screen go off the edge on to the cover fabric on the board that I use.

I used the flower screen and the 5 colors of paint. I let the paint dry between colors. It looks like the other piece from yesterday. I wash the screen after eash color. This time I was a little rough with it and ruined it after the last washing. So No more printing with this screen. I probably will buy it again. I have some ideas that I want to used on. I am really happy with both, this and the one from yesterday. I probably will make a bag or some sort. I think that the fabric will still look good when it is cut up.

I Had to have some creative time

I just had to do something fun today. Amid the packing and storing stuff, I needed a break. So, I produced this.

I had taken a screen printing with thermofax screens class a couple of weekends ago and bought a screen and some paint from Lynn, the instructor. Check her out here. I went to Joann's and bought some more paint a couple of days later.

I just repeated the print with different colors paint. It was great fun and a great release to do something creative. It is also on a piece of my hand dyed fabric.

I let the prints dry between colors so it didn't have to worry about messing up what I had printed. I watched a new QA workshop that I got online today on screen printing while the printing dried.

Very nice workshop. I hope to apply a lot of her techniques to my work. I really enjoyed this. I also found her on YouTube and watched a couple of videos before I bought this one. I tried a couple to things that didn't work out. So I went back to what I know that worked. Discharge. I got out a stencil of a dragonfly and my Comet and a foam roller and went to town on a piece of my hand dyed.

I will probably add something else to it later. Paint stick rubbings or rubbings with stamps or maybe some more silk screen printing. This was fun also.

New Clothes

With my new skills with discharge and paint sticks I took some old clothes and made them new.

First a Jean Skirt. First I have lost 30 lbs, so I fit into it again. Actually it is too big. What a problem to have huh! I have several stencils and used a nice large one on the front and then a small one in the lower left corner. I also put one on the bottom in the back by the slit. I put the stencil on the skirt and used a foam roller that I rolled in to Comet Gel with bleach. It is nice and thick. I rolled it over the stencil making sure I got all the parts and then let it sit for 10 minutes or so. I did the same with the others.

Then I tried a Jacket that was part of a summer dress outfit. The Jacket fits really nice now. So I did some discharge with stamps. I also used a variety of items, stamps and rubbing plates with the Shiva Paint Sticks.

Front

Back

It turned out really nice. Both items were great to wear and show off stuff that I have made.

Shades of Blue

I tried a Navy study yesterday. I made 8 dye pots. Added Navy dye, 1/64, 1/32/ 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 1 1/2 teaspoons of dye into the containers. I added 24 oz of water. I wanted them to be more solid and less mottled, so I made the mix larger. I added a 1/4 yard of cotton presoaked in a soda ash mix. I left them in the dye pots for 2 hours, just got busy doing other stuff.

Here are the 8 pieces still wet. I made a cut into each piece to help me remember the order because when they dry the colors will be different. One cut for the first color, 2 cuts for the 2nd one, etc.

 Then they are dry and folded. Nice shades of blue.

I plan on making a table runner with them. The lesson for this weeks online class is on graduated colors like this navy. So I am ahead of the game here. But more dying this week.

Best Present Ever

I got home from work today and found a box on my porch with the best Birthday present ever. It was full of the above things. A fat quarter bundle of 8 dark solids, A fat quarter bundle of 7 cute prints, A fat quarter bundle of 8 flannel solids, A fat quarter roll of 14 prints, 3 rubbing plates, and 7 quilting art workshop videos. WOW. Thanks Marianne. I will put all to good use.

I am off to the American Sewing Expo in Novi tomorrow. Pam, Sandy and I have signed up for a paint stick class, with Laura Murray. Two hours of rubbing on fabric. I am looking forward to it. Also the other great stuff that we get to look at during the show.  Great girls day.

Another Pillow

Another cute pillow from scraps. I have made a couple others with this same fabric. I have been able to practice my quilting. I am still just using straight quilting. I am using the Pfaff, it has a built in walking foot. I just did straight lines through the blocks and that made an X in each square.

The back is just angled lines. The pillow is roughly 15" square. I used a 16" pillow form. I have found that I need to make the pillow smaller than the form. Go Figure. But it works. I overlapped the backs about 3-4 inches. It turned out really nice.

Additions to the herd

This is the Current Herd. It was a Girls day last Saturday so went to the guild meeting and shopping afterwards.

I found additions to the herd. A Cute Ram, and a couple of alpaca's. 

Here they are out in the pasture. We do have room for 3 more animals. I will be on the lookout to add to the herd later.

Also found this cute mug.

And this Sheep to hang up by the studio door. I need to get a hanger.