And this week it's dyeing

Have been having such a good time playing with Myfanwy Hart's dyeing technique. It actually works. Have a look ...

Camera doesn't do justice to the colours. I've overdyed some samples to get the colour I wanted - in effect using the old watercolour painting technique of putting a coloured "wash" over the whole thing to lift it.

Dyeing is the sort of thing I like to do when I can't settle to anything else. Delia Smith roasts a chicken - I get out the rubber gloves!

This week I have mostly been ......PRINTING

All thermofax screens supplied by Ineke Berlyn.

Ammonite - fabric paint on scrap of furnishing fabric contrasts with discharged sample on some shibori'd cotton.

A stylised leaf discharge printed on green cotton.

Dutch lace screen suggests moorish architecture and Indian cloth - or is that just me? I used discharge paste (Jacquard is ready-mixed), then overdyed with a light red commercial dye.

You might be able to detect scraps of the lace pattern in my creature bag - see
March 14 blog.

Below - I used the same screen on a really boring brown checked fabric, along with a few dollops of bleach. This is a close-up.

The one that got away

When I was clearing up, found this little scrap. I just couldn't find aplace for it on my bag. I'm learning that you can't use all your ideas and you end up rejecting more ideas than you use.

Creature bag

Finished at last! What a big fuss over a little creature bag. Remember the fluffy interior from way back? Here's some snaps of the finished article ....

Below - the "feathery" side - the bag is not meant to resemble a creature but has echoes of feathers / tracks / claws - the base fabric for the outer is a heavy cotton sateen that was a beast to sew .... and below it a close up

Below the reverse side - surface stitching resembling cells and also slashes and scarring ... and close ups below main pic

Below- both sides are the same. Again, use of net which feels rough, and jagged shapes which say, "Don't mess with me."

I tried to form a contrast between the downy inner and the leathery, scarred, spiky outer.

Musical tastes differ BUT ...... if you like bands like Elbow, you will love the new EP by local band Silhouettes. There's a gorgeous video on i-tunes called "Paint me as you see me" and this alone is worth a look.

PS. I am working furiously to finish off Modules 2 and 3 and am indeed back on track after my time in the wilderness. Oh, it's nice to be back.

Obama bag and other stuff

Where was I? Oh, you're still there. Good. We've had some work done on the computer (thanks, Dennis) and I've finally got round to uploading my pics of the "Obama" bag I made for a friend of a friend who lives in the US and worked on Obama's campaign. The central panel is a discharged themofax screen print of the president's inauguration speech. Many thanks to Ineke Berlyn for the loan of the screen.

I wasn't 100% pleased with the bag and it took me far longer to make than it need have done but it's over the pond with its new owner now and I'm told it has attracted a great deal of interest!

Workbox article

We're in Workbox magazine! Well - Distant Stitch gets a big mention and some pics (including your necklace, Daniela) courtesy of Maggie Grey. It's in an article on web-based learning.

Please visit crafts4allseasons.co.uk for THICK felt suitable for bags/3D items, plus the biggest colour range of both wool and acrylic felt I have ever seen! They're about to start stocking bamboo felt which is so SOFT and comes in lot of lovely subtle shades. Fab quality.