News on the fiber-front is still a bit sketchy, altho I am currently entertaining HOPE! The thing I want to share today is a new opportunity for marketing art/fiber/craft in the wide, wide world of commerce.
The project is called Art Fire, and it's a new avenue for art marketing. It's just getting started, but I believe it has some tremendous potential for artisans (and for buyers, as well!). I signed up as a verified seller, which has certain advantages, such as number of photos per item, stats options, etc. The cost to be "verified" is normally $20/month, but for the first 5000 members the cost for LIFE is only $7/month. Basic members do not pay the $7-or-$20, so that might be an option to explore, as well. I chose the verified route, since I believe there is value in the simple act of investing in my business - not everything has to be or even should be free!
Here is a link for any of you who might like to explore the Art Fire opportunity. You'll notice that my PrairieArtscape user ID will show up on your join link. If you're willing, please leave it there, as I might be able to get a benefit from your signing up under my ID this week (not holding out a LOT of hope, there, but what the heck!).
Register on ArtFire.com
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 will mark my last day of the current job insanity - at that point, I'll be down to just one job like normal people. And my hope is that after that date, I may be able to use one or two half-days per week for ME and my fiber addiction. Well, as I said, I am currently entertaining HOPE! Meantime, I'm slowly moving some of my Etsy Wares over to Art Fire, and thinking about how I would like to develop my business in 2009. Stay tuned - might be some ideas for you, or at the very least, a long list of what to NOT do!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Time to Earn My Keep.............
......... by actually posting something useful on my blog. From time to time, I share my directions for constructing a little portable design wall. Eileen emailed to see if I could provide a picture of my creation, so I decided to add it to my blog, and I won't have to keep eternally typing it everytime the topic presents itself. I don't think the whole idea came from ME, but this is actually my version of the little set-up. The thing I like about this little "wall" is that I can roll it around, and use it next to a printing table to pin up printed fabric to dry, or bring it alongside my cutting board to assemble a fiber piece - it can go almost wherever I go - at least on the second floor. It has not yet mastered the stairs.
Here are the picures for the "wall", side view[upper] front view [lower]
And now the directions:
Materials needed:
1 rolling clothes rack (Wal-mart, $12-ish)
2 sheets of pink foam insulation 4'X8', 1.5" to 2" thick
Enough flannel to cover the sheets of foam on one side, wrapping to back side
Pins or Tape
My flannel came from Wal-Mart as well [I was already in the store, after all!] - 60" width buy enough to cover your foam.
Decide how tall you'd like your "wall" to be - take into account the ceilings it will encounter, as well as any doorways you will want to roll in and out of easily. Other things can be taken into consideration, also. You can see that my "walls" are only 5' high, and I could have had another 8-10" and still get through my doorway. BUT If I'd left that extra foot or so on the "wall", I couldn't have used the resluting 3'X4" pieces of foam for a couple of nifty print table surfaces, so I made my choice (besides, I have a full 8 ft design wall right in my sewing room).
And I digress..... so back to the instructions. Lay one of your flannel pieces on the floor and put the foam on top. OR lay the foam on the floor and put the flannel on top. Either way, get those two together. Smooth the flannel over the foam surface, then pull the edge of the flannel around to the back and pin it into the foam (or tape will work ok, too - I used pins. Pin it all around, and then do the same thing with the other piece of foam and piece of flannel.
Assemble the clothes rack - basically just a snap-together job. Set one flannel/foam board on one side of that little castor base and one on the other side, flannels facing out. You may be done at this point, if you feel happy with how they hug the rack. OR you can provide a little extra security by taking a couple of small strips of fabric and pinning one side of each into each pieces of foam at the top, to keep them from tipping forward. It's up to you - if you aren't going to be doing coat rack races with your rig, you may not need the fabric strips. I have them on mine, just in case.
That's the whole recipe. When I covered my boards, I used black for one side and white for the other. You could use acrylic felt also, probably, or quilt batting - whatever works for you. And now, what works for ME is to go find something to get rid of these *!#@! hiccups!!! It's hard to type anything sensible with my head bobbing every 5 seconds!
Here are the picures for the "wall", side view[upper] front view [lower]
And now the directions:
Materials needed:
1 rolling clothes rack (Wal-mart, $12-ish)
2 sheets of pink foam insulation 4'X8', 1.5" to 2" thick
Enough flannel to cover the sheets of foam on one side, wrapping to back side
Pins or Tape
My flannel came from Wal-Mart as well [I was already in the store, after all!] - 60" width buy enough to cover your foam.
Decide how tall you'd like your "wall" to be - take into account the ceilings it will encounter, as well as any doorways you will want to roll in and out of easily. Other things can be taken into consideration, also. You can see that my "walls" are only 5' high, and I could have had another 8-10" and still get through my doorway. BUT If I'd left that extra foot or so on the "wall", I couldn't have used the resluting 3'X4" pieces of foam for a couple of nifty print table surfaces, so I made my choice (besides, I have a full 8 ft design wall right in my sewing room).
And I digress..... so back to the instructions. Lay one of your flannel pieces on the floor and put the foam on top. OR lay the foam on the floor and put the flannel on top. Either way, get those two together. Smooth the flannel over the foam surface, then pull the edge of the flannel around to the back and pin it into the foam (or tape will work ok, too - I used pins. Pin it all around, and then do the same thing with the other piece of foam and piece of flannel.
Assemble the clothes rack - basically just a snap-together job. Set one flannel/foam board on one side of that little castor base and one on the other side, flannels facing out. You may be done at this point, if you feel happy with how they hug the rack. OR you can provide a little extra security by taking a couple of small strips of fabric and pinning one side of each into each pieces of foam at the top, to keep them from tipping forward. It's up to you - if you aren't going to be doing coat rack races with your rig, you may not need the fabric strips. I have them on mine, just in case.
That's the whole recipe. When I covered my boards, I used black for one side and white for the other. You could use acrylic felt also, probably, or quilt batting - whatever works for you. And now, what works for ME is to go find something to get rid of these *!#@! hiccups!!! It's hard to type anything sensible with my head bobbing every 5 seconds!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Deconstructed Discharge
OK - I've been working at getting some dsp discharge images up for a while now, and I finally have some ready to go. The images below are made from a screen I had made with stretcher bars, window sheers and duck tape. The screen area is about 11"X19", to give you an idea of the scale. [these are the specs on this first set of images]
My process: After constructing the screen, I went around the edges of the opening with soywax, applying it in a feather-in to soften the hard edges of the tap. The edge becomes irregular, similar to torn paper. I then selected some dried bromegrass and other plant material (finer grasses) and laid them out on newspaper; put the screen on top and lay a thick bead of clear alginate paste on the top of the screen, squeegeeing it down over the grass. Let it set up for a few minutes, squeegeed on more; let it set, then turn it over; most of the grass sticks to the screen at this point, but whatever comes off can be placed back on the screen.
This is not an exact process - what I'm after here is texture more than image. So I let the screen dry upside down, checking it and pressing the grass back whenever it started to buckle and lose contact with the paste. When it was dry, I peeled off the grass and the preprint was done. I was doing a smaller grass screen at the same time, btw. It was accomplished the same as the big one, but has about 8"x8" opening, and the grass was all the finer stuff, no brome. After preprint, the screens sat and waited for me for several days - amazingly, the cats left them alone!
Fast forward to Sunday [when I'd called in sick @ work!]. Well, there is "sick" and then there is SICK. I was "sick" - queasy tummy, but still functioning. I had [much earlier - several weeks] dyed two halves of a cotton thrift-store sheet explicitly to use fo r this technique/experiment, so I pinned the sheet onto my printboard. I positioned the large screen on top of 2-3 fresh grass springs, laid down a generous bead of Jaquard discharge paste, and squeegeed it; moved the screen, making sure to overlap the edges, squeegeed again. I repeated this until I was happy with the effect I could see from the wet on the cloth, then I stopped with the big screen. Repeated the same thing with the little screen. I let them dry [mostly], and then brought out a steam iron - I was doing all this outdoors - in the back yard so no one could see how "sick" I really was!
As I started to steam, the images became more and more evident. I really like what came out of the project. These first photos are the larger screen - please excuse the glare of light from the camera:
The first [at left] is a long shot of most of what I printed with the large screen. The dyed fabric was a bronze/eggplant dye combo [one of my fave color combos!] The other two photos are detail shots of the line of print. The top right is at the left side of the print, the lower detail is toward the right end of it. I absolutely love the texture of the grass.
Here is a single photo of the smaller screen - I just printed a row with this one, as well. I think it would work perhaps to print a row with the small screen, then come back and print the large one on top of it [or vice-versa] - any opinions on that?
And finally, I had previously drawn a little screen [9"x11"-ish] using elmer's glue gel a few weeks back, so I brought it out and pulled discharge paste over it in a sort of linear orentation. When I made the screen, I was freehanding, so the "repeat" on the pattern is a little wonky, but I don't think it turned out too badly:
The original image is one whole stem, with two half-stems at the edge of the screen. This screen was NOT soft-edged as the leaves one was. I think my little border is nicely solid - this is "most" of the border. there are a couple more sprigs on the ends. This piece has not yet been washed, so I will cry real tears if that beautiful gold all turns white [and then I'll dry my tears and dunk it in a gold dyebath!].
I also dsp'd a couple of dye screens, but I have to admit - I'm really loving the dsp discharge right now, so the dye may have to wait until I get some of this grass stuff out of my system! Warning: Please try this at home!! As for me, I have the other half of that sheet ready to go, and will be working on another piece in the near future!
My process: After constructing the screen, I went around the edges of the opening with soywax, applying it in a feather-in to soften the hard edges of the tap. The edge becomes irregular, similar to torn paper. I then selected some dried bromegrass and other plant material (finer grasses) and laid them out on newspaper; put the screen on top and lay a thick bead of clear alginate paste on the top of the screen, squeegeeing it down over the grass. Let it set up for a few minutes, squeegeed on more; let it set, then turn it over; most of the grass sticks to the screen at this point, but whatever comes off can be placed back on the screen.
This is not an exact process - what I'm after here is texture more than image. So I let the screen dry upside down, checking it and pressing the grass back whenever it started to buckle and lose contact with the paste. When it was dry, I peeled off the grass and the preprint was done. I was doing a smaller grass screen at the same time, btw. It was accomplished the same as the big one, but has about 8"x8" opening, and the grass was all the finer stuff, no brome. After preprint, the screens sat and waited for me for several days - amazingly, the cats left them alone!
Fast forward to Sunday [when I'd called in sick @ work!]. Well, there is "sick" and then there is SICK. I was "sick" - queasy tummy, but still functioning. I had [much earlier - several weeks] dyed two halves of a cotton thrift-store sheet explicitly to use fo r this technique/experiment, so I pinned the sheet onto my printboard. I positioned the large screen on top of 2-3 fresh grass springs, laid down a generous bead of Jaquard discharge paste, and squeegeed it; moved the screen, making sure to overlap the edges, squeegeed again. I repeated this until I was happy with the effect I could see from the wet on the cloth, then I stopped with the big screen. Repeated the same thing with the little screen. I let them dry [mostly], and then brought out a steam iron - I was doing all this outdoors - in the back yard so no one could see how "sick" I really was!
As I started to steam, the images became more and more evident. I really like what came out of the project. These first photos are the larger screen - please excuse the glare of light from the camera:
The first [at left] is a long shot of most of what I printed with the large screen. The dyed fabric was a bronze/eggplant dye combo [one of my fave color combos!] The other two photos are detail shots of the line of print. The top right is at the left side of the print, the lower detail is toward the right end of it. I absolutely love the texture of the grass.
Here is a single photo of the smaller screen - I just printed a row with this one, as well. I think it would work perhaps to print a row with the small screen, then come back and print the large one on top of it [or vice-versa] - any opinions on that?
And finally, I had previously drawn a little screen [9"x11"-ish] using elmer's glue gel a few weeks back, so I brought it out and pulled discharge paste over it in a sort of linear orentation. When I made the screen, I was freehanding, so the "repeat" on the pattern is a little wonky, but I don't think it turned out too badly:
The original image is one whole stem, with two half-stems at the edge of the screen. This screen was NOT soft-edged as the leaves one was. I think my little border is nicely solid - this is "most" of the border. there are a couple more sprigs on the ends. This piece has not yet been washed, so I will cry real tears if that beautiful gold all turns white [and then I'll dry my tears and dunk it in a gold dyebath!].
I also dsp'd a couple of dye screens, but I have to admit - I'm really loving the dsp discharge right now, so the dye may have to wait until I get some of this grass stuff out of my system! Warning: Please try this at home!! As for me, I have the other half of that sheet ready to go, and will be working on another piece in the near future!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Up and Coming
It's early today, still dark outside. But I'm up and going - and have TWO quarts of alginate mixed, and several new screens stretched and taped. All I have to do now is soda-soak my cotton and I'm ready to deconstruct! Well, as soon as it gets light. I'll be adding more to this post later in the day when I have photos and results.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
a GOOD day to dye.......
as Worf on Star Trek would say...... AND as I definitely say!
I FINALLY got to try the deconstructed screen printing that I've been gearing up for all these many months. Today was THE day!
I started this morning, mixing the dye paste, getting the screens ready. I did two screens to start. Both used leaves from my yard, one had some bubble wrap under the leaves and the other had the texture from wettened newspaper under the leaf. Here are the screens after pre-print, while they are drying:
The orange one is about 8X10" and the blue one is 10-11" square. Click on any of the images on this post, and you will get a slightly larger view (about double).
OK, so the screens are drying. I decided I'd better soda-soak some cloth, and so I did that. Next, I march myself into the house and take a short nap (well, it IS Sunday, and it IS hot outside!!). Then I routed out all the stuff I need to finish those last two print-table pad thingys.They are 3'X4', foam, covered with carpet pad, covered with vinyl, covered with another polyester felt matress pad. Got those finished, and so finally I'm ready to pin my white cotton onto one of the print tables, and have at it. I didn't try to take in-process pics, but did take one of every print. Keep in mind that ALL of these images were produced using at least one over-print from the same screen. I think that was more than half the fun of doing this. Here is the entire set of prints in one long shot:
And here are individual shots of each print on this board - I don't think I have favorites, yet, but I may change my mind as I start to work with them more:
I'm missing one of the small ones, but I can't figure out which one. I must have lost it on the transfer.... or lost track in my album. While this is certainly not the end-all and be-all of deconstructed screen printing, I am quite pleased with the results of my first effort, and very anxious to have them finish batching so I can wash them out and have a really good look! This is definitely a try again process - I loved working on it! My process info is a result of Kerr Grabowski's dvd - check her website to order - well worth the cost!
I FINALLY got to try the deconstructed screen printing that I've been gearing up for all these many months. Today was THE day!
I started this morning, mixing the dye paste, getting the screens ready. I did two screens to start. Both used leaves from my yard, one had some bubble wrap under the leaves and the other had the texture from wettened newspaper under the leaf. Here are the screens after pre-print, while they are drying:
The orange one is about 8X10" and the blue one is 10-11" square. Click on any of the images on this post, and you will get a slightly larger view (about double).
OK, so the screens are drying. I decided I'd better soda-soak some cloth, and so I did that. Next, I march myself into the house and take a short nap (well, it IS Sunday, and it IS hot outside!!). Then I routed out all the stuff I need to finish those last two print-table pad thingys.They are 3'X4', foam, covered with carpet pad, covered with vinyl, covered with another polyester felt matress pad. Got those finished, and so finally I'm ready to pin my white cotton onto one of the print tables, and have at it. I didn't try to take in-process pics, but did take one of every print. Keep in mind that ALL of these images were produced using at least one over-print from the same screen. I think that was more than half the fun of doing this. Here is the entire set of prints in one long shot:
And here are individual shots of each print on this board - I don't think I have favorites, yet, but I may change my mind as I start to work with them more:
I'm missing one of the small ones, but I can't figure out which one. I must have lost it on the transfer.... or lost track in my album. While this is certainly not the end-all and be-all of deconstructed screen printing, I am quite pleased with the results of my first effort, and very anxious to have them finish batching so I can wash them out and have a really good look! This is definitely a try again process - I loved working on it! My process info is a result of Kerr Grabowski's dvd - check her website to order - well worth the cost!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
NEW Etsy Shop!
Well, I finally did it - opened a second Etsy shop to exclusively offer my art work - fabric, quiltlets, other. I'd been housing all of that in my original shop, and it started to look like the world's funkiest mish-mash - vintage, art, de-stash - all in one place.
So now, I'm announcing the birth of PrairieArtScape, and my beautiful hand-dyed fabric has moved there, along with a couple of "new" pieces.
I added the link for ArtScape in the NavBar on the left side of the blog. Please visit if you are so inclined. Meantime, I'll share pics of a few of the new additions to my wares:
With apologies for the wonky line-up job, the blue is a full yard of a twisted-then-dyed piece. I really like the effect of the maniuplation on it. The green one is done in a similar manner, but (I think) folded first - it's only a half yard, and I wish it were bigger. It's the single piece that has had the most "views" since I put it in the shop. The other two are fat quarters of pre-printed white-on-white. I like the way the animals came out - and the other piece looks like fireworks to me - but it may just be the "season" we're in right now!
And finally, my roses bloomed last week - these are the "old-fashioned" ones that require no care - they just bloom every June regardless. The bushes were just loaded. This particular bush is out in the open near the garage; absolutley NO care whatsoever for at least the 21 years we've lived in this house (you can glimpse my life - house and minivan, anyway - in the background of the first picture). Well, I guess I did trim out the deadwood a few years ago. They need a trellis, I think, but I'm afraid to mess with success:
So now, I'm announcing the birth of PrairieArtScape, and my beautiful hand-dyed fabric has moved there, along with a couple of "new" pieces.
I added the link for ArtScape in the NavBar on the left side of the blog. Please visit if you are so inclined. Meantime, I'll share pics of a few of the new additions to my wares:
With apologies for the wonky line-up job, the blue is a full yard of a twisted-then-dyed piece. I really like the effect of the maniuplation on it. The green one is done in a similar manner, but (I think) folded first - it's only a half yard, and I wish it were bigger. It's the single piece that has had the most "views" since I put it in the shop. The other two are fat quarters of pre-printed white-on-white. I like the way the animals came out - and the other piece looks like fireworks to me - but it may just be the "season" we're in right now!
And finally, my roses bloomed last week - these are the "old-fashioned" ones that require no care - they just bloom every June regardless. The bushes were just loaded. This particular bush is out in the open near the garage; absolutley NO care whatsoever for at least the 21 years we've lived in this house (you can glimpse my life - house and minivan, anyway - in the background of the first picture). Well, I guess I did trim out the deadwood a few years ago. They need a trellis, I think, but I'm afraid to mess with success:
Friday, July 4, 2008
Independence!
Well, that's what I'm going for..... independence from the j.o.b. --- at least for today. Happy 4th!
I've been working on stitched resists lately. I stitch the design, soda-soak the piece (just wet it, really), then brush on dye solution (dye, urea water) in two or more colors, batch and rinse. I'm still tweaking the technique, but so far I like what I've learned, and plan to do many, many more of these. Here are 3 that came out of the dyebath last week:
The center one is probably my favorite of the three - the sections are clearly demarked. On the other two, the stitch is a little less obvious, but the texture is GREAT! Very crinkly, very defined. I have another piece that I hand-stitched, and it's terrific (no pic yet) However, with the arthritis my hands have started to experience, I doubt hand-stitched resist is in my future in any meaningful way. There is also a spiral piece soaking now - it's going to be nice, but it isn't ready to photograph - maybe later this weekend.
And here's a shot I got of a bumblebee on the salvia beside my back door a couple of weeks ago. I just unloaded that camera card the other day. I don't delude myself that this is great photography, but it's MY photography - just snapping bits from my everyday life!
The salvia smelled so sweet, I found myself wishing I was a bee so I could get up close and personal with it, too!
I've been working on stitched resists lately. I stitch the design, soda-soak the piece (just wet it, really), then brush on dye solution (dye, urea water) in two or more colors, batch and rinse. I'm still tweaking the technique, but so far I like what I've learned, and plan to do many, many more of these. Here are 3 that came out of the dyebath last week:
The center one is probably my favorite of the three - the sections are clearly demarked. On the other two, the stitch is a little less obvious, but the texture is GREAT! Very crinkly, very defined. I have another piece that I hand-stitched, and it's terrific (no pic yet) However, with the arthritis my hands have started to experience, I doubt hand-stitched resist is in my future in any meaningful way. There is also a spiral piece soaking now - it's going to be nice, but it isn't ready to photograph - maybe later this weekend.And here's a shot I got of a bumblebee on the salvia beside my back door a couple of weeks ago. I just unloaded that camera card the other day. I don't delude myself that this is great photography, but it's MY photography - just snapping bits from my everyday life!
The salvia smelled so sweet, I found myself wishing I was a bee so I could get up close and personal with it, too!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Snail's Pace
Turtle? Slo-Mo? That's me these days, as far as fiber work is concerned. I have nothing to share/show today. I do have a mention that my etsy shop is clocking along pretty well right now. Nothing to enable ditching of the day-job, but it's a fun thing to do, and I'm making some sales.
Another that I really, really like is this green piece - it just screams "Lake Moss" to me. Of course I don't call it that in the Shop, but it's how I think of it. Very cool (in more ways than one) piece.
Gee, and I said I don't have any pictures for today - shows what *I* know! These are perfectly nice pictures, and if you are reading this and think they're nice, too, you'd certainly be welcome to mosey over to my Etsy Shop and see if they are something you migh tlike to purchase. I'm running a reduced-cost shipping special right now, so this is a great chance to save a couple bucks and get some really beautiful fabric. [Etsy link in the Nav Bar at left side of this page.]
I HAVE been doing a little bit of dyeing - last week I put in some onesies, other fabrics, denim, cotton in egplant, some golds, multis, etc. And a t-shirt. And a mandala (it will have to be overdyed, tho). I tried hombre dyeing - I'm gonna have to try that again, since there is a clear demarcation in the coloring between the blue and purple on that first try. So it's not like I've been sitting on my hands - I've accomplished, just not photographed anything this week.
I'm gong to be moving my hand-dyed fabrics to a new etsy shop at the end of June. I think I have too much of a hodge-podge where they are now - I'd like the art fabrics to be in a more focused area where they can be the STARS of the show - not just part of the mob. 
One of most favoritest pieces of hand-dyes that I have on etsy right now is this Cliff-Hanger piece. I love the subtlty of the color variations. And I'm totally surprised that it's been there as long as it has. I think if it's still in my shop when I transfer, I'm just going to transfer that one to my personal stash!
One of most favoritest pieces of hand-dyes that I have on etsy right now is this Cliff-Hanger piece. I love the subtlty of the color variations. And I'm totally surprised that it's been there as long as it has. I think if it's still in my shop when I transfer, I'm just going to transfer that one to my personal stash!
Another that I really, really like is this green piece - it just screams "Lake Moss" to me. Of course I don't call it that in the Shop, but it's how I think of it. Very cool (in more ways than one) piece.And FINALLY, this sweet thing - I call it Lilacs and Starlight. It just absolutely twinkles. It is so, so pretty. I wish it was bigger than a half-yard, cuz it's just very nice - quiet - soothing.
Gee, and I said I don't have any pictures for today - shows what *I* know! These are perfectly nice pictures, and if you are reading this and think they're nice, too, you'd certainly be welcome to mosey over to my Etsy Shop and see if they are something you migh tlike to purchase. I'm running a reduced-cost shipping special right now, so this is a great chance to save a couple bucks and get some really beautiful fabric. [Etsy link in the Nav Bar at left side of this page.]And now, back to our regularly scheduled program..... errr..... j.o.b.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
'Tis the Season
..... For stormy weather, meaning violent thunderstorms, punctuted by tornadic activity. A lot of damage to a city 100 miles to the East of us - my neice's house was narrowly missed by a tornado Thursday night. But living in Nebraska, we expect this type of weather in the summer months.
My fiber-diet is not up to par right now, due to the Spring work I need to do (garden, flowers, etc), and the fact that my job has had me running insanely from place to place, crisis to crisis. It's starting to wear heavily on me. Now I find that a brief break I thought would come next month won't happen, because DS & DIL won't be here, so I'll have to save vacation time to possibly go see them later this fall. *sigh* It's been nearly 3 years since I was able to take a real vacation, more than just a day here or there (and those mostly have been to do something for my dad). I'm wearing out, and no end in sight. Poor Me *sob* ...... OK pity-party over.
I have a gel plate made, and did a few small prints with it Wednesday night. I hope to be home tonight in time to do some more. If so, I'll post here. I always print in color on white, but I'm thinking I'd like to try opaque lights on dyed fabric for a change. Perhaps do a slightly different technique to let the dye color come through, while adding a print element. How to do? Perhaps paper masks, or leaf masks - my print then becomes the negative space in the design. I sort of like that idea, and I think that's what I'll explore tonight if I can.
My fiber-diet is not up to par right now, due to the Spring work I need to do (garden, flowers, etc), and the fact that my job has had me running insanely from place to place, crisis to crisis. It's starting to wear heavily on me. Now I find that a brief break I thought would come next month won't happen, because DS & DIL won't be here, so I'll have to save vacation time to possibly go see them later this fall. *sigh* It's been nearly 3 years since I was able to take a real vacation, more than just a day here or there (and those mostly have been to do something for my dad). I'm wearing out, and no end in sight. Poor Me *sob* ...... OK pity-party over.
I have a gel plate made, and did a few small prints with it Wednesday night. I hope to be home tonight in time to do some more. If so, I'll post here. I always print in color on white, but I'm thinking I'd like to try opaque lights on dyed fabric for a change. Perhaps do a slightly different technique to let the dye color come through, while adding a print element. How to do? Perhaps paper masks, or leaf masks - my print then becomes the negative space in the design. I sort of like that idea, and I think that's what I'll explore tonight if I can.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Working, Working, Working
BOTH of us..... on the basement project, which means I'll be that much closer to having the wet studio finished sometime in this millenium. Today, we are hauling out junk, with the idea that we will start painting the ceiling and maybe some of the walls today. The weather is finally nice enough to have some windows open to air out paint fumes, which is good, because the cats spend the day in the basement when we are at work. I'd hate to asphixiate the little darlin's.
I didn't realize just how much JUNK we have. It's quite the collection. We've hauled out all of the picnic stuff now - it's sitting on the back steps. I took out 20+ gallon glass jars that I use for dyeing big pieces in mottled solids (is that a contradiction in dye terms?). And I have a big box I'm filling with give-aways to take to my favorite thrift store. After we paint and lay the new vinyl, Mike is going to build a long wall of shelves for all these big items, to make them easier to store. Yay, Mike!!
Speaking of thrift stores, I made the rounds to several on Friday and came home with quite a haul on silk garments, mostly shirts. I do that sometimes - so far haven't done much with them,
but I have this idea that I want to try - cutting squares to paint/dye some (DyeNaFlo, I think), others to discharge (thiox) and then over-dye and ultimately work out some small prairiescapes - long, narrow, but with a good amount of sky. Since that's what true prairiescapes are - long, narrow, lots of sky. This picture is from my dad's ranch, taken last winter, right after the first snow. His ranch lays along a valley, so you see less sky than in other parts of the country, but there is still plenty there!
So now my toast-break is over. I've been making all of our bread this year, and homemade oatbran bread is so filling that toast lasts me about half the day. Wish I could do something about the other half! I do think my bread is better for us than what we can buy in the stores - and it makes us happy to make our own. Even Mike has learned how to make bread in the bread machine (for the dough - we bake in the oven). OK - back at it!
I didn't realize just how much JUNK we have. It's quite the collection. We've hauled out all of the picnic stuff now - it's sitting on the back steps. I took out 20+ gallon glass jars that I use for dyeing big pieces in mottled solids (is that a contradiction in dye terms?). And I have a big box I'm filling with give-aways to take to my favorite thrift store. After we paint and lay the new vinyl, Mike is going to build a long wall of shelves for all these big items, to make them easier to store. Yay, Mike!!
Speaking of thrift stores, I made the rounds to several on Friday and came home with quite a haul on silk garments, mostly shirts. I do that sometimes - so far haven't done much with them,
but I have this idea that I want to try - cutting squares to paint/dye some (DyeNaFlo, I think), others to discharge (thiox) and then over-dye and ultimately work out some small prairiescapes - long, narrow, but with a good amount of sky. Since that's what true prairiescapes are - long, narrow, lots of sky. This picture is from my dad's ranch, taken last winter, right after the first snow. His ranch lays along a valley, so you see less sky than in other parts of the country, but there is still plenty there!So now my toast-break is over. I've been making all of our bread this year, and homemade oatbran bread is so filling that toast lasts me about half the day. Wish I could do something about the other half! I do think my bread is better for us than what we can buy in the stores - and it makes us happy to make our own. Even Mike has learned how to make bread in the bread machine (for the dough - we bake in the oven). OK - back at it!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Doing What I Can, When I Can.....
Piece by piece, bit by bit, I'm assembling a respectable inventory for a vendor mall. It's coming together slowly, I have quite a way to go yet, and the event is 4 weeks from tomorrow.
So I'm dyeing like crazy again today, and TRYING to find more hangers that won't cost a small fortune. I have over half my hangers tied up in a store where I consign fabric, so now I'm scrounging to find more. I located an eBay seller who has 25 childrens pant hangers in the style I prefer, and am waiting to hear from him/her as to whether they have 100 or so instead of just 25.
I still have about 120 yards of greige on hand, and will probably dye the majority of it in the next 2 weeks. My tactic of dyeing certain colors all at once is working quite well. Last week, I did a group of yellows, a group of bright greens and a group of reds. Now, I need to work on blues, mossy greens, purples and browns - and some pastels, which are difficult for me.
Then yesterday, Mike put my new hanging rack together for me, and it appears I need to now work on blues and browns and true MULTI. I may try a shaving foam direct painting technique I saw online this week for some of that - perhaps go for some "sky" that would translate into half-yards. But for that type of work, I'd need to get the big, heavy dyeing "tray" out from behind the table
.
The pic at left is part of my little "surprise" offering for the vendor mall - cotton underwear, dyed brilliantly. I've been doing these for myself, and certain others for several years - I'll see how it goes trying to sell them. I do need to get a mannequin made/found, tho. Oh, and I think I will dye some solidy colors (of cloth, not skivvies) - maybe in color runs of 4 or 6, and I can get 2 FQ bundles and one set of single halves from each set of yard-lengths. That's easy-peasey dyeing, but it will give me something to sell with the multis that will make everything work well together. This is good for the matchy-uppy people, and there are certainly a few of those around!
And finally - I really have to get booking on a few samples to hang in my space. It's OK to just have the fabric, but samples showing fabric use would be good, too, and I'd better get some done. So, what am I doing sitting here typing stuff that no one but me reads, anyway?? I'm outta here!!
So I'm dyeing like crazy again today, and TRYING to find more hangers that won't cost a small fortune. I have over half my hangers tied up in a store where I consign fabric, so now I'm scrounging to find more. I located an eBay seller who has 25 childrens pant hangers in the style I prefer, and am waiting to hear from him/her as to whether they have 100 or so instead of just 25.
I still have about 120 yards of greige on hand, and will probably dye the majority of it in the next 2 weeks. My tactic of dyeing certain colors all at once is working quite well. Last week, I did a group of yellows, a group of bright greens and a group of reds. Now, I need to work on blues, mossy greens, purples and browns - and some pastels, which are difficult for me.
Then yesterday, Mike put my new hanging rack together for me, and it appears I need to now work on blues and browns and true MULTI. I may try a shaving foam direct painting technique I saw online this week for some of that - perhaps go for some "sky" that would translate into half-yards. But for that type of work, I'd need to get the big, heavy dyeing "tray" out from behind the table
.The pic at left is part of my little "surprise" offering for the vendor mall - cotton underwear, dyed brilliantly. I've been doing these for myself, and certain others for several years - I'll see how it goes trying to sell them. I do need to get a mannequin made/found, tho. Oh, and I think I will dye some solidy colors (of cloth, not skivvies) - maybe in color runs of 4 or 6, and I can get 2 FQ bundles and one set of single halves from each set of yard-lengths. That's easy-peasey dyeing, but it will give me something to sell with the multis that will make everything work well together. This is good for the matchy-uppy people, and there are certainly a few of those around!
And finally - I really have to get booking on a few samples to hang in my space. It's OK to just have the fabric, but samples showing fabric use would be good, too, and I'd better get some done. So, what am I doing sitting here typing stuff that no one but me reads, anyway?? I'm outta here!!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Dyeing Like Crazy!
Finally, I am getting some serious fabric dyeing done! I've been out of the loop with it since.... August? Yep, August. Wow.
But I'd ordered some white from P&B a few weeks back, and started doing a little bit of dyeing here & there. Then I ordered some more. Last weekend I went downstairs and clambered around in the ruins of what is fondly known as "basement remodel" and sorted out all of my dyes, my dyeing containers, the auxillaries and chemicals. I consolidated the dye dregs of a number of jars into their proper mates, sorted the dyes by color groups (reds/yellows, blue/greens, browns/grays, etc). So at least now I can find what I'm looking for - or more importantly determine quickly that I don't have what I'm looking for!
Then I started dyeing. Method over madness, perhaps. Instead of doing the "mad scientist" act, I actually dyed in groups, more or less. Methodically - or as methodical as I can get.
I've been doing a soda-soak on my fabrics this week, and I think they work better that way. I'm getting a better strike, especially in parts where there is a slight resist (from twisting or manipulating the fabric). I'm also getting some wonderful "freckling" with this method, and that is often the look I strive for, and which often eludes me. The closeup of the blue/green shows the freckles I'm talking about.
At any rate, it's good to be going on this again. I put 6 of my new pieces up on etsy yesterday, but so far not many views. Last week I sold 3 yards from my shop there - the buyer definitely got the best of the bunch, so I thought I'd better put some new ones up. The link to my shop is in the sidebar on my blog. I have some books there, also, and some miscellaneous other things.
My big reason for starting all this dyeing activity is that I have committed to participating as a vendor at my guild's Spring Fling retreat. I think it will be fun to do, and provide some exposure for my hand dyes and an opportunity to promote my etsy shop.
Other items I'm getting ready for the event include hand-dyed underwear (not yer grannie's pannies!) and dyed vintage damask tablecloths. The underwear is the same type I've been dyeing for myself for eons - white cotton - but they dye beautifully. The tablecloths are wonderful. That old damask takes dye like a sponge, and the pieces that are good enough can be sold as tablecloths. The others will sell as "cutters" to use in various craft and sewing projects - or to mend and use as quilt backs and such. It's a way to rescue the unrescuable. I dyed a linen cloth (woven stripe, not damask) yesterday that had some kind of weird yellowish stain over a large area. It took the dye (violet and forest) with no problem - washed out wonderfully, and all I have to do is iron it and put it in the stack. I'll take some pics of the tablecloths and put them on my blog soon. Oh, and I've dyed some cotton L/S T's for myself, which is fun and gives me something new to wear.
So now, start the day. It's supposed to be really nice today - warm (in the 80's) and sunny (but windy). Perfect day to hang out dyeds, right? I have a washerfull of greens to put out this afternoon, and perhaps will get to some neutrals before the day is out.
But I'd ordered some white from P&B a few weeks back, and started doing a little bit of dyeing here & there. Then I ordered some more. Last weekend I went downstairs and clambered around in the ruins of what is fondly known as "basement remodel" and sorted out all of my dyes, my dyeing containers, the auxillaries and chemicals. I consolidated the dye dregs of a number of jars into their proper mates, sorted the dyes by color groups (reds/yellows, blue/greens, browns/grays, etc). So at least now I can find what I'm looking for - or more importantly determine quickly that I don't have what I'm looking for!
Then I started dyeing. Method over madness, perhaps. Instead of doing the "mad scientist" act, I actually dyed in groups, more or less. Methodically - or as methodical as I can get.
I've been doing a soda-soak on my fabrics this week, and I think they work better that way. I'm getting a better strike, especially in parts where there is a slight resist (from twisting or manipulating the fabric). I'm also getting some wonderful "freckling" with this method, and that is often the look I strive for, and which often eludes me. The closeup of the blue/green shows the freckles I'm talking about.
At any rate, it's good to be going on this again. I put 6 of my new pieces up on etsy yesterday, but so far not many views. Last week I sold 3 yards from my shop there - the buyer definitely got the best of the bunch, so I thought I'd better put some new ones up. The link to my shop is in the sidebar on my blog. I have some books there, also, and some miscellaneous other things.
My big reason for starting all this dyeing activity is that I have committed to participating as a vendor at my guild's Spring Fling retreat. I think it will be fun to do, and provide some exposure for my hand dyes and an opportunity to promote my etsy shop.
Other items I'm getting ready for the event include hand-dyed underwear (not yer grannie's pannies!) and dyed vintage damask tablecloths. The underwear is the same type I've been dyeing for myself for eons - white cotton - but they dye beautifully. The tablecloths are wonderful. That old damask takes dye like a sponge, and the pieces that are good enough can be sold as tablecloths. The others will sell as "cutters" to use in various craft and sewing projects - or to mend and use as quilt backs and such. It's a way to rescue the unrescuable. I dyed a linen cloth (woven stripe, not damask) yesterday that had some kind of weird yellowish stain over a large area. It took the dye (violet and forest) with no problem - washed out wonderfully, and all I have to do is iron it and put it in the stack. I'll take some pics of the tablecloths and put them on my blog soon. Oh, and I've dyed some cotton L/S T's for myself, which is fun and gives me something new to wear.
So now, start the day. It's supposed to be really nice today - warm (in the 80's) and sunny (but windy). Perfect day to hang out dyeds, right? I have a washerfull of greens to put out this afternoon, and perhaps will get to some neutrals before the day is out.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Back in the Saddle Again.....
.... Back where a friend is a friend....
OK, eough of the old cowboy song! I'm finally surfacing after a long hard winter. I feel just a little like a groundhog here! While I don't have much to share in the realm of fiber art right now, I thought perhaps you might enjoy a peek at some of the spectacular skies we've seen here recently:
These first two are sunrises taken from my front yard, facing southeast and north east, respectively. In the top photo, you see the bare branches of a little cottonwood tree we planted a few years ago. When we put it in, it was smaller than me (I'm a whopping 5'2"). Now our little tree is taller than the house by far! His sisters, just up the slope are slightly smaller, but still growing great guns.
This last sky photo is one I took at sunset a week or so ago, riding with Mike. That's why it's a bit blurry - motion of the car. But the sky was so pretty, I couldn't let the colors all leak away!
Just as we were going into McCook (town south of us) this sunset blasted thru the remnants of an old barn that is slowly self-destructing. I'm going back for a sunset-thru-the-barn pic sometime soon! The farmstead shown here is not what I'm talking about - this one is simply a standard, nothing special farm place. We have a lot of those around here. Good places to live, not fancy. But the sunset sure dresses it up, doesn't it?
Yesterday, I put a few fabric pieces on Etsy. I've had an Etsy shop since October, mostly selling books that need new homes. Yesterday, I decided to offer hand-dyed fabric. You can see it at my shop: www.prairiespirit.etsy.com
I was waffling on my pricing, but decided to go with the price I have on it in the shop where I sell on consignment. I've had some look-ers, but as yet, no buy-ers. I have a few more pieces that I'll stagger in during the weekend. And I have some more books (paper and book-making, quilt, collage, mixed media, etc) that I would like to get up there soon, also. I did not realize how much time it would eat just photograping and editing for that fabric. I can see that a better setup for teh pictures (a dedicated display board) would help tremendously, but then I also am the world's slowest photo editor, I think!
Ok, lastly, here is a shot of some fabric I used flour paste resist on a few weeks ago. It's not that special, but it is evidence that I'm actually still intending to do some work of some kind with fiber!
These are both flour paste resist. The flour/water is squeegeed on, allowed to dry and then crumpled to crackle. After the paste is cracked, I went over it with a thinned down Setacolor black paint, and let it sit a couple of days before washing out. The piece on the right also has some deep red overpainted before washing. It was a good experiment. One that I'll repeat (and in fact have, just haven't washed yet, and I can see a lot of possibilities with it for future surface design.
OK, eough of the old cowboy song! I'm finally surfacing after a long hard winter. I feel just a little like a groundhog here! While I don't have much to share in the realm of fiber art right now, I thought perhaps you might enjoy a peek at some of the spectacular skies we've seen here recently:
These first two are sunrises taken from my front yard, facing southeast and north east, respectively. In the top photo, you see the bare branches of a little cottonwood tree we planted a few years ago. When we put it in, it was smaller than me (I'm a whopping 5'2"). Now our little tree is taller than the house by far! His sisters, just up the slope are slightly smaller, but still growing great guns.
This last sky photo is one I took at sunset a week or so ago, riding with Mike. That's why it's a bit blurry - motion of the car. But the sky was so pretty, I couldn't let the colors all leak away!Just as we were going into McCook (town south of us) this sunset blasted thru the remnants of an old barn that is slowly self-destructing. I'm going back for a sunset-thru-the-barn pic sometime soon! The farmstead shown here is not what I'm talking about - this one is simply a standard, nothing special farm place. We have a lot of those around here. Good places to live, not fancy. But the sunset sure dresses it up, doesn't it?
Yesterday, I put a few fabric pieces on Etsy. I've had an Etsy shop since October, mostly selling books that need new homes. Yesterday, I decided to offer hand-dyed fabric. You can see it at my shop: www.prairiespirit.etsy.com
I was waffling on my pricing, but decided to go with the price I have on it in the shop where I sell on consignment. I've had some look-ers, but as yet, no buy-ers. I have a few more pieces that I'll stagger in during the weekend. And I have some more books (paper and book-making, quilt, collage, mixed media, etc) that I would like to get up there soon, also. I did not realize how much time it would eat just photograping and editing for that fabric. I can see that a better setup for teh pictures (a dedicated display board) would help tremendously, but then I also am the world's slowest photo editor, I think!
Ok, lastly, here is a shot of some fabric I used flour paste resist on a few weeks ago. It's not that special, but it is evidence that I'm actually still intending to do some work of some kind with fiber!
These are both flour paste resist. The flour/water is squeegeed on, allowed to dry and then crumpled to crackle. After the paste is cracked, I went over it with a thinned down Setacolor black paint, and let it sit a couple of days before washing out. The piece on the right also has some deep red overpainted before washing. It was a good experiment. One that I'll repeat (and in fact have, just haven't washed yet, and I can see a lot of possibilities with it for future surface design.
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