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Archive for the ‘Surface Design Techniques’ Category

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I Love Surface Design

Monday, April 11th, 2011

It has been some time since I have had a block of time to create in my studio. I mean to create new surface on cloth. I had fun today creating fabric that can be used to build a cityscape.

I used a vinyl sink mat for a stencil. I think I forgot to take a photo of the fabric.

I used the side of a plastic berry basket for a grid with mustard(?) deColourant on a rust fabric.

It did not work really well – too much seepage. This is heat set, but not washed so it will tone down a bit. Has some possibilities.

I was searching around for something else to use as a grid and remembered masking tape! I have it in lots of sizes.

 

Here is the result, unwashed. I like it.

This was done with masking tape. I have heat set part of this so you can see how nicely the heat gun removes the color.

Here it is all heat set, but not washed.

I used a plain deColourant on this gray fabric and used a small square sponge to make the grid.

I like the brown cotton with gold metallic deColourant which is up at the top of this post..

I have to get my chartreuse quilts up on the Twelve by Twelve blog. Tomorrow is reveal day. Can’t wait to see what every one did.

Posted in 12X12 challenge, Discharging fabric, Surface Design Techniques | 3 Comments »

An Exercise in Futility

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

The fiber sketch for today is Leaf Shadows.

Today, I started work on preparing some fabric for the rusty Twelve X Twelve challenge. I have this piece of rust colored silk/cotton blend.

I notice the back of the fabric has a greenish patina so I thought perhaps it would discharge to a green color.

I used a new discharging product called deColourant. It is non-toxic and non-smelly. You print, paint or stamp with it. Let it dry and then iron it to discharge the dye. The more heat and steam, the more the color is removed.

I stamped with corrugated cardboard, netting and a random dotted stamp. I dried it with a hair dryer and then ironed it. I first used my old Black & Decker and then I used the steam iron. And them, I blew a fuse!!

Anyway, this is the result.

Since I didn’t get any green color, I threw it in a bath with turquoise Colorhue dye. Well, I love this!!

Unfortunately, this is a cotton/silk blend and the Colorhue dye only works on silk and wool. So when I washed it, all of the color was gone — except on my hands!

Tomorrow, I will mix up thiox with turquoise dye and try that.

By the way, the deColourant comes with added color which is deposited when the dye is discharged. I was sent a couple of samples – plain and mustard yellow. I have other colors on order. Here is a link to the supplier, Kandicorp.

Posted in 12X12 challenge, Discharging fabric, Dyeing, Sketchbook Project, Surface Design Techniques | 7 Comments »

Got Rust?

Monday, September 20th, 2010

I used some of my fused skinny bits to create this fiber sketch of a forest. I like it. I think it has possibilities for a larger version.

Here are the results of my rust dyeing. A caveat – the pole was so corroded that I could not scrunch the fabric for traditional shibori.

I did the blue-green fabric and a plain white.

Tonight, I overdyed  the white silk with a paler shade of blue-green. I think I will like it a lot. I hope I can combine the two fabrics in the challenge piece.

I spent a lot of time stitching down the pojagi pockets on Allegro. I am getting to close to this piece and am starting to have a love/hate relationship with it. I must finish it – tomorrow, I hope. I first basted the pockets and then zigzagged them down to prevent fraying.

The SAQA auction started today. My piece, Entwined Roots is in the first group of quilts.

The price today was $750.   Tomorrow, the price goes down to $550, then $350, $250, $150 and $75.  Unsold work will be placed on the SAQA website for a month and then returned to the artist. Here is a link to the quilts, if you are interested in supporting SAQA and getting a nice piece of art.

You might notice the new buttons that I have in my sidebar. I got an e-mail from Wikio telling me that I could show my overall ranking for my blog. They have me in the craft category. I don’t know if there is a quilting category. There is a needlearts category. The buttons will change as my ranking changes. It will be embarrassing if it goes down! LOL

Posted in 12X12 challenge, My creations, rusting fabric, SAQA, Sketchbook Project, Surface Design Techniques | 3 Comments »

A Busy Week-end

Sunday, September 19th, 2010


So what has transpired since I last posted? I finally am feeling normal after my pesky virus attack. I got my hair cut and the color freshened – that made me feel better.

I got a rejection letter from Quilts=Art=Quilts. I was disappointed because I really like that show. I was in it two  years ago. I know that shows like this one are very dependent on what the jurors are looking for and I think it will be a more abstract show this year. Anyway, I have two quilts to enter in other shows.

Last night we had a wonderful Eucharist at Trinity to celebrate the harvest season. It was set to the music of Neil Young and was very inspiring. I may be in my 70s, but I am not stodgy about changing things up.

You may be wondering what that photo up there is. Well, it is a rusty pipe that Mr C saved for me when he tore up the old irrigation system in our front yard. The theme for the next Twelve x Twelve colorplay is rust and blue green.

I thought I would try doing some shibori rust dyeing with the pole up there. So I soaked some silk fabric in vinegar and water and wrapped it around the pole. Then I sprinkled it with salt and wrapped it in plastic. Now, I wait.

I am almost finished with Allegro. It is all basted. I just need to do the final stitching of the pockets and trim the seams. It is going to be a difficult piece to  photograph because of the transparency of the organza. Here is a detail.

We have been having strange weather. Long, warm sun breaks and rainy downpours. The temps have been mild so it is easy to take. Hope you had a good week-end, too.

Posted in 12X12 challenge, My creations, Spiritual Life, Surface Design Techniques | 5 Comments »

Image Transfer with Citra-Solve

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Recently, I have noticed a lot of posting and chatting about image transfer with Citra-solve. Almost six years ago, Mr C and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. I cut up my wedding dress and made this quilt. The fabric was silk Peau de Soie and silk brocade. I printed photos on fabric, but for the other elements, I used Citra-solve.

I made copies of the wedding invitation, the marriage certificate and the article that was in our paper. It is important to use a copier with carbon based toner.

It was difficult to photograph this quilt. If you click on the photo, you can see a larger image. I took the newspaper story and some other elements and constructed the church in which we were married. I overlaid the invitation on to a photo of me in the dress.

Here is the marriage certificate transferred to silk.

For the quilting, I stitched around the flowers in the brocade. At the top of the quilt, I had photos of Steve and I as kids and I quilted in our names and the date.

It is funny to look back at something I made 6 years ago. I have grown so much as an artist since I made this, but it has great sentimental value.

Here is my Fiber Sketch for the day. It is titled Sun Worship.

I am so loving the weather we are having. I took two long walks with Scooter and with my other activities, I was able to rack up over 10,500 steps today. I was hoping to start a new project in my studio today, but I had a lot of SDA website work to do. Tomorrow, I have a follow-up visit with the ENT so that will blow most of the afternoon.

Posted in Sketchbook Project, Surface Design Techniques | 5 Comments »

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