The Printed Fabric Bee Give Away Time!

Yippee! Another Printed Fabric Bee give away is here! This month Susan Mark Purney requested an industrial theme. For a chance to win a 6" X 6" collection of this custom fabric please leave a comment on Susan's blog or hop over to The Printed Fabric Bee's blog and comment there. Susan will pick a winner on July 10th! 

Wow - an industrial design required some thought and a different perspective on colors, shape and texture for me. I had a few false starts but once I got warmed up I was off and running!

I started with a piece of fabric that I had earlier dyed with indigo and then over dyed with a rust/orange. Freezer paper was my method of choice this month! I cut out circles and adhered the paper to the fabric. I used the stencil design inside the circles with fabric paint. Once it was dry I pulled the paper off and voila - a crisp circle! 

Next I used slices of freezer paper and fabric paint to create grid-like lines.

I continued to add layers of circles until the design felt right. At the last minute I included some little rectangles shapes from a thermofax screen.

Here is Susan's finished piece! Now get on over to her blog for a chance to win the custom fabric pack - it's a truly unique collection with the artists outdoing themselves with this challenge!

Please take a moment to become familiar with all the artists in the Fabric Bee! I'm in awe to be working with this talented group! The Printed Fabric Bee will take the month of July off and back in August with a brand new collection!

Lynn Krawczyk: http://smudgedtextilesstudio.com

Julie B. Booth: http://www.threadbornblog.com

Gerrie Congdon: http://www.gericondesigns.com

Leslie Riley: http://www.lesleyriley.com

Carol R. Eaton: http://carolreatondesigns.blogspot.com

Jackie Lams: http://www.studiolams.com

Lisa Chin: http://somethingcleveraboutnothing.blogspot.com

Susan Purney Mark: http://susanpm.com

Lynda Heines: http://www.bloombakecreate.com

Leslie Tucker Jenison: http://leslietuckerjenison.blogspot.com

More Explorations with Stamping!

I had another delightful session with my stamps from Art Foamies! This time I used the Seed Pod design. The stamp is a thick foam making it easy to create a sharp crisp print. 

I used Jacquard Textile paint that needed to be thinned just a bit with water. 

I printed on a piece of ice dyed fabric. I wanted to create a meandering design with sections of tightly grouped seed pods that thinned out as it crossed the surface of the fabric.

I took a coffee break while the paint dried.
The fabric was then heat set and ready for a project! 

Art Foamie Stamps - if it doesn't move - stamp it!

What a fabulous mantra... if it doesn't move  - stamp it! I recently discovered this cool creative arts business located in Canada. Art Foamies founder, Emmie Roelofse is a fabric painter herself and the business grew from her desire to create stamps from her own designs! 

Look at this awesome box-o-fun that arrived in the mail! Art Foamies ships anywhere in the US and Emmie is a treat to work with. What I love about this product is the thickness and texture of the stamps. It is sooo easy to work with and allows even a novice stamper (such as myself) to get great results. I've never come across stamps like this before and I encourage you to take a peek at the website! 

I quickly decided to use Color Magic by Jacquard with the stamps. Color Magic is a curious product; when applied to fabric and dyed any area with Color Magic will be super saturated with color creating a secondary pattern. You can stamp, paint, screen or apply in any way your imagination takes you - but that is another post! 

I planned to ice dye the fabric once the Color Magic dried and I was so focused on the stamping layer that I forgot to pretreat the fabric with soda ash and water... duh! Unfortunately the ice dye results were less bright and intense than I had planned.This is NOT the red/orange I was looking for but the bird is very sweet! 

Not to be deterred I plunged forward using Speed Ball fabric paint. I can't stress enough how easy this stamp is to work with. Just look how it sits up high accepting the paint without me having to even hold it!

Press lightly...

Lift...

Repeat!

I've got a whole gaggle of funky little birds racing across the fabric surface! What a fun project! I tried out every stamp in my box-o-fun so check back for more posts this week! 

Guest Blog Spot on The Slow Stitch Movement!

I'm so excited to be the first guest blogger for Mark Lipinski's Slow Stitch Movement site! 

Here is what Mark has to say about this awesome new venture and why I encourage you to check it out! The Slow Stitching Movement is an illuminating revolution within the stitching and fiber art  industry, launched by international quilting personality Mark Lipinski. Modeled after the international Slow Food movement, The Slow Stitching Movement is open to all fiber and needle artists and will prepare you for a higher form of creativity and important work in the needle and fiber arts, be it quilting, knitting, crochet, tatting, embroidery, rug hooking, weaving, needlepoint, cross stitch, etc.

Following the tenets of The Slow Stitching Movement you will: 

• Approach your creative art-making in a totally different way.  
• Recharge your passion for the needle fiber arts .
• Engage the connection between your body, your quilts, and your legacy.        .
• Expand your creativity, self-esteem and even your spiritual journey.
• Tap your right brain, to train and develop your imagination.
• Find the creative genius in you.
• Implement your creative thought in today’s too-fast world.
• Heal your life, emotions and boost your physical health.
• Create groups and habits to support your creative vision.

If you’ve hit a creative wall, if you have more yarn, fabric, floss, threads, and notions than you do inspiration, if all of your projects are beginning to look alike, or if you’ve been creating in the needle arts  for years and have nothing especially wonderful to show for it . . . The Slow Stitching Movement is for you. 

Getting Ready for Some Down Time!

I'm getting ready to spend time at our family cabin - yeah! Knowing I will be away from my studio creates enough anxiety (not in a bad way!) for me to get busy preparing fabric that I can bring. My grand plan is to add layers of stamping or "whatever" to the fabrics as a project that doesn't require full access to my studio! 

I did manage to create a couple of ice dyed pieces that felt "done" so I added them to the inventory and available for purchase if you need to add to your stash!

I can't wait to share the results from my cabin-fabric experiments. Anything can be fair game for stamping... pine cones, bark, weird shaped things found on the trail!! 

#ID023 - Detail
The colors are bright and a lot of the blue is jade. 

#ID023 - 100% Cotton, 1 Yard, $22

#ID024 - 100% Cotton, 1 Yard, $22
The colors are mostly a yellow green - it feels very calm.

Click here for details on purchasing - look for the word NEW! 

My Handcrafted Fabrics Are Now For Sale at Etui!

I'm delighted to announce Etui Fiber Arts shop and gallery

is now carrying my handcrafted fabrics!

Etui Fiber Arts is for fiber enthusiasts of all kinds!  The shop carries a full line of high quality supplies for knitting, crocheting, spinning and now my handcrafted fabrics! Owner Julie Saviano promotes the "Field to Needle" movement where crafters are connected to the farmers, growers, ranchers, and hand-dyers who create yarns, wools, and cottons that they use in their crafts. 

Exhibition Artist: Jane Davila

The in-house gallery features monthly exhibitions of regional and national artist

Mark your calendars - November 9th - I'll be giving a demonstration and talk about my techniques and approach to surface design... it'll be fun and I hope you join me! 

Etui

2106 Boston Post Rd., Larchmont, NY 10538

http://www.etuifiberarts.com/home.html 

914-341-1426

Summer Hours, beginning July 1:

Wednesday - Thursday 10-5

Friday - Saturday 10-4

Closed, Sunday - Tuesday