Experimenting with Gelatos® on Fabric

Recently I visited the Whangarei Quilt Exhibition and I spent a little bit of money at one of my favourite merchants, Tulis Textiles.

I bought a few Gelatos®, as I'd seen Kerry from Tulis demonstrating with them a few times now, and I thought it was time I had a play myself.

Gelatos™are a creamy, water-based paint stick.  If you've ever used Shiva sticks, they are a little like that.  Except Shiva sticks are oil-based and Gelatos® are water-based, with all the benefits that that brings - easier cleanup, less fumes, less time to dry etc.

My colour selection for experimenting was: black liquorice, black cherry, metallic blueberry, aqua dolce, pistachio, and red cherry.  Sounds delicious!  I made sure I had a dark and a light and a metallic in my selection to give me a good range to see different results.

The first thing I tried was using a stencil.  I'm actually using a reverse stencil (the positive image, rather than the negative cut-out).  It was the left-over paper backing from a fusible web shape and I was just grabbing what was lying around, but you could make stencils from freezer paper, stencil plastic or use something already cut like a paper doily.

I made a little video of how the experiment went.  Spoiler alert - it went really well!

I'm going to try another way to work with them soon, and perhaps I'll share a video of that too.

Have you ever tried Gelatos®?  What was your favourite way to use them?

Creating a Quilted Banner - Finish

Ok, so the lighting of this photo is terrible, but I'm just glad to have it finished and I'm not going to angst about getting a perfect picture!  All that is left to do is to hand stitch down one long edge of the hanging sleeve, and that's an evening job for when I'm sitting in front of the fire conversing with the love of my life ;-)

These are the process photos since you saw it last.  I filled in the background with neocolor water soluble pastels.  Being crayon-like, you can turn them on their side and use them to block in colour quickly.

Out came the fabric medium again and I began to paint thin layer of it over the pastel.  I applied the pastel and the fabric medium in thin layers to try and avoid a 'plastiky' feeling.  (And how on EARTH do you spell plastiky - plasticy - plasticee....?)

I've had a few people asking me what fabric medium I use.  I picked up some Jo Sonja's fabric medium from Spotlight (probably equivalent to Joanne's in the USA).  You can use it to mix with acrylic paints to turn them into textile paints.  I haven't used it much because I also have specific textile paints.  But it can also be used to set coloured pencil and water soluble pastels.  I did a post here on my experiments:  http://theslightlymadquiltlady.blogspot.co.nz/2013/09/experimenting-with-coloured-pencil-on.html

I would also like to experiment with some other brands as this is the only one I've used so far.

Here it is fully painted.  You need to heat set textile medium, so I ironed it using a pressing cloth.  Be careful!  There are a couple spots where I lightly scorched it and slightly discoloured the pastel (it matches the cat paw prints and I'm calling it 'texture').

You can hardly see it, but there are Kerikeri street names written lightly on the background.  Again, they were done in coloured pencil.

I had the appliqué letters in the middle originally but they were lost against the foliage.  With a bit of shuffling and auditioning I found they sit perfectly against the darker stripe that I had painted on the bottom edge.

I fused the letters onto the background (they are cut from my hand-dyed fabrics) and then free-motion quilted/appliqued them onto the background using two rounds of black thread.

The binding is machine stitched.  I made a hanging sleeve and pinned it along the back top edge, then applied the binding on the back side first (so I'm sewing the binding and one edge of the hanging sleeve in one go).  Then I flip the quilt over, fold the binding over the edge and onto the front, and pin it so it sits just over the line of machine stitching that shows from where I sewed it onto the back.  Then I straight stitch from the front side, about 1/8 inch in from the edge and this catches both the front and the back neatly.

That's a really short explanation of how I do my machine bindings - leave me a comment if you want me to do an expanded explanation with pictures.

Now I have a week left for my next quilt deadline.  I'm not so optimistic about getting that one finished, but I'll give it a go.

Stay tuned for a Cerego renovation update tomorrow!

Freezer paper masks are your friend

Whoever invented freezer paper needs a medal.  And whoever discovered that freezer paper sticks to fabric when ironed and then peels off easily with no residue needs a REALLY BIG medal.

I wanted to carry on with my coloured pencil Tui experiment and had decided to paint the background.  But how to get there?

Well, here's an 'almost finished product' picture.  Next I need to work on the branch that the Tui is perching on.

First off, I placed my freezer paper shiny side down over my Tui and carefully traced the outline.

It's taped up on my window.  I have got an insert for my SewEzi table to turn it into a light box but  for a quick job it's just easier to use the window.

Then I cut carefully around this outline.  Use small, sharp, point-tipped scissors and take your time.  Once I was done cutting, I ironed it over my Tui until it was very firmly adhered.

And then you can paint over the top.  Easy!  

Just a couple of tips.  Don't dilute your paint too much or it will run under the paper.  Paint in strokes away from the freezer paper - if you paint towards it you risk lifting the edge.  It's better to wait till the paint is dry before peeling the paper off, but if you are impatient you can, just be careful!  And you can stamp, mono print, do whatever you like really.

Little Printed Purses

I've had a bit of a production line going over the last couple of days, sewing up all my monoprinted fabric into these sassy little zippered purses.  I think I'm in love with every single one!  They sit flat, which I like, because they can then slip into your handbag easily.  But I think the next bunch I do (yes - addicted) might have boxed corners, just for something different.  And maybe some smaller ones?

This batch all measure about 9 and 1/2 inches by 6 and 1/2 inches.  They are all lined with plain white fabric for a crisp, clean look.

The fronts and backs are different, but coordinated (it was lots of fun choosing which goes with what!) and they all have different coloured zippers.

The first question from my husband was, "What are you going to do with all of those?"  Doesn't he know that Christmas is only about eight weeks away?!  Of course I want to keep one for myself.  And then I think I might sell a few either on my Etsy or Felt shop or maybe at the Kerikeri Patchwork and Quilters Club exhibition in January.  Hmmmm, I might have to make some more so I can have a few in all those venues.  Darn, what a chore that'll be ;-)

Do you have a favourite?

Printing Fabric - I went a little overboard...

Yesterday I did a demonstration and then held a mini-workshop at my local quilting club.  It was on fabric stamping, monoprinting and screen printing.  It went really well and I had a few people totally enthralled the results when trying it out themselves.  Fun!

Then today I had the job of emptying out my suitcase and cleaning up and putting away.  Well I got everything shipshape and then I began sorting through my samples.  I found a couple that needed another layer or a stamp or two.  I thought to myself, "I'll just do a couple of prints....."

Two hours and several BBC Documentary podcasts later I finally stopped myself!  It is seriously addictive stuff, people, and I don't know whether to urge you to give it a try or warn you off ever starting.

Here are some of my favourites:

Background is a gelliplate mono print, albatross is screen printed.

The black shapes were screen-printed first and then the colours monoprinted on top. 

Monoprints, stamps and screen-prints.

A 'ghost' monoprint (a second, lighter print from the one paint spread), an albatross screen print and the rings were stamped.

I pre-cut most of these pieces of fabric 9" by 10" with the intention of turning them into little lined, zippered pouches (they're very cute, I'll show you some when I've sewn a few more up).

So if you think you are interested in fabric printing, just go find a youtube tutorial and jump in and have a go!  Of course, if you are in New Zealand, I could always come and run a workshop in your area - just email me!

Addictive

I've been fabric printing.  Experimenting for the handprinted fabric swap III, run by Leslie Keating.  I thought quilting was addictive, but now I can't stop thinking about stamp designs!  And I've even made a wee screen for screen printing and had a play with that too.  Fun!

It's amazing what some craft foam, a hot glue gun and scrap of wood can produce in the way of a stamp.  I thought it would be complicated, and I have carved a stamp (the circle of spirals) with a soft carving block and lino cutting tools, but the simpler stamps I've made are just as effective, if not more so.

I'm in love.

Ghostly

Here's a sequence of photographs showing what happened to one of my white fat quarters.  You can see the black lines drawn with a fabric marker in a rough grid pattern underneath.  Then I scraped on red fabric paint with a tiling tool.

I diluted some of the red paint with water and used a foam brush in another grid pattern.  I put it out to dry with bits and pieces on to try and get a sun print but that didn't work.  No matter.

A week or so later, my daughter was painting with acrylics and squeezed out way too much.  So I mixed her colours up with some textile medium, ironed down some leftover freezer paper shapes I had and rolled (using a brayer) the paint over the shapes.  

That technique wasn't so successful.  The brayer would catch the edge of the freezer paper and roll it up around itself and so I couldn't go back to cover the shape entirely.  

But I'm still really happy with it.  I like the ghostly image.  The not-quite-there glimpse, which is similar to the flash of bird you often see in real life.  Just an impression as it flits by.

What do you think?

More Fabric Painting

After a week and a half of sick children, today was my first day when they were both back at school and I had no other commitments.  So I made a date with my studio, turned on my latest audio book*, and broke out my new Jacquard textile paints and had a play (of course, that was after I fed the calves, chooks, ducks and rabbits, loaded the dishwasher, washed and hung out two loads of washing, took the dogs for a walk, vacuumed the house (the plug is fixed - yay!) and had a cup of tea to revive myself.)

*'How It All Began' by Penelope Lively - pretty good, but not exactly fast paced.  Would recommend 'Giants Of The Frost' by Kim Wilkins - kept me riveted.

The Kotare (Kingfisher) and Pukeko were the result.  I'm pretty happy with the Kotare, but I think the blue on the Pukeko is a bit bright and uneven, so I'll go back to that.

The other thing I've been playing with is samples of how to portray foliage.  I've pieced a small background made of the same fabrics on the quilt I'm making and have painted and appliquéd onto it to see what I want to use.  There is hand painted silk organza, hand painted scrim/muslin, shiva paintstiks, Jacquard Lumiere and normal Jacquard textile paints and some old acrylic textile paints I had hanging around with no labels on them!  It's been really interesting to see the different effects.

No sewing tomorrow, for I'm off to work to pay for my habit ;)

Fabric Painting on a Windy Weekend

I painted these yesterday.  Freezer paper stencils and fabric paint - lumiere and assorted others, on white 300 thread count cotton fabric.  Then today was howling with wind so I stayed inside and touched them up a bit.  Hubby took the kids for a jaunt to the shops to spend some of their pocket money so I had a couple hours of solitary painting time (aaaahhhhh!).

I'm pretty pleased with this one.  It is the kokako, or blue-wattled crow.  It is severely endangered, and has the most beautiful haunting call.

The keruru or wood pigeon. It has the most distinctive heavy wing beats when it flies overhead, and is known to get drunk and stumble around on lawns from eating fermented berries!

And the tieke or saddle back.  I'm pretty sure it survives only on off shore island sanctuaries.

I'm undecided whether to try and cut these out and appliqué them to my background, or paint them directly.  These were practice pieces but they've turned out so well that I'm tempted to try the cut and appliqué route.  If I painted them I think I'd have to paint the background white first.

And this is a background on which they will all be placed (the design wall is still under construction).  The majority of these fabrics are my own hand dyes or surface designed fabrics and there will the a nikau palm in the centre.  I better get moving on this quilt as I wouldn't mind exhibiting it at the Auckland Festival of Quilts (aka Calico Christmas) in November.  Chop chop!!

Playtime

I've been playing.  Playing with paint - the tui behind is painted through a freezer paper stencil, the one in front fabric.

And then I've been playing with organza.  I attended a weekend workshop with Jeanette De Nicolis Meyer called "Layers of Lightness: Quilt and Collage with Translucent Fabrics" and I had a fabulous time!  We got to paint silk organza (which is soooo much easier to handle than synthetic organzas) and then we started composing little pieces with our bits of yummy fabrics.  Below you can see one of my compositions developing.

This one I'll be stitching down with straight machine stitch around the shapes.  Jeanette also taught us hand and machine pojagi seams (a traditional Korean seam used in wrapping cloths).  I love the prismatic colours on this piece - I used a white background to layer it on to get that translucent look.  Other people used patterned backgrounds with interesting effects.

Then I had a serendipitous moment when I was piling up my scraps and I couldn't help developing another composition.

I really like this one.  It has something mysterious about it.  I used a blue cotton that I had hand dyed and discharged cross patterns on as a base cloth and you can see how it has altered the top colours.  I'm busy hand-stitching these pieces down and liking it more and more as I go.  If you want to see what others did in the workshop you can see pictures here.

And I fear I'm a little addicted!  This is a composition I worked on yesterday. Inspired by a dawn sky I photographed a little while ago.  I have thoughts about putting my tui's over it along with an organza tui, but I'm not sure yet, more playtime will have to be indulged in before any decisions are made.

PS Jeanette is teaching again in New Zealand in April 2013 at the Wanaka Autumn Arts School - she comes highly recommended by me!

PPS Many thanks to dear hubby who entertained the children all weekend, mowed the lawns and cooked dinner both nights too.

Updating you with crappy photos

So I survived the half-marathon (on the 17th November, that's how long it's been since I updated this blog!).  I walked it in 3 hours and 43 minutes (and 59 seconds if you want to be precise).  Not too bad for a first go.  The average time was 3 hours and 16 minutes so next year I'm planning to get closer to that.

Later that same night I hobbled went off to our friend's annual "Wild Food Cook Off".  Basically a party where we all bring a dish of food made from things we have hunted, caught, foraged etc.  There was Bombay Horse's Arse (horse curry - yes, we have wild horses up here if you know where to look) and Roast Peacock, Oysters and Banana Flower Burger.  Mine was tame in comparison - Duck Egg and Wild Rose Cheesecake - but it was pretty good if I do say so myself.

A picture of a snail dish from last year's cook off.

The only problem is that I left my camera there!  Hence you haven't had any updates for a while.  I haven't been up to too much, but it's been frustrating being without a camera.  But today I've had a brainwave - I can take pics with my webcam.  Terrible pics and the cord doesn't reach far, but hey, they are still pictures!

My sample on the left, my four-year-old daughter's on the right.

For the last two Friday's, I've been running a class at one of the local primary schools.  Myself and my team of fab volunteers have been doing fabric stenciling with six-year-old children.  I'm counting this as one of my small, experimental quilts as I've had lots of playing with fabric paint and freezer paper stencils to come up with samples.  One more class this Friday and it's all done.  In exchange for the classes, we get to use their school hall for our guild exhibition - a pretty good deal if you ask me!

Next, I've been going a little mad on making these cute little purses.  They are small and just darling and as soon as my girl spotted the one I made as a sample, she snaffled it and hasn't let me have it back.  So I've been making a stack of them for Christmas presents.  Some of them will hold vouchers, or a nail kit or trinkets and some will be part of a set (I enlarged the pattern for a bigger one).

Here's the stack I have made ready to hand stitch up into their proper shape.  They come from this tutorial here.  Thanks Rashida!!  You've sorted so many of my Christmas gifts!  Even my boy has picked out fabrics for me to make one for his 'treasures'.

I've also been working on the vege garden (sorry - webcam won't stretch that far) and this morning planted some tomato and basil seedlings and some carrot seeds.  It's been dry for the last 3 weeks so I've been spending a bit of time watering too.

So that's it for now.  As soon as I get my camera back I'll give you a more thorough round up of the Wild Food party and show you my daughter's funky new haircut!