Sun Printing Fabrics

That little side trip to Vermont whetted my appetite for fabric painting, so I squeezed a day of play into my busy retirement schedule. As is my habit, I gathered my supplies and tools needed to work on some prototypes for a larger piece I have in progress. And then I proceeded to set up for sun printing. I do that all the time..decide I am working in one technique and then change midstream and start another. This probably drives others (read: husband and offspring) a bit crazy, but it seems to work for me. I am running one process through my head, all the while getting another process set up.

Well, it turns out I picked an A-1 day for sun printing! The tools are basic and the process is easy and fast. I used PFD (prepared for dyeing) fabric, a couple of Setacolor Soleil Paints I had, some wide bristle and sponge brushes, a spray bottle, a piece of foamcore covered and sealed with plastic wrap, some painters tape and a handful of coarse salt.

Then all I needed were objects and materials to print. I collected some leaves, grasses, weeds, some plastic doilies that had been my Grandmother Robertson’s, some buttons, coins and chain.

After cutting my fabric to the size that would fit on the foamcore, I ironed it and taped it in a few strategic spots onto the board so that brushing paint on it  wouldn’t be tedious.

I sprayed my fabric to the extremely technical point of “very wet” and then started brushing paint on. If you don’t have Setacolor Soleil Paints, you can use Setacolor Transparent Paints watered down in a 1:1 ratio. 

If it is really sunny and hot, you need to do these steps fairly fast because your paint will dry quickly. This did happen to me several times and I just gave my fabric a spray of water and I got another effect doing so.

Once you have your paint on, then you pick your items to print, lay them on top of the painted fabric and press them into the fabric. This is also when you can toss the coarse salt over the fabric for added effect.

Then you wait for the paint to dry, which on a beautiful sunny day, doesn’t take any time at all.

Once your painted fabric is dry, remove the objects and materials you used to print, remove the tape and then using a hot dry iron, press your fabric. It’s now heat set, pressed and ready for use! Fun, fun!

Today at Blossom Bake and Create blogger Lynda has a great post with links to even more information about preserving botanicals for use in printing. It is an excellent post and I am anxious more now than ever to get collecting some grasses and leaves to preserve for future surface design sessions.

I am linking to The Needle and Thread Network.

Sew Sisters Blogathon Canada

Welcome to all everyone visiting via the Sew Sisters Blogathon Canada! This is a great opportunity to find new-to-you Canadian bloggers and re-visit old blogging friends.

Sew Sisters Quilt Shop is a great quilt shop based out of Toronto, Ontario. Living in the Atlantic region means searching for those special fabric needs online as well as on foot and I have found Sew Sisters has a great selection, great sales, their shipping prices are reasonable, and their service is speedy! I have just finished piecing and quilting a quilt for a friend of my daughter’s and a selection of fat quarters from Sew Sisters rounded out my very small collection of purples quite nicely!

My daughter and I had a lot of fun choosing fabrics and her friend gave us an idea of the sort of pattern she wanted. I cut 4.5 inch strips, sewed them in pairs, and then cut lengths 8.5 inches long making finished blocks of 8 inches. I used a solid purple backing, with purple Bottom Line thread on the back and black Omni thread on the top. This pantograph pattern quilted up very quickly and the quilt is surprisingly cheerful and yummy! The binding will be made of leftover scraps of prints.

Stories in Stitches Revisited

My sister took these photos of the St Paul’s Show so I could share them here. What a magnificent setting for these pieces of art.

To read and see more, check out Susan Purney Mark’s blog as well as this interview on CBC. And there is more on Cathy Miller’s blog!!

The show was a resounding success with 1300 people passing through the doors to view the displays! Quilts, hooked rugs, needlepoint, cross stitch - they included all forms of needlework. Plus you got to see the beauty that is St Paul’s, a heritage property in the heart of downtown Charlottetown.

Enjoy!

 

The show was a resounding success with 1300 people passing through the doors to view the displays! Quilts, hooked rugs, needlepoint, cross stitch - they included all forms of needlework. Plus you got to see the beauty that is St Paul’s, a heritage property in the heart of downtown Charlottetown.

Enjoy!  

Basil. How do I love thee.

I was a slow convert to computers. As I began to realize the wealth of information available, I was quick to jump on board the blog bandwagon! As a fabric dyer, surface design person - a person of fibre - there was not a lot of info readily available in my immediate neighbourhood. As I found more blogs written with my fabric needs in mind, I gathered my favorites and either followed along, signed up for email updates, or in a lot of cases, just stalked. In a good way, of course.

Not everyone stays on topic all the time. That is the great thing about these online journals; many are written for a variety of reasons. Some authors are building a business and using all avenues of social media; some are kept so family living everywhere and anywhere can keep up; some simply like documenting their daily/weekly lives. Many turn their blogs into photo books! I would have loved this when my kids were small. Keeping a hand written journal just wasn’t for me I discovered, but the instant gratification of writing an entry and posting a photo or two of my growing kids and their daily antics would have been gold in my books! 

One of the bonuses I have discovered is that a lot of blog writers share their successes. All kinds of successes. Like recipe successes!

A couple of years ago I while reading a blog called Tommy the Material Girl, I was very interested in her yearly pesto making. I was intrigued that anyone who purposely work pesto making (in quantity!) into their summer schedule. So intrigued, in fact, that I never forgot. This year I decided the time had come to follow suit!

I have basil growing on my deck every summer and add it to just about anything and everything. I have eaten some this morning and will have it again in whatever I concoct for supper(...basil with eggs, add it to salad, margarita pizza, basil biscuits.....). This year however, I had a more formulated plan. I bought two plants already started and then started about 30 or 40 plants from seed. 

This morning I made my first pesto!! And it is delicious.....

I am freezing some and have kept a bit out to share with my hubby tonight. Maybe. Depends what time he gets home..

I won’t lie. I cleaned the inside of the blender with some bits of rosemary bread to get the last drops. And think what you will, I licked the blender blades clean. It’s that good.

So, thanks, Tommy! I really appreciate you sharing of your recipe. And I am so glad I gave blogs a chance.