Experimental Printed Images, Scrappy Bags and a Hawk.

Preparations for a Summer Workshop. We will be stamping and printing, hand and machine stitching, and hopefully using our creations to make into fabric concertina books.

After cutting my teapot and two mugs out of foam sheets, I 'drew' the patterns and detail into the surface with my electric, stencil cutting heat pen.

First I tried them out on paper, then onto fabric. I may need the paint to be brushed on a little heavier for the fabric though.

I thought I'd try making a collograph print using the same foam and heat pen. The printing 'plate' is below.

First I used it as a stamp on paper, below.

Then as a collograph print. The difference is that used as a stamp, I covered the whole surface with paint, but it didn't collect down into the drawn line. For the collagraph style print below, the surface was again covered with paint, but pushed down into the drawn line. Then the surface was wiped as clean as possible so that the paint only remained down into the lines. I placed it face down onto some dampened paper, and then pulled it through a small press. I need to work on this technique, as I'm not so happy with the image below. It could also be that my drawing/design is really crude, so maybe I need to try again with something a little more refined!

I've been making scrappy bags! I have so many scraps of furnishing/curtain and quilting fabrics, and I also found a Popular Patchwork magazine from 2009 with a summer bag pattern section, so away I went.

This one is for me, to match a jacket I will be wearing to a wedding. Above is the right side, below the reverse, and the third image shows it against my jacket.

Below is the second one I have made. It's for my daughter in New Zealand, they are coming into their winter, so hence the more muted colours specifically to go with denim.

The third one below I made to try and sell in my Etsy shop, but I added the magnetic closing clip after I had finished it, so I don't feel it has gone in well enough to sell. Shame really, I think the colours are good for summer.

Finally, my JQ for May. It's my interpretation of a Goshawk. I'm reading, and enjoying Helen McDonald's 'H is for Hawk' at the moment, so thought I would stay with the bird theme. Made from one of my Gelli printed papers, and appliqued onto some hand painted cotton fabric.

If you've enjoyed reading this far, many thanks, and have a good Bank Holiday, (if you live in the UK). If not, then enjoy the weekend anyway!