A few weeks ago I took part in a Workshop "Printing for Quilting" at my Handicraft Group. Our group consisted of ten members with one visitor who in all honesty was was the most industrious amongst us (and by visitor, I don't mean our tutor!)!!
We were instructed by Mary Gamester, on how to load our paintbrushes with paint to cover the blocks we were using for printing, and how to use sponges ..... dipped in paint ..... for different background effects.
After a fun introduction, and guidance from Mary who brought along lots of samples of her printed work, to give us inspiration, and a large collection of Indian printing blocks, and paints for us to use, we all set to, to see what we could do!
I have to confess I didn't make a note of the manufacturer of the paints we used, but they were fabric paints.
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I used some fabric which I had previously dyed in a tie dying workshop, others commented that they thought the tie dyed fabric worked well as a background for the block printing! However, I'm wondering, looking at my photos now, whether or not I applied sufficient paint to my printing blocks!
BTW - nearly forgot to say - all fabric needs washing before painting .... hence the crumpled appearance!
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| My experimental printing |
In comparison the photo (mine again) below shows printing on a plain yellow fabric which looks a little stark to me.
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| My printing, again. |
Looking at the visitor's blocks I think she had a lot more idea in respect of applying the paint to the blocks than I!
Some of you will no doubt recognise that the following three blocks involved sponge painting .....
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When we sat down for our lunch break we noticed these cute little critters just outside our window ..... they obviously thought they had found a lovely quiet place to hunt, but had no idea how many pairs of eyes were watching them!!!
You can't see from my photos, but they were sitting, side by side, just a foot apart from each other .... proper hunting buddies!
After lunch we worked towards the projects we each intended to make from our blocks.
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| A future book cover |
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| The long piece here is going to be made into a cover for the tissue box. |
Don't forget you will need to iron your painting to "set" it (Protect your iron and ironing board with sheets of baking parchment or baking paper either side of your fabric.) Once ironed your precious masterpieces, will be washable!
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Well, I hadn't been sure what to expect from this workshop, however, I thoroughly enjoyed the day, and only wished I had produced more painted pieces!
It would be nice to have another go sometime!
Hugs,
Barbara xxx
PS I see Benta from SLIKstitches has blogged about a "Lino block" workshop held at her Crafty Group, and she also shows the use of "Magic" blocks for printing - Click here to visit Benta's blog.
You might also be interested to visit Svetlana's blog SOTAK for her quick tutorial on stamping and printing - Click here for Svetlana's blog.
15 comments:
Looks like you had a lot of fun at your workshop Barbara and your blocks look lovely! I particularly like the first set on the tie dyed fabric! Looking forward to seeing how you use them! Christine x
Looks like you had a great time playing with paints and fabrics. Sometimes it's nice to play outside our comfort zone and discover something new. I like the tie dyed backgrounds too.
It is obvious that you enjoyed this workshop. Printing on dyes fabric gives a very artistic result!
Lovely cats, too!
Wow! Your printed fabrics have turned out beautifully - great job. Thanks for sharing the kitten photos, too.
I haven't painted or stamped on fabric in years. Your fabrics turned out lovely. What will ou do with them?
xx, Carol
Everyone has been doing workshops this week! This one looks like so much fun. I love the designs you did on the tye-dyed fabric, that seems to work really well.
All the printing looks good although I do like it on your tie dyed fabric best.
Lots of lovely work there Barbara but like Chris I love the pints on the dyed backgrounds best! xx
That sounds like a great class. I love all the techniques and I think it must be wonderful to make your own fabric for sewing projects. Your prints on the tie dye pieces are my very favourite :) The cats are very sweet. I expect they were just pretending to hunt and that they were really picking up tips for their next cat craft class :D
What fun! I want to try this.
Thank you, Carol!
I expect I will probably make pouches from the tie-dyed fabric, and I am thinking of making a book cover for a sketch pad from the larger piece. Might take a little while as there will be embroidery involved!
Barbara x
Thank you, Janine!
I hope my cats don't hear ..... I'll have to lock up my fabrics,tee hee!
Not really, I don't mind if they want to share!
Barbara x
It sounds like you were really inspired - sounds like a good day - now I look forward to seeing your work sewn up (no pressure or anything!).
What a wonderful thing to do! Your fabrics are great!
Oh wow - very productive! And thanks for the shout xxx
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