SURPRISE ME! November

CARLA

I am into printing and recycling these days and I love it.

This pillowcase was a home-dyed -poor quality- cotton shopping bag.

I drew and cut out  shapes of ' human figures' as a stencil to print with.

It is an experiment ,so I didn't bother with good pint and used just cheap acrylics. 

The ?-mark is a foam stamp.

Some hand embroidery was added , not too much because it is already pretty busy as it is.

On second thoughts I think I maybe could have done some more hand stitching.....

What I learned from it is to use better material ,even though it is an experiment : 

the work is the same but the result will be of a better quality.   

VIVIAN

I chose some fabric that I printed using disperse transfer dyes. They are a surprise when you complete the process ... you do not know what colour will print.

The basic method:

1. mix powdered dyes with water (some come premixed)

2. paint on white copy paper and let dry

3. transfer to polyester fabric by ironing ... put paper face down on the fabric and iron without steam ... use press cloth or parchment paper above and below ... hold layers flat and still as you iron ... peek to see when it has transferred ... be prepared to be surprised!

4. rinse with synthropol to remove excess dye

This little piece is the result of an old blouse (see vertical tucks) and a piece of curtain lace. They must be polyester to take the dye.
I stitched, did a small amount of colour addition to the area of the tucks and probably will add some hand embroidery and embellishment.

Below is the paper ... notice how dark it is. You can get more than one print and you can also spray with a light mist of water and get additional prints.

Below is the same piece embellished with hand embroidery, a dragonfly button and a few beads.

Carla and I began with an on-line group named ' Abstract Challenge'.

I am in Vancouver, Canada and Carla is in the Netherlands. We were able to meet when Carla and her husband attended a conference in Vancouver.

We decided for 2012 we would work together on 'DESIGN EXPLORATIONS'. We chose a theme each month and created our little quilts that are posted on this blog.

MEMORIES December

VIVIAN: Making Memories with my Friends

After a workshop with my friends … I thought about making ‘memories’ with these wonderful and creative friends. We meet about once a month and share a technique … something  good to play with. We show our current projects and have a great day!

This project was to work with Inktense Blocks and decorative stitching. We used the blocks for colour, couched heavy decorative cords, used a ‘fancy stitch’, the triple stitch to give a strong line and then made a quilt sandwich that is stitched with metallic thread to hold the layers in place. The little quilt can be used in many ways, including placing in a frame.

CARLA :                     " SHARING MEMORIES WITH MY DAD."

It is good to sit with my dad and try and help him to share the memories of his long life.

Over a cup of tea on one of my visits we talked about what has happened the past few months in our lives. Before we realized we went more and more back in time from there.

He needs a little help sometimes to dig in the past  and get started but then suddenly all the little pieces of information fit together like a jigsaw puzzle and then amazing stories are told about people he met and worked with.  

Wonderful stories of his youth,his brave actions as a 16-year-old boy in the Resistance movement in WWII , and  ...how he met my mother.

Moments to be cherished !