The Printed Fabric Bee

Here is the latest information from the Printed Fabric Bee, have you been following along? Don't forget that you have a chance to win nine 6" x 6" hand dyed, designed and painted squares from wonderfully talented surface designers!

 

All you need to do is visit this month's Queen, Carol R. Eaton's blog:

http://carolreatondesigns.blogspot.ca/2014/04/give-away-starts-now-colors-and.html

and comment to win!

 

 

Here are some pictures of my fabric and the process:

I started off with hand dyed fabric:

 

 

Then I screened on some discharge paste with a thermofax screen with an Echinacea pattern:

 

Then I printed again with a rich brown paint and offset the design slightly:

 

 

And also painted the centres of the flower with a cobalt blue paint for some highlights. I also added trios of mini dots all over the fabric. they are hard to see but show up better in the fabric sample that will be part of the Giveaway! So don't forget to enter!

 

 

 

 



 



 



 

 

Colour Play - Dye, Dye, Dye

I've been filming an exciting workshop that has been developed especially for quilters, stitchers, mixed media artists and everyone in between. You will learn basic colour mixing theory using Procion MX dyes. Then make simple colour gradations, colour to colour runs and develop a range of fabrics and threads using a planned palette showing value, tints and shades. You will learn how to prepare threads for dyeing by skeining and tying to keep them from tangling, what fabrics to use for dyeing and easy ways to rinse and wash your fabrics. Dye recipes and excellent written step by step instructions will be provided and there will be a focus on safe studio habits.
You will have an opportunity to ask me questions at anytime and you may choose to download the video for viewing at your convenience.
Join me for a fun filled, colourful workshop that shows you how to create gorgeous hand dyed  threads and sumptuous fabrics!
Registration is open now, so sign up for a special price of only $15!!!

Register HERE: http://susanpm.com/online-workshops/

Colour Blocking with Thickened Dyes

One of the lessons in my Screen Print with Success workshop involves using thickened dyes to print across the surface of the fabric. I love doing this exercise as its a fabulous way to play with colour mixing.
Here are some of my results:

Its not too late to register: http://susanpm.com/online-workshops/

Dye Another Day!

How often you you get inspired with a new dye colour or idea and want to rush to the pots eager to try it out? Then discover you have to make up the soda solution and dye concentrate before starting? Maybe you only have 30 minutes and would love to try creating a new rich, soft brown with tints of red?

Why not make up the solutions and have them ready for when the inspiration strikes?

I have dye concentrates made up in 12 ounce squeeze bottles in two sets of primaries, plus a few extra colours and store them in my dye room. The room is cool all year round, but if your space gets warm, then invest in a small bar fridge.

I generally buy my dyes twice a year and make fresh concentrates every 3-4 weeks, more often if I'm having a particular colour splurge!

I buy my dyes from www.dharmatrading.com, they ship quickly and I like their service.

The colours I have are:

Cool Primaries                      Warm Primaries

Fuchsia                                    Scarlet

Lemon Yellow                        Golden Yellow

Turquoise                                Royal Blue

And I add in Bronze, Purple, Black (sometimes 2 or 3 different ones)' Avocado, Moss Green and Eggplant. I often will try a new colour and see if I'd like to add it to my palette, but generally am happy with this selection.

Here's the dye concentrate recipe I use:

Dye Concentrate:

            1 cup Chemical Water

            1 Tablespoon Procion MX Fiber Reactive dye powder

            Stir dye powder into Chemical Water until dissolved

            * I generally double the amount of black for intensity

Chemical Water: Urea is a wetting agent that keeps the dye solution from drying too quickly. This is important when laying the fabric flat to batch. Use this recipe for making the Dye Concentrate and Print Paste. The solution will keep indefinitely.

            4 cups lukewarm water

            9 Tablespoons Urea Granules

            Stir Granules into the water until dissolved.

I measure fairly accurately, but I know to get repeatable results it would be best to weigh my powders. I make little funnels from strips of paper to fit into the neck of the bottles, plastic funnels would work but I'd need one for each colour if I'm making multiple colours.

I make the soda ash solution in jugs or plastic bottles so that its ready to pour into cups with the dye concentrate:

Soda Solution:

            2 quarts lukewarm water

            4 Tablespoons soda ash

            Stir powder into water  until dissolved, soda ash will often take a little while to  dissolve thoroughly.

 Safety First!

·         Always wear a mask when working with dye powders.

·         Do not drink or eat in the dye area.

·         Reserve all equipment to use only with dyes and paints.

·         Label all dyes and chemicals clearly.

·         Work in a well ventilated area

How do you like to mix your dyes?

Meet Lisa Walton - an Australian Quilter!

I met Lisa when she was a student in one of my classes at Quilt Festival in Houston. Lisa had been awarded the Jewel Pearce Patterson (JPP) scholarship by Quilts Inc. This award is named in memory of Quilts, Inc. President Karey Patterson Bresenhan's mother, a quilting teacher and a founder of the International Quilt Association. Each year the recipient wins an expense-paid trip to the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas.

Lisa and I chatted a few times over the next few days when we met in hallways and line-ups! We share a few mutual friends and it was wonderful to share our passion for fabric and art. I knew then Lisa would be a perfect quilter to introduce on my blog.
 

Tell us a bit about how you began quilting:

I began quilting seriously over 20 years ago after a false start 30 years ago when I tried to make a Mariners Compass quilt without realising that I needed to add a seam allowance. My neighbour taught me to join Laura Ashley charm squares which of course ended up as the dog blanket. But I was hooked.

Where does your inspiration come from for your designs?

I am obsessed by colour and textures and shapes. I can't draw so most of my designs are geometric although over the last few years I am incorporating images and text and organic shapes which I am really enjoying.

 
Do you have a favourite technique?

At the moment I have two main areas of interest. I am very keen on designing my own blocks and incorporating them into geometric style quilts. I love the crispness of solid fabrics as well as my passion for hand dyed fabrics. I am also really getting obsessed with different surface design techniques. I am having so much fun doing rubbings and creating thermofax screens and creating my own fabrics based on my own images. I travel a lot and love making rubbings of interesting textures or finding unique shapes.

 

Any tips you can share with others?
I always have a digital camera with me and take photos everywhere to use as inspiration.

You also travel and teach, tell us about your big trip last year to Festival of Quilts and European Patchwork? Any other trips planned for this year?
This was my second trip to the Festival of Quilts and first time at the European Patchwork Meeting. I have found that quilters are the same everywhere. I was really nervous of teaching overseas especially in France as my French speaking is pretty awful but it was such fun. Everyone was so kind and we had so much fun and many giggles. I was also fortunate enough to also teach in Belgium and the Netherlands but there were always some students who spoke enough English to get my message across. It was wonderful to teach at Houston as well. It is amazing where quilting has taken me. In 2010 I was awarded the Jewel Pearce Patterson Scholarship for Quilting Teachers by IQA in Houston. This really opened many doors for me and was definitely a turning point in my quilting career.

This year I have already been invited to teach in New Zealand at the Symposium and South Africa at the International Quilt Festival in Johannesburg which should be amazing. I will also be teaching in England, Scotland and Luxembourg at the end of the year. As well I'll be in Houston teaching this fall. I know I am very lucky.

I see you have threads, dyed fabrics and so much more for sale on your website, is there anything else that you are planning? I understand that your husband does the dyeing? 

Our business Dyed & Gone to Heaven (www.dyedheaven.com) started as a small way to cover expenses for my hand dyeing passion. It has grown progressively over the years and when my husband Peter retired he was quickly dragged (not kicking and screaming) into being a part of it. He is now the main dyer and that leaves me more time to create new ideas and sew and generally have fun. The biggest thing that is happening this year is the release of my first book - Beautiful Building Block Quilts which is being published by C&T Publishing. I am beyond excited and nervous about how it will be received.  (http://www.ct-publishing.com/pdfs/10885.pdf)

I have also started leading Quilting Tours and will be returning to Japan in October for another tour to the Yokohama Quilt Festival. There are also other trips in the pipeline which is a very exciting development in my quilting journey.

I have a monthly newsletter which comes out from my website. I am also very active on Facebook (www.facebook.com/dyedheaven) and love the immediacy of it. I also have a blog where I try to post my works in progress and anything else that takes my fancy. (www.fibreinspirations.blogspot.com). I love this digital world - it makes everything so close.