Tuesday, March 19, 2013

23. It's in the post

Finally today I managed to get myself, with toddler, to the post office to post out the hand printed swap fabrics.  Unfortunately they all weighed 56g so they were over the letter maximum of 50g (!!) and I had to fork out another $4each in postage.  Oh well, nothing could be done.

So here they are:
 Can you see the "watermark" jellyfish?  I had to take the photos in the shade otherwise it wasn't visible.
 A lighter version.
 This one has 3 colours and is my favourite.
 Not the best photo of this one but it is the best I could get.
Nicely folded ready to be posted.

Fabric: White Primavera 100% cotton from Spotlight (I wouldn't call it white though, probably a very light natural);
Printing: Ezi-carve block using Permaset "Junior Navy" ink.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

22. Affordable Liberty

Why is Liberty fabric SO expensive in Australia?

Tessuti sells it for $45/m
Patchwork on Central Park has it for $50/m

Then when you buy overseas, outside the UK, like we did to New York it is still expensive.
At Purl Soho it is $36.52/m. Until recently, this was the best price online that I had found for Liberty Fabrics.

Not anymore!

Have a look at Shaukat which has an AWESOME selection of all kinds of Liberty Fabrics - knits, needlecord, craft fabric, poplin, silks, wool blends - the list goes on.  There is so much choice here it is really overwhelming.  The really best part is the price for shipping - 1m is 10.72Pounds ($AU15.50) and 8m is 12.72pounds ($AU18.50).  I haven't tried adding more to my basket to see how much fabric I can jam in at this price - way too tempting.  Tessuti charges $10 for posting in Australia!

We all know that Liberty Tana Lawn is not cheap but here is sells on average for 13pounds ($AU20).  I am planning to make long sleeve shirts for work and I need 1.6m, so for $32 plus notions I can make myself a Liberty Tana Lawn cotton shirt.  I can't buy a polyester blend shirt from Target for that price.  Spotlight has the Japanese Tana Lawn for $15/m when it is not on sale, which shows you what a great deal this is for the Liberty Lawn.  Obviously the shipping cost has to be considered but even then if I only bought enough for a single shirt each time it would cost $47.50per shirt which is still a bargin when Country Road is charging $99!

So what am I going to buy you ask?

Seymour Stretch Poplin 98% Cotton and 2% Elastane:
Seymour Poplin
Classic Tana Lawn 100% Cotton:
Hera
Mabelle
I am really excited as Hera is my all-time favourite Liberty print and soon it will be mine - I hope I will have the courage to cut into it!

21. Fabric Printing

It was 36 degrees C today.

It is 7:30pm and it is now 34 degrees C.

So what did I do today?

Well I loaded little Julian into the car and drove 1.5hours to my friends house to do some fabric printing for the swap!  Thankfully there was aircon so it was bearable which is important when 3 toddlers are involved.

My initial plans of overprinting was changed slightly to offset overprinting - a brilliant idea from my printing buddy.


I think the results are pretty good but sorry no photos just yet, you will just have to settle for a photo of them drying on the clothes rack.



We all had a great day - so much so that Julian was asleep before we reached the main road (under 4 minutes) and had a contented 1 hour nap.  Ah, the serenity. Thank you so much printing buddy!

Friday, March 8, 2013

20. Groupies and pinning

I have just spent the last few nights having a look around Pinterest and I have gone nuts.  Don't even think about following me as you will be bombarded with emails because I am pin-crazy!

Anyway, I have just had a look at what Louise, one of my Handmade swap groupies, has been up to:
Nice huh? I Like, I like.

19. Printing block complete

I have just finished carving out my "jellyfish" printing blocks.


There are 2 and the plan is to layer them on top of each other.  I was going to make the first block, the one that is going to be overprinted, a solid circle but during carving I changed my mind.  I hope that by having the negative space carved out, it will provide more of a 3D effect with the overprinting.  Unfortunately I only have one stamp pad, so I really can't test this out until we start printing on Tuesday.

As part of our decluttering for the sale of our house my carving tools, paints and stamp pads are all packed up in storage.  So today I had to buy tools and a stamp pad so that I could get started. I bought the stamp pad at Riot Art and Craft and the carving tools from Melbourne Art Supplies.  I did notice that Riot has some awesome Speedball screenprinting kits which start at $70 for the basic kit and $130 for a large screen kit.  I know I don't need another hobby, but just thought I would tell you in case you were interested.

Monday, March 4, 2013

18. Umbrella Prints Trimming Comp

Umbrella Prints is once again running their Trimming competition and my crafty friend bought me a pack for my birthday.

This is my pack:

I was thinking of a placemat - yawn I know, but I use placemats and damask napkins EVERYNIGHT, so I would use it.

So I was looking through last years entrants on Pinterest and loved this one:
Source

It is by Salty Oat who is my groupie in the Handprinted Fabric Swap - small world!  I love the arrangement and the quilting looks fantastic. 

I am getting excited.  Better get my thinking cap on!

Sunday, March 3, 2013

17. Handmade Fabric Swap

Today I received the group I am in for the Handmade Fabric Swap.
And here they are:
Louise in London: http://www.flickr.com/photos/louisebatten/
Stephanie in  Berkshire: www.thecraftykitty.co.uk
Amber just up the road in Victoria: www.cumquatsandquinces.blogspot.com
Caitlin in North Carolina:  www.saltyoat.com


I am excited and nervous all at the same time!  I am not Albrecht Durer but I have carved lino blocks and printed on paper before.  Surely fabric printing can't be that hard!  Gulp.

Thankfully my little group doesn't look as intimidating as my friend whose group includes Leslie (the organiser), 2 professional fabric printers and someone who has just completed a Lotta Jansdotter printing course - No pressure!  I should say that she does have buckets of printing talent, so they may even learn something from her :)

Now fellow groupies don't get nervous, but this is my inspiration:
 
Source

I am thinking of a layered print but my plans may change once I begin drawing/carving/printing when my ambition outstrips my ability.  I also don't want it to look like a childrens print so hopefully I can pull this one off.

I wonder what my groupies have planned?  I can't wait to see.

PS - we sold our house a day before the auction, so the cushions obviously worked ;)