Faux Quilts

bubble chiffon, screen printed and painted with thickened mx.

After spending the last several months working exclusively on wool I decided to work on my two favorites silks from last season. This one is on tight twisted seersuker. It will be slightly crinkled when freed from the table, but doesn't wrinkle when packed or when it get humid.

tight twisted seersucker, screen printed and painted

My table is 5'x12' so I am able to work on two large squares at once.The prints and geometric shapes remind me of quilts.

beginning to overprint

completed overprint and brush stroke.

This one was overprinted with using a screen with a soy wax grass pattern. I also used the turquoise/emerald to paint a thin band in the center square.

bubble chiffon.

Meanwhile at the other end of the table I used the same colors but built it in a different way

This may look quite different when it drys. The final dark looking stripes are actually more of the chartreuse so we will have to see how much that shows up.  They look almost flag like to me. The chiffon has a natural texture that will bounce up once freed from being stretched on the table.

tight twisted seer sucker

Now it is the wait for them to dry so that I can steam them. They are made from liquid reactive dyes so steaming is required. Will post them when they are edged and made into scarves.
It has been a good way to get beyond January and day dream about the warmer days heading our way this spring.

Wool Shibori

Bomaki

Have been having a great time working with wool and acid dyes. Here is an example done by making a sleeve of this tropical weight wool and sliding it tightly down a PVC pole. Take it out, twist it a bit and then over dye it. This wool has a slight crispness so it holds its wrap nicely.

Tropical weight wool itajame with grey velvet.

This is itajime, shapes are clamped onto folded fabric and then dyed. I pieced it together with grey velvet.

Discharged wool knit, lined in silk charmeuse.

This was all that deep reddish brown and is a wool knit jersey. I gathered the width of the knit and bound it with string. It discharged to a disappointing bubble gum pink... so back into the pot to be over dyed a bit with a chartreuse which did the trick. It is lined in a luscious cream charmeuse  and has a grey silk caps on the ends. It is really lovely in MHO.

Tropical weight wool

Wool crepe and velvet. Itajime.

Bomaki tied in overhand knots and overdyed green.





















I loved this one. It was still in the 80's when it was made last September and I sold it almost immediately. It went to a good home. I was using up old MX dye that I had and read that if you treated stale dye like an acid dye it would work. I have no complaints. I do love the serged edge on this one.

Itajime and tropical weight wool.

I love the way this one retains its folds while on the body.

Wool crepe italjime with grey velvet caps

Another of the wool crepe dyed with the old MX. Sold the same September day. I do hope it is out and about this cold January.






















 

Wool knit itajame

Pieced wool chalis and silk

More wool kit

I learned this technique this summer from Elin Noble.. she is a great teacher. The grey and violet scarf above was made from this itajime technique.

Induction Hot Plate

Another thing I learned from Elin was what a joy it would be to invest in the induction hot plate. This puppy allows me to heat use 22+ gallon stainless steel stock pots full of dye in a flash. I don't think I would have been doing this work without it. 

Thanks for stopping by.

New Prints...Wordless Weds. except it is Thurs.

2012 was a most productive and exciting year for me. I really mean to blog about it. But for today I will just put up some images that are in a one person show of prints on paper. They are all monotypes done with MX dye on Reeves BFK. I love the rich translucency that the thickened dye produces on this lush paper. 

 I think it is easy to see that these three prints were pulled from the same deconstructed screen. With each pull more of the dye is deposited on the paper. I also worked back into them with additional dye either brushed on or stamped.

















 These three came from another screen


 

These last two are larger and from the same screen

I have another six waiting to be revisited. It is a wonderfully exciting process.