Painting and dyeing and another class with Dionne Swift

I have spent most of the past week babysitting (dogs and/or children!) and working on a new piece. I have dyed the fabrics for the piece and started the picture itself.  Next I have drawn onto the fabric with fabric pens to enhance the design.  It's a new process for me but could very well be a new direction.  We'll see.  I am a bit of a butterfly when it comes to my work, but that's ok.  It keeps it fun!

This is the piece before I started any stitching.

Monday I start a new class with Dionne Swift; her class about working into sketchbooks. If it is anything like the last two classes I have taken with Dionne it will be intense and intensely stimulating in terms of new techniques and ideas.  I'm looking forward to getting started.

I'll let you know how it goes.
Do check out her on-line classes.  I cannot recommend them enough.  Great fun!
www.dionneswift.co.uk
I have lots to do, but I'll be back....

Again with the needlepunch machine

More needlefelting, needlepunching, embellishing...so many names.  And all with one machine!! Here is the little yellow piece that I spoke of in an earlier post.  I think this is my favourite of the bunch.  Wool roving on wool felt, hand dyed scrims and yarns, machine and hand stitching. This was a fun project to work on.

And now I am on to screen printing and other fun things.  I am working on another configuration of my oranges piece as well.  And I am wanting to get back to some watercolours.  Just wondering where I can apply to have the length of the days extended......any ideas?????
I'll be back....

More screenprinting

I am taking a screen printing course, another of the courses that Dionne Swift offers.  Another great course!! I would recommend this course as well!  (you will recall that I took her class Drawing for Textiles...fabulous!)

This little print was done by painting procion dyes onto the screen and then pulling off the print using clear print paste.  Such a lot of fun.  Dionne's classes are fast-paced and filled with lots of ideas for future work.  She gives feedback pretty much right away (!!! impressive!!) and one can interact with the other members of the class as well.  She also has a facebook page for 'alumni' where one can keep up with all the students that are in class as well as students from other classes that Dionne has taught.  Everyone seems very helpful and willing to share their knowledge!  What a bonus!!

I haven't decided quite what I'm going to do with this little picture but it will involve stitching for sure!!  Perhaps a journal cover (I'm getting lots of sketchbooks needing covers!!) or even a journal page. The second pull of the print is a little different and will also be fun to stitch onto.  If nothing else, they will be great samples to practice either hand or machine stitch on (I printed them onto a cotton sateen which is so lovely to stitch into).
So that's it for today.
here is a link to Dionne's website.  Check it out.   www.dionneswift.co.uk
I'll be back.....

Needlepunching again.

I am continuing to have fun using my embellishing machine.  It is interesting to try and develop the different types of lines, to try and recreate the drawn line.  And then of course, it is fun to add a little colour, because, really, who can resist a little colour!!

I love blue!!!
Next time I'll show you how I love yellow as well!!! I'll be back....

Deconstructed screen printing

I have prepared a screen with some black thickened dye, let it dry, and then pulled clear print paste through it.  The black dye is from Maiwa and has a decided blue cast to it, more like Payne's Grey, but I quite like it.

I like the way the scroll has printed black initially and then white as the screen did it's 'deconstructing'.  It is such a fun process.  Now, what to do with them????.....
I have been dyeing more fabrics for another picture from my trip.  Work to be done....
I'll be back.....

Watercolour Willow.

In my last watercolour class our instructor brought some pussy willow branches in and  I just had to have a go at painting one of them.   I love these sweet little things.  And this morning I noticed that there is light so  much earlier than a month ago.  And the robins are singing to announce their heartfelt intentions.  If you are very quiet you can hear the promise of spring all around.....