Discharging…………

……..is a verb that can have several meanings.  At Morley this week and last, we were working with this fabric, and removing the colour with..

This was astonishingly effective in removing the colour, literally working in front of our eyes.  Using various stamping, dribbling, painting and folding techniques, this gave a grand series of marks on the cloth





which were then over dyed with Procion p dye paste this week, to colour the areas where the dye had been removed.  The dye was applied in several ways :

• by scraping it on with a credit card - a strangely compelling and satisfying technique that makes a great sound on the cloth
• by painting it on with a paint brush
• by squeezing it on to the cloth with a plastic needle-nosed bottle

Then we used another discharging agent, Formusol, which can be added to Indulca paste to allow the formusol to be used like a print paste.  This is a bit more fiddly as the cloth has to be steamed to activate the pete, but it seems even more magical as the discharged print is not revealed until the cloth is unrolled after steaming.

Discharged circles, made using discs of acrylic, smeared with the paste ( using a foam brush) and then stamped on the cloth.

The words again - probably their last outing as I only have one more week in the studio.
The dyeing technique is also called illuminating discharge, and it is possible to do it in one step, but the college has a limited range of colours available so this method gives more scope for mixing our own colours.
These will both be over-dyed next week.  I'll also try this on some of my own dyed cloth - so many possibilities.

Practical stitching

I now need a laptop sleeve, as I will be travelling more in my new job. and carrying my laptop with me.  I haven't found anything for sale that I really like, so I used this piece of cloth to make my own.   There are two layers of cotton wadding in this, so the quilting had to be done with a large stitch.

Front, with loops for pens or key fobs.

Back.

Straps, which are webbing embroidered with a favourite thread.
The double zips, to allow it to be fully unzipped at airports, were a challenge, but I'm glad I had a go at these.
More carved marking tape at Morley this week, on top of a ProcionP background, created with a notched foam brush - obviously needs ironing!

Mixed stitching

I have just started a new job, so a lot of stitching has slowed down while I adjust to everything involved with that.  A couple of postcards for the birthday swap, made with hand-dyed and commercial fabrics.

A 5inch Dear Jane block to complete a tilt started by one of our group members who was a great quilter and who died this year after a long life.  Although I enjoyed making this in memory of her, this has fully convinced me that I will never make one of these quilts.

Then finally, quilting of a piece of screen printed cloth, potentially to protect my laptop if the piece is large enough.  Inside is tray-dyed cloth overprinted with a photo screen that has two sections on one screen.

Outside is Procion P painted cloth then overprinted with two different screen  stencils made from wide masking tape carved into curves with a scalpel.

Details of quilting, so far.

I am also taking part in this stitch-along, but there will be few photos as the final product will be a present to be revealed on the day of the 50th anniversary edition.

Strippy bookwrap

In the tradition of strippy quilts, (yes that is strippy,  and not stripy spellchecker, no matter how many times you try to correct it), the most recent bookwrap was made from left-over strips of my hand-dyed fabrics, then hand embroidered with colours complementary to the colour of the cloth.  The organisers of this project are so efficient, it is on their site already, so this is a picture of the back  or the front, depending which way you put it on your book.

I don't want to go to Chelsea…….

I seem to be reliving my musical history through my photos.  In the week of the excesses of the Chelsea flower show, these are all from my garden, and show why " I don't want to go to Chelsea" ( with apologies to Elvis Costello).

Colour palettes

The photo below, of peeling paint on an abandoned rowing boat,  has continued to intrigue me, and I asked my elder son to help me extract a colour palette.  He did extract the colour palette below, but in such a blur that I'll find it tricky to duplicate the process.  He's definitely not a natural teacher.

More book wraps finished

These little projects are very addictive.   I've decided to use a lot of my dyed samples from Morley to make these for the Bookwrap Gem tombola at the Festival of Quilts.  All to fit A5 size sketchbooks, with a spine or up to 2cm width.  Cotton sheeting, hand-dyed with Procion MX and Procion P, then  machine quilted.  The last one, has an overlay of silk chiffon from somewhere or other.  These were also a chance to try out the Bernina edge stitch foot - well worth the money.