stamping
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Stitch Gathering 2019 ✁
"This is the power of gathering: it inspires us, delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive." - Alice Waters
Last Sunday was Stitch Gathering, the wonderful day retreat organised by Jo Avery of myBearpaw, in Edinburgh. It is always a full day of fun, with great classes and company and it's always over too soon. I was there teaching a class - something a little different, more on that later! - and also had the opportunity to take a class. As someone that relishes learning and trying new techniques it was very exciting. And oops... I've started a new quilt!
Now, as I type this, something has occurred to me. For the first time I did not have the overwhelming anxiety I've had before every social occasion/journey/outing/time being around other people that I've had for the past three years or so. It could be because life has been extra crazy busy and I didn't have time to stress, though I suspect that's disbelief talking because those negative/anxious thoughts shout really loud. Mental health is fluid, with ups and downs - I am under no illusions but right now it does feel that gradually all those things that previously felt SO difficult just aren't. Usual worries like 'have I got everything?' and 'will people enjoy my class?' were fleeting and manageable. Thoughts like 'I can't do this' and 'I don't want to do this because of x,y,z', which would usually flood my brain, didn't take over. I know I batted a few of them away, they weren't non existent but they were quiet and didn't feel real. Anyway I'm taking that as positive and, however I may feel in the future, it feels nice that there wasn't a dreaded build up and it was all enjoyable!
At Stitch Gathering, Jo asks us to create a 'ticket' and each year these are swapped between participants. This year it was an 8" hoop, which we could stitch and embellish as we liked. It was fabulous to see them all hanging together and a nice variety of hoop art! Here's a closer look...
stamping on fabric ~ polaroid pouch
You may have seen these polaroid blocks if you're following me on instagram, well I made a couple more and turned them into a zip pouch! What follows is a mini tutorial of how to stamp text on fabric and also a little explanation of those words.
The fabric used for fussy cutting is Menagerie, Indian Summer by Sarah Watson. One of my favourite prints. I picked out a few animals to fussy cut and the sketched design of the print works really well for the polaroids. I used Paint Dot, Paper Bandana by Alexia Abegg for the background. Such pretty dots and the colours are just perfect.
I have 'written' on polaroid blocks before (I don't like that empty space) - embroidered text - but I just didn't have time for that. I needed something quick and so turned to stamping. The same method I used to stamp my initials on the bottom of my Everything In It's Place Bag.
It requires a rubber stamp alphabet, the kind you can get from stationery or craft shops. Each letter is an individual stamp - clear stamps with an acrylic block are definitely the easiest to use because you can really see where you are placing the letters.
To use them you simple peel the letters you need from the plastic backing and 'stick' them to the acrylic block to spell the word you want to stamp. I used a Memento Dew Drop Ink Pad, a really nice sized ink pad for the small letters.
Then to make the letters waterproof and also more even I went over them with a fine Pigma Micron pen. The 02 was the perfect line width for my letters. Finally it's important to heat set the ink with a dry iron.
*I managed to spill water on 'strength' (hence the smudging) while ironing the piecing before using the micron pen so do that sooner rather than later!
So why did I stamp those words?
I like surrounding myself with things that make me smile, positive images and words. I have a book Animal Wisdom by Jessica Dawn Palmer, which is all about the myths, folk stories and traditions that surround the animals. I looked up the bear, owl, fox and racoon, then chose the words that most appealed to me. The ones I feel are important, mean something and I want to always be part of me. It will just give me a reminder and boost when I see those words.
I would like to be a more adaptable person, I struggle with change a lot and it has led to anxiety.
Physical strength is important to me but also inner strength and mama bear strength.
Honesty and instinct come fairly naturally but I sometimes silence my instincts and that leads me to not be honest with myself. Doing my #100daysofsilentsewing project is really helping me to focus more on my instinct and the silence is so calming.
I chose a lining fabric I love, a Suzuko Koseki print:
And I picked a two tone zip, it's hard to capture the colour of the zip but the coral / yellow is so fun! It ties in well with the whole vibe I was going for.
I quilted round the polaroid blocks with navy 28wt Aurifil, simple straight lines that work as a frame.
Now I have to go and find something else to stamp!
linking up to finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts
dots ~ le challenge ~ printed jersey scarf
This months challenge was to create something with a 'dots' theme and it was the perfect opportunity for me to make a jersey scarf, which I have wanted to do for a while.
I ordered 2.4m of 64" wide cream jersey and a pot of Dylon Fabric Paint in Gold from Minerva Crafts. I wanted to make a long scarf so it could be worn in lots of ways, wrapped round a couple of times in winter and as a shawl for those cool summer nights.
I started by cutting the jersey in half lengthwise (which means I also get to make another one!) and ransacked the house for things to use for printing. I have seen a couple of tutorials that use corks so I grabbed one of those, I had a spare foam mini roller refill (the kind for painting walls) and then some random toys that had fun shapes...
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I cut a test strip from the extra fabric and had a play:
This is well worth doing if you plan to make your own. Some shapes looked good the first time but subsequent stamps not so great. I didn't like the cork at all (on the right) and the wooden shapes looked cool but not neat enough. The plastic bobbin made such a great shape (reminds me of the steam punk pattern) but wasn't what I wanted for this scarf. I loved the pizza shape made by the watermelon and that led me to cut the end of the foam roller, a really simple way to make your own shape!
You have to cut away the foam quite far down so that it doesn't ruin the shape when you press down. A did a few tests and made a triangle shape. I practised dipping it in the paint and printing a couple of times. Turned out I preferred to dip it in the paint every time I stamped so that I got a really good amount of paint each time. I also pressed down lightly and sort of rolled the stamp around so it created a nice shape. If it didn't work out I just went over it!
So I was happy with the triangles but the theme is 'dots'!! I didn't want to use the cork and everything else seemed too big... then I had a revelation and grabbed one of my kids pencils, the rubber on top was perfect!
Here's my printing station (aka dining table), the laminated table cloth was perfect and I didn't use anything else underneath (you could use newspaper if you want to protect your floor, table etc). You can also tell I didn't wash or iron the fabric before starting, I'm reckless like that.
It's hard to see in the photos but the gold Dylon fabric paint has a beautiful shine to it in the light. Once the paint was dry (after about 4 hours) I used a cloth over it and set the design with a hot dry iron. It did feel a bit stiff but a quick cool wash softened it up and I threw it in the tumble dryer (not sure if you are supposed to but it was fine!). It really is the most snuggly scarf and I'm thrilled with the design. The dots make it a bit retro and the triangles look 80s but the gold keeps it modern.
I adore jersey. It's so easy to wear and the fact it just rolls up at the edges so you don't have to sew it means it's super easy to make your own scarf! Minerva Crafts stock great wearable colours of this jersey and you can order in quantities of .10m (minimum .5m), perfect to get the right length of scarf for you.
Here's some bad selfies of me tying it in different ways:
I love my new scarf!! And this is the first tick off my FAL list :)
If you have made anything with dots or dot themed in the past month come and link up your finishes at le challenge for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop
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