Fundraising for a local landmark

A local landmark in New Hampshire near where we have our Quilt Camp, is Abenaki Tower.  In 2024 it will be a 100-year-old organization.  The current tower is the second one on the hill overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee and it is now time to fundraise for the third tower.  Nothing wooden lasts forever in the woods!  The tower is a non-profit supported by local families to Tuftonboro New Hampshire and was originally funded by small donations from bake sales, bridge nights, and other community events.  In light of helping maintain that tradition the committee is holding sales of small items and have some local artists involved in supporting the tower.  Elizabeth decided she could contribute by screening some images on cardstock and fabric and providing them as materials for the "makers" to do what they do best and make.

This is the second tower on the property and is made from telephone poles, the original tower was lumber and clapboard.  Soon an architect will come up for a design for tower number 3.

This is the logo of the organization.  It has been screened on a green hand dye and might make a great pillow front.

The center of the logo looks like it would make a nice small ornament and is currently being made into some notecards for the secretary to use as thank you notes.

The tower screened by itself on some blue and green hand dyed fabric.  What should we create with this image?

Here is one idea for an ornament.  The tower will have a decorated Christmas tree at the Festival of Trees in Wolfeboro this December.

The view of Melvin Bay from the tower is one of our favorite reasons for taking this easy 1/4 mile hike to the tower and climbing to the top.

 

Thermofax Screen Printing Tips

Previously posted in July 2020, worth repeating as a reminder of best practices.

We frequently get various questions about printing from customers in our Etsy shop.  Though we have FAQs on Etsy and this blog, people don't always read them.  So we thought it might be helpful to do a post of our printing tips.  There are always variables when printing, so we recommend doing test prints before starting on your project.  That way you can work out any issues without ruining the project.

First things first:
TAPE YOUR SCREEN if you did not order a pre-taped screen. See the tutorial on our blog at http://pgfiber2art.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_10.html
Find a how to print tutorial at http://pgfiber2art.blogspot.com/2014/10/how-to-print-with-thermofax-screens.html

Printing Tips:

• Thermofax printing works best on a padded surface.  On a flat surface, we use a piece of craft felt topped with a piece of canvas fabric or muslin.  The fabric serves to absorb excess paint.  (top picture below) For t-shirts, other garments, or tote bags place a piece of cardboard covered in waste fabric inside to provide cushioning and prevent paint transfer if it bleeds through; change fabric as needed; or just use a couple of layers of craft felt.  (bottom picture below)
  
  
  
  
• If you are printing on fabrics, use paints formulated for textiles.  These paints will give your finished product a softer “hand”. Some types of paint we use include: Fluid Textile Paint (artisticartifacts.com), ProChem (prochemicalanddye.com), Speedball Fabric Printing Inks, Jacquard paints, Versatex paints (DharmaTrading.com). You can also find paint at DickBlick.com and jerrysartarama.com. 

• Different paints have different viscosity; some sink into the fabric more than others. In the photo below, the white paint was thinner and sank in more and gave a raised effect to the lettering.  The blue paint was thicker and stayed on the surface keeping it flatter.
  
   
• If printing on paper, you can use acrylic craft paints. Speedball makes both textile and non-textile inks (paints). Look for the “fabric” designation when printing textiles. 
• DO A TEST PRINT.  Before tackling your project, do a test print so you know how many passes you need, how much pressure with the squeegee, and can see any spots that may need a bit more attention or may not print clearly.  Often the screen needs to be “primed” and will print better on the 2^nd or 3^rd print.  Below, the top picture shows the print after one pass with the squeegee. The bottom shows the same print after about 4 passes.  Keep lifting edges of the screen to check the print before removing the screen.
  
• Squeegees come in all types and sizes.  While a general rule of thumb is to match the size of the squeegee to the size of the print, you may not get even pressure with a large squeegee.  Our favorite squeegees to use are old credit cards and hotel keys. There are also scrapers that come in sets of 3 sizes that you can find in auto supply stores (used for detailing) or big box home stores in the paint department. If you want something larger you can find them at the art supply websites. When printing, hold the squeegee at a 90 degree angle and pull across the screen towards yourself.
  
• We do not usually secure the screen to the surface we are printing on, but if you need to, blue painters tape works well for that.  Otherwise, hold the taped edges of the screen securely while printing.
•  IMPORTANT! Before removing the screen, pick up the edges and check the print to see if you need to go over any area again.  You can carefully move your hand holding the screen to different spots to check so that the screen does not shift.  Or use tape to hold the screen in place. As stated previously, one pass across the screen is seldom enough.
• Put a line of paint across the top of the screen and pull the paint toward you.  Moving the squeegee in different directions means you are likely to shift the screen and end up with a shadow print. It is Ok to put more paint in denser areas. You are pulling the paint all the way across the screen so it may take more than you think. Dense/solid areas will require more paint and passes of the squeegee.  A smaller squeegee means you can target specific areas more easily.
  
•  Heat set (iron) the print when dry.

Clean Up:

·        As soon as you finish with a screen, drop it into a pan of room temperature water to prevent paint from drying on the screen. Paints labeled "pearlescent" that contain mica will clog a screen more quickly than those without and will need to be cleaned sooner.

·        Use an old toothbrush or fingernail brush to gently clean the screen; some paints may leave a slight stain.

·        Pat the screen dry with an old bath towel and allow to dry completely before storing.  Screens put away damp may stick to each other and cause the plastic emulsion to peel off.

We hope these tips will lead to more successful printing!

Scottish Teasels

Sue's "Fiber Visions" art quilt group recently issued a challenge to create a small art quilt based on a photograph.  Options were varied:  print the original photo on fabric and embellish it in some way, recreate the photo using any techniques desired, use the photo as inspiration for your design, or interpret the photo in some other way.  Sue chose to work with the photo below from her spring trip to Scotland. These teasels (a type of thistle) were photographed in the gardens of the governor's palace in the village of Culross.  For any Outlander fans, Culross is a 17th century village used to represent the village of Crainsmuir in the Starz drama.  A number of scenes were filmed in various rooms of the palace.   

Sue chose to recreate the photo as closely as possible, making a 9 x 12 version and mounting it on an artist's canvas.  The idea behind the photo was to create a Thermofax screen of the teasels, which was already in process when the challenge was issued.  So that meant deciding on the techniques for the background of the piece.  First was to find fabric for the gold of the wall and the texture of the stones.

On the left is the commercial fabric used for the background.  The texture was right, but the color was not, so golden pineapple paint by Profab was sponge painted over it to change the color.

Likewise, the fabric used for the rocks needed to be a bit darker so both gray and black were sponge painted over the original.

Starting on a base of muslin that was cut 3 inches bigger than the 9 x 12 finished size, the upper portion was layered with the gold and the lower part was layered with black, so that the space showing between the rocks of the wall would be dark.  A printout of the photo was used to create a template for the rock wall section.  After applying a fusible product to the fabrics, the pieces were cut out and fused to the background.   Adding a thin layer of felt as batting, free motion machine stitching was added to secure the rocks and create texture for the moss and tree branch.  Then the teasels could be added.

The teasels were also done as fusible applique, printed first on a brown fabric, then fusible applied and cut out.  The green leaves are also applique and were arranged at the same time as the teasels.  Since the extra fabric would be folded around the canvas, there was no need to extend the rocks beyond the 9 x 12 image size.  Additional stitching secured the teasels and leaves and added the curlicues and texture to the screen prints. Then the piece was mounted on the canvas.

On the left is the original photo and the art piece on the right.  Not an exact duplicate, but a close interpretation.  Sue is pleased with the result and plans to put it in a black drop-in frame that should set it off nicely.   

The teasels is a new Thermofax screen that you can find in our Etsy shop if you would like to use it in your own artwork.

Quilt Camp Week 10 - Colors of Fall

After 9 weeks of quilt camp posts, last week we took a much needed break.  We had a topic in mind but sometimes things don't work out as intended.  The extra time helped to take a step back and refocus on the project.  Our goal was to feature some of the new screens added to the Etsy shop.  Along with that, we were reminded of a challenge for fall quilts to be donated to the Virginia Quilt Museum, so we decided to combine the two ideas. The museum is asking for 15" square quilts in "Colors of Fall" to be sent in for display by October 19.  After display, they can be donated to the museum for sale in the gift shop. Sue chose to work with the bald cypress screen on 5" squares in a 9-patch pattern, and fall leaves (also screen prints).  Things started out pretty well, with 9 squares printed.

Sue used rusted fabric as the background and printed with Simply Screen paint by Plaid in "French roast".  (The Simply Screen paint appears to have been discontinued - an online search only found it available on eBay.)

Then she printed leaves on a multi-colored piece of fabric that had fall colors.

Fusible was added to the back and the leaves were cut out.  But the problem came when laying out the blocks and leaves; it was really blah, to put it mildly.  The leaves didn't stand out the way she thought they would, and there was too much brown. The first step to correct that was to add a brighter color behind the leaves.  If you enlarge the photo below, you can see that some of the leaves have a yellow or orange edge that was done by  fusing to another layer of fabric.

But even that wasn't enough. Still not very exciting, right?  So, what could she add to liven it up?  Here were 2 options.

This hand-dyed red seemed to add a nice spark.  Should it be a column down the center, or should she stick with the standard 9-patch format?

The 9-patch format won out.  Above are the 9 blocks sewn together.  As it worked out, some of the smaller leaves that didn't contrast well with the brown cypress print worked better on the red background.

So here is the finished piece.  The leaves are fused on, then free-motion stitched.  The background is also free-motion quilted with a meander stitch in clear nylon thread.   The cypress bark prints are a nice contrast with the red.  Much better than the original idea!  Now it is ready to be sent to the museum - we hope they like it!

If you would like to participate in the museum's Colors of Fall challenge, you can read about it here.

Quilt Camp Week 9 - Fusible Applique with Thermofax Screens

 Another technique we have used Thermofax screen printing for is to create raw edge fusible appliques.   Back in May, Sue shared a project where she used the "lazy daisy" screen in 3 sizes to make appliques. They were printed with black acrylic paint on yellow fabric.

After printing and heat setting, they need to be backed with a fusible product before cutting out.  Sue used MistyFuse, but you could also use Wonder Under or Steam-a-Seam2 Lite, or another favorite fusible, as long as it is fairly thin.  You don't want to add stiffness or something that might gum up on your needle when stitching. After fusing, cut them out, then you are ready to create your arrangement on the background.  Play with the arrangement until you are satisfied.  Consideration was also given to where the stems and leaves would go and what needed to go underneath what. Above right is the arrangement with stems and leaves added.  The stems & leaves were fused and stitched before the flowers were fused in place. To maintain your arrangement, take a picture for reference and you can also lay them out on another surface the same way you want them on the quilt.

The flowers were all edge stitched in black along the printing lines, and the petals have some accent stitching in yellow.  

Elizabeth made her applique sample using a zebra screen and made it into a postcard.

She cut her postcard base (fusible Timtex or Peltex can be used) to the standard 4 x 6" size and printed the zebras on a yellow fabric.  Then she fused Heat 'n Bond to the back before cutting them out.

Above shows the cut out zebra and positioning it against the background of grasses printed on the fabric to be used.

Finished postcard above.

Here are some other examples of applique projects.

Butterfly postcards - printed butterflies, cut out after fusible applied, finished postcards.

Falling leaves - pin oak leaf appliques, before and after applied to quilt.

The birds were printed on a color catcher (colored by putting in with a wash load of dyed fabric); different colors were tested to see what looked best on the piece on the right.  Color catchers are great for this technique because they are non-woven and won't fray on the edges. 

We have a number of screens in the shop that work well for this fusible applique technique, including various flowers, leaves, bird, butterflies. If you have a photo of an item, you can turn it into a screen - all of those items mentioned started out as photos we took. And like the flowers, when they are digital, you can create various sizes.  What photos do you have that would make great appliques?

Quilt Camp 2020 Week 4 - Add Some Shine

Who doesn't like a little sparkle?  Virtual quilt camp continues this week with ways to add some shine to your work with Thermofax screens.  We take a look at metallic paint, foil and gold leaf.  Here we go!

The easiest of the 3 is metallic paint.  The only thing new to learn about metallic paint is that because it has mica in it, it can clog your screen quicker than non-metallic paints.  That just means you might need to wash it sooner.

Elizabeth decided to overprint one of her color magnet masks with gold metallic paint from Artistic Artifacts.

Now she's ready with several masks for those necessary trips away from the house.

Another product that can add some shimmer is decorative foil.  It comes in assorted and variegated colors and is applied with glue and heat.

The glue is screen printed onto your fabric just like paint and allowed to partially dry - it should still be tacky when you apply the foil.  The foil is placed color side up over the glue, and then ironed with dry heat.  Using the edge of the iron helps create a firmer bond. Carefully peel off the foil.

This piece is a hand-dyed handkerchief that came out pretty dark.  The ginkgo leaves were printed with a discharge product but didn't have a lot of definition, so were a good candidate for over-printing.  Several were done with foil and others were printed with metallic paint.

It's hard to get a good picture of the shine, but you can see it in this one.

Sue decided to do some foil that would be more easily seen on another handkerchief, this one with discharged butterflies.  The thinness of the fabric seemed to allow the discharge product to spread more than usual. In this collage you see the original and 3 applications of foil -  yellow-orange, purple, and red.

The remaining butterflies were over-printed with metallic paint.

A third way to add shine is to use gold leaf.  This method is a little more costly, so you might want to save it for those really special pieces.  These sheets are made by Speedball and came from Jerry's Artarama.  You also need a product called high gloss medium to apply it to the fabric.

As with the foil and glue, the high gloss medium is the adhesive that holds the gold leaf to the fabric. It is applied though the screen just like the other products.

 On this handkerchief several leaves were chosen to add the gold leaf to.  After the medium dries, lay the gold leaf over top and place parchment paper on top of that.  Then iron to adhere the gold leaf to the fabric. The bottom right picture above shows the gold after it's applied.  The final step is to brush off the extra gold.

Since the leaves (and most designs) are not solid shapes, use a soft brush to brush away the gold that is not adhered to the fabric.  In this final photo you can see the gold leaves as well others that were over-printed with metallic paint.

 Here are a few of the metallic paints that Sue used in completing these samples. Note pearlescent = metallic.  The Speedball is not labeled as metallic, but you can see the shimmer in the paint through the container.  The Artistic Artifacts paint is bronze metallic.  What are your favorite ways to add shine to your projects?

Quilt Camp 2020 Week 3 - Color Magnet

Do you dye your own fabric?  Have you tried Color Magnet?  Color Magnet is a dye attractant.  If you make marks on fabric with this product and allow it to dry before dyeing, it will attract more dye to those areas producing a two-tone effect.  In week 3 of our virtual quilt camp we used Thermofax screens with Color Magnet.

The first step was to soak the fabric to be used in a soda ash solution and then allow it to dry.  The soda ash bonds the dye to the fabric, so you must either pre-soak the fabric, or add the soda ash to the dye.  A 20 minute soak is all that is needed.  After the fabric is dry, print your image onto the fabric. You can see that the color magnet is yellow.  It is also thinner than the paints we typically use.  A little bit goes a long way!

For her sample Sue used a screen of Queen Anne's lace and azure blue dye. She used a low water immersion method and let the fabric batch for 24 hours before rinsing and washing. 

Enlarge the photo above to better see the results.  The azure blue turned out darker than anticipated so the color magnet prints are less obvious in this small photo.

Elizabeth's project was a cotton face mask which she printed with a dragonfly screen.

After allowing it to dry she dyed it green using an ice dye technique.  (See our tutorial on ice dyeing for more info.)  Here you can clearly see the effect of the color magnet.  Quite the appropriate face mask for life on the lake in New Hampshire.

Sue decided to try a few more pieces, this time she used the ice dye technique with coral dye.

The results are below. One piece was directly under the ice (on the right), the other was in the pan below to catch the drips (on the left).

The piece on the left has a crackle pattern, the one on the right has a rectangle pattern. And below are a few pieces from a previous dyeing session. That coral seems to be a favorite color!

You could also use color magnet with stencils to create a pattern before dyeing,  It is available in a pen form as well, so could be used for writing words or drawing designs.  If you enjoy dyeing fabric, this is a fun product to play with to create pattern in fabric.