How Do I Use This?

"How Do I Use This?" is the title of monthly product demos at Artistic Artifacts.    This month, Sue is leading the Thursday evening demo with a mini session on how to use thermofax screens, with a chance to create alternative blocks for the AA Row by Row, using the fish and shell screens created by PGFiber2Art.

If you're curious about how to print with a thermofax screen, or just want to come and "play", join us Thursday, August 13 at 6:30 at Artistic Artifacts for "How Do I Use This?"

Patches Quilt Loft and Embroidery

After leaving Bittersweet Fabrics, we still had 75 minutes before curbside pick-up at the airport.  So we quickly looked up what else would be located between Boscawen and Manchester, NH and found a shop not far from the airport.  Located in an Industrial Park just one exit from where we get off to go to the airport is Patches QuiltLoft and Embroidery.

Because the owner has another job, this shop opens at 2:30 PM.   Not knowing this, we arrived at 2:10 and the plane was to land at 2:30.  We thought we should still have time for a whirlwind tour of the shop if we waited for her to open since our guests were not sure that they wouldn’t have to wait for the next plane for their bags. They had arrived at the first airport less than 30 minutes before departure and were the final two passengers to board and then immediately took off!  They were lucky they got here, let alone the luggage.  However, it turns out that last luggage on is first off so they were ready to be picked up by 2:40 at the small and efficient Manchester airport.  They would have to wait for us.

Patches Quilt Loft and Embroidery has many samples lining the walls of their three room shop and a pretty selection of batik fabrics.  The owner is cheerful and welcoming and another group of 3 out-of-state row-by-row shoppers were also there ready to buy.  The shop row this year is two loons in a lake.  A very New Hampshire scene.  They were also the first shop where we have seen a Northcott H2O CHIP PACK available.  It contains 20 5-inch squares of fabric; half are called “By the Sea” and the other half “Lakeside”, a pretty collection of aqua and teal blues with accent colors. 

Her license plate is cute with the addition of the red heart to add to the message and most quilters will relate to the sentiment.  

If you are ever in the Manchester NH, area look up this shop for a visit.

Bittersweet Fabric Shop

A trip to the Manchester Airport to pick up company last week meant Elizabeth and her mom pulled out the Row by Row Map to see if there were shops at which to stop along the way.  We already knew that we first wanted to go to “Artisans on the Green”, a yearly art show in Sandwich, NH, so started looking at shops to visit from that as our starting point.  After consulting both the map and the rows on the state Facebook page, we decided to stop in Boscawen New Hampshire at Bittersweet Fabric Shop.  This was a charming store in a small building tucked amongst quaint houses. 

The store is full of antique sewing machines lining a shelf running the entire perimeter.  It was fun to recognize some of the same machines we have used through the years.  A Singer Featherweight, a Wilcox and Gibbs, and another old Singer were all there plus many more.  This is the first year this store participated in the Row by Row and they made up for last year by having two rows this year.  One was horizontal and Barbara bought that one, thinking it will blend nicely with some of the other fish rows she has bought this year.  The other row is vertical and is a silhouette of a boy fishing.  This is the row, Elizabeth chose to buy.

Dave from this shop is well known in New England for his generosity in providing each youth who enters a quilt in the Vermont Quilt Show with a brand new sewing machine.  And what a clever license plate design. 

Friendly staff met us at the door and were happy to give the history of their business.  They have an amazing collection of embroidery threads and a wonderful selection of batik fabrics and also sell Janome and Necchi Machines.  Located right off Interstate 93 near Concord NH, be sure to stop if you are in the area.

Liquid Dishwashing Soap as a Resist?

More on our experiments with resists.......  You would think that if you put liquid dishwashing soap on a piece of fabric it would soak in or create a puddle, right?  After reading Fabric Printing at Home by Julie Booth we decided to try her technique of using liquid soap as a resist.  She stamps, brayers or draws with the soap to make marks on fabric and then uses a paint to add color to the piece of plain fabric.

After drawing her images with the liquid soap, Elizabeth used Pebeo Setacolor paint to color the fabric.  In order to get it to spread she first spritzed the fabric with a light mist of water.  That turned out to be a mistake as even the light spritzing rehydrated the liquid soap enough for it to spread and lose the integrity of the design. The shapes were supposed to be blueberries but soon after adding the mist of water the crowns of the berries became solid blocks making them resemble diamond engagement rings instead! 

For the next experiment she brushed on the paint mixed 50/50 with water using a foam brush to cover the dried liquid soap.  That worked much better.  As a test she added each color leaving some of the previous color showing so as to evaluate how the process progressed. 

For the next pieces, Elizabeth used the core end of a cauliflower as the stamp.  It needs to be cut straight across so that the entire end comes in contact with the fabric.  She thought it looked like a modern improvisational flower.

You need patience if you plan to use multiple colors for this technique as you need to wait for the paint to dry as well as the following application of soap to dry before the next layer of paint can be added.  Washout is fairly simple though because of the use of the soap.  Much easier than any other resist product we have used.

UFO Busting for July

It's time to link up with Vicki Welsh of Field Trips in Fiber again for July's UFO Busting report in our quest to get some UFO's out of the studio. (When Vicki's July  post is up, I'll link to it directly.)  Click on her badge on the sidebar for a direct link to her post about it.  At the end of every month Sue is doing a post about what she's accomplished that month, and linking it to Vicki's.

Sue's report:
This month I can actually say I finished a UFO! Yay!!  And I didn't start any new projects either, so I'm one ahead. July was quilt camp month, so while I did make a variety of new pieces of fabric for the stash, I didn't start any actual projects. I did make a special effort to finish this table runner that I started in March. It was already layered with batting and backing so it just needed quilting and binding.

I'm pleased with how the quilting turned out on this one, a modern take on a grid with rows of stitching 1/4" apart and the cross hatching limited to the area of the circles.

For my end of month count, this is where things stand:

• Projects in progress July 1 - 8
• Projects completed - 1
• New projects started - 0
• UFO's trashed - 0
• Projects in progress July 31 - 7

Wooden Block Prints

Quilt camp is always a time to try out new tools and products. Sue had several new wooden printing blocks that she hadn't taken time to play with so pulled out the supplies for printing.

What you need for this process is a foam pad, some paint and either a foam brush or small pieces of sponge, and of course the printing block. 

The foam pad provides just the right amount of cushioning to produce a clear print. Place your fabric on the foam pad.  Put some paint on a palette, paper plate, or foam tray - whatever you prefer to use. I save foam meat trays to use for paint supplies.  Draw some paint onto the sponge or brush, wiping off the excess and use it to dab paint onto the wooden block. You should be able to see that the surface of the block is coated with paint but not globbed on anywhere.  Position the block where you want to print and press down firmly on the pad. Remove the block, apply more paint, and repeat the process. It's that simple!

You can print randomly or in a predetermined pattern. These prints are all done with just one color, but you could also create a pattern with colors, or try blending colors on the stamp itself.

These printing blocks are by Colouricious, a company in the UK, and are handmade by artisans in India. They are also available at Artistic Artifacts, the shop where we teach thermofax printing. Block printing is a technique that plays very nicely with thermofax printing.  Below is a piece where thermofax printing and wooden blocks are used together, on a background done with gelatin plate printing.  Explore the screens available in our Etsy shop and have fun using these various surface design techniques together!

Can You Identify This Leaf?

Leaves are some of our most popular thermofax screens.  Many people are easily able to visualize a fabric design with leaves and you can make them fit any season too.  Since the beginning of our business selling thermofax screens, we have had a screen we called “Sweet Gum”.  

Recently, while looking up at the gum tree from which (we thought) this leaf came, it was realized that it must be mislabeled.  A quick search on Google images confirms that “no, that leaf doesn’t resemble a sweet gum at all”.

So, the hunt is on!  We have looked and looked and cannot identify this leaf.   If you know what type of leaf this is and can point us in the direction of confirming its identity, we would like to reward you with a free screen of this leaf, or any other small screen of your choice from the PG Fiber2Art Etsy shop!

Comment on this post with your guess as to its identity and a source where we can confirm that information.  We will announce the winner (we hope there is one!) on August 15.  Good luck!