Etsy Shop Open and Discount

 Our Etsy shop is open again after a few months break due to problems with our Thermofax machine.  

Since these machines are "old technology" (think 1960s!), finding repair services is not the easiest task. Initially, the lamp that provides the flash to burn the screens stopped working so a replacement lamp was needed.  The first challenge was finding the correct replacement and installing it.  That took some time.  The installation was also a challenge, and after installing the new lamp and putting things back together, it ran but no flash.  All this took several weeks.  

Then the task became finding someone who might be able to fix it.  After some internet searching and inquiries to various online groups who might have resources, we contacted a repair service in Florida. After some messaging it was determined that it would be necessary to send the machine off for repair.  A few weeks later it has returned and we were able to open the Etsy shop again.  

To thank our customers for their patience, we are offering a 10% discount through the month of August on everything in the Etsy shop.  Use code SAVE10 at checkout for the discount.  We also added 3 new screens shown below.  Visit the shop for photos of prints of these screens which include a bird seen from above, wisteria, and a tickseed (coreopsis) flower in 3 sizes.  

We also are happy to make your custom screens and hope you will visit the shop soon!

Personalize Your Face Masks

Here it is November and many sewists have spent time making masks these past 9 months as we try to lessen the impacts of this global pandemic.

This summer, Elizabeth ordered some premade cotton-knit 2 layer face masks and dyed them using the ice dyeing techniques we have talked about before.  Search the label ice dyeing on this post to see old posts where we mentioned ice dyeing.

After dyeing some masks she got to work using thermofax screens to add images.  She tried adding an owl from our collection which had previously worked well on a woven cotton but found that it was too detailed and just looked blob-like on the knit mask fabric (top left)  Since less detailed images seemed to work best she tried some of the screens in our collection which were hand drawn and had thicker lines.  She was also particularly pulled to the words that could be added either alone on a mask or over top of another image.  

As these masks were premade and included some gathering around the edges it wasn't always easy to get the image into the space without a wrinkle or two.  This was exacerbated by trying to use the screen a second time once paint was blocking the view of the image.  Thus, she did a lot more screen cleaning than normal. Screening fabric first and then sewing the mask is an alternative if you sew.

If you have a simple line drawing you think might look good on a mask, send us the image sized for the small screen and see if you can make your own personalized mask.  This cardinal came from the Graphics Fairy, a free source for vintage, public domain art work. 

This is a dragonfly that Sue drew on a piece of paper with a black pen.  We can make a screen from your drawing so long as the image is black and white.

A favorite is when you can screen two images and have one as a foreground and one as a background such as these daisies and then add a sentiment or positive word on top.

Different fonts will give you different looks so play around and see what words you can fit in the size of the mask you are using.  There are so many to choose from just in Microsoft Word alone.  Above, the word "Flourish" is in a font called "Casteller". Most of the fonts we used are in the range of 65-120 font size but that would depend on the length of your word and the size of the printing space available on your mask.  Enjoy personalizing your mask with your own work.  We would be happy to help you.  Visit our Etsy shop to see our screens and order a personalized screen. Right now there is a 20% off sale through December 3, 2020. 

If you use a word though, by careful when you put your mask on because you might be walking around with your mask on upside down!  How embarrassing is that?

New Year - New (ish) Class

Happy New Year!  If you follow us, you know we've been MIA on the blog for a while.  Seems that after Houston, we got caught up in holiday preparations and Sue spent some time with her mom in PA, so it was easy to let the blog slip into the background.  But now that 2019 is here, we will try to be more consistent, though we may aim for just once a week to keep things going.  It's hard to know if anyone is reading what we post, so comments would definitely be welcome!

As mentioned in the title, we have revised our Thermofax printing class for the next session we will be teaching in February at Artistic Artifacts.  We have refined our focus to concentrate on the techniques and products that can be used to create images with Thermofax screens, and are calling the class "Thermofax Technique Sampler".  It is suitable for beginners as well as experienced printers, and even if you've taken another version of our class before, there will be some new techniques/products in this one.

We will be working with page sizes of 6 x 8 inches and each one will illustrate a different technique or product that can be used for printing.  Our list runs to 25, so we will be working diligently to get them all completed in this one day class.  When the pages are complete, they can be assembled into a book in any manner you choose.

These 4 techniques include white paint used as a resist, a 2-screen image that has an outline and fill, foil and glue, and a water-based resist.

More techniques are printing with multiple colors, using opaque paint, printing transparent paint over opaque, and printing with a combination of Inktense color blocks and matte medium.  

Here deColourant discharge product is used on 3 different fabrics to show variation.

Another discharge method uses bleach gel, again on different fabrics to show color variations.

Sue chose to print her labels on inkjet fabric and fuse them to the pages, but you can just as easily write directly on the page itself, and include more detail such as type of paint or specific product.

Here's the inside cover and first page.

And the page using foil and glue.

We have this and more in store for you so if you are near the Washington, DC area, we would love to have you join us on February 16 at Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria to learn how versatile Thermofax screens can be!

Print and Collage

A new group of students joined the ranks of screen printers this weekend in the Print and Collage class with Sue.  (Elizabeth is in North Carolina to care for her uncle who had knee surgery).  We were a small group but able to explore and discuss techniques in a bit more depth than usual. 

Students were particularly interested in the various techniques Sue used to create these mini quilts and canvases.

Our morning was spent on instruction and practice printing.

After lunch, we talked about how the elements and principles of design are incorporated into collage/art quilt design.

Though "rules" are not hard and fast, being familiar with them helps to intuitively put them into play when designing.

Lawrence is creating the base of his collage with commercial fabrics that he adds printing to in the photo below.

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the completed print.  He very cleverly completed the money plant print on the purple strip with discharge instead of black.  Discharge takes color out, so that part of the print is greyish-white.  He clearly likes to play with opposites.

Marianne worked on a piece using the tree bark screen as the background. 

Grace is perfecting her technique.

Sandy's birds, above, give her options with different fabric and paint color selections.

Her money plant print turned out great, ready for a future piece.

If this piques your interest, watch for our next session of Thermofax Screen Printing in the new year and join us to learn this fun surface design technique.

Day 7 - More Studio Play

We have been busy creating fabrics with an eye to listing some in the Etsy shop.  After hand dyeing various colors (and testing to see what colors we like), we are adding texture to the mostly solid colors in several ways - using thermofax screens and other printing methods with discharge (taking color out), color magnet (two-toned dye), printing with thickened dye, and printing with paint.  Here are some results so far.

This is purple fabric that was discharged; you could use either side.  The grayish side is the side the discharge product was applied to; the redder side is the back side.

These 2 pieces had Color Magnet applied before dyeing.  It attracts more dye giving a two-tone effect to the fabric.

More discharged pieces; the resulting color after discharge is dependent on the dyes used.  If the dye is a mixture of multiple colors, you may get something unexpected.

Here is a piece of golden yellow during and after discharge.  After the product has been applied and dries, an iron with steam is used to effect the color change.  The more steam, higher heat, and longer it is applied, the more change you will see.  We wash the fabrics afterward to remove odor and any remaining product.

Here is another yellow piece shown previously.

Sue has also been working on some small painted pieces that may end up in a future quilt.  The inspiration for these was a class taken with Judy Coates Perez last year at Craft Napa.

They started out with various methods of applying paint to the fabric.  The next layer was done with wooden block printing and foam stamps.

Then thermofax screens of text and more natural elements completed the layers.

Stay tuned for more studio adventures!

Day 4 - Dyeing Results

A few days ago we started dyeing some fabrics, working with dyes on hand to create ROYGBIV, or the colors of the rainbow. Here is Elizabeth mixing up the dyes.

After the initial rinse, some of the pieces are hanging on the line.  We were racing a rain storm that evening, and decided we'd just let the rain help with the rinsing over night!

After more rinsing and washing with hot water and synthropol, we finally got to the end product.

These are the ROYGBIV colors (from right to left) - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.

Elizabeth also tried out some other colors to see what they looked like.

This is Sue's set - same ROYGBIV colors as above.

These are 2 pieces that Sue dyed in a previous year with printing added. both done with discharge paste to take color out.  The blue is harder to see, but is done with a crackle pattern.  This piece was interesting in that the initial discharge turned purple with the addition of heat (ironing), but then faded to gray.  After washing, the discharged parts are a pale blue-gray.  The yellow turned out as hoped.  The spiral screen used here is a new one that will be available in the Etsy shop soon.

And here is the next batch that will get washed out later today.  Also on today's agenda: printing with thickened dye, maybe some gelli plate printing, and whatever else strikes our fancy.

Thermofax Printing with Country Village Quilters

Wednesday afternoon we led a program for the Country Village Quilters in Moultonborough, NH.  Our friend Terri Sontra (Purple Moose Designs) is a member of this guild and asked us to do a technique program for them.  After a short business meeting, we provided background info on thermofax printing, demonstrated the process, and then turned the ladies loose to try their hand.

We had a group of about 18 ladies, and though art quilting and surface design is not their typical form of quilting, they were eager to give it a try.

Sue demos the printing process.

Cleaning screens.

Printing away!  We limited the screens to a north woods theme - pine cones, pine sprigs, ferns.

Some participants had backgrounds in other types of painting so did not hesitate to dive in.

One of the finished pieces.

This was a lovely quilt we saw as part of the guild's show and tell.

We had a good time teaching about printing and the ladies all appeared to enjoy learning something new!