Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Denali 20,320

This is the view from our campsite on the way home from Homer.  I searched through the high-power scope for climbers.  Shouldn't their bright-colored gear stand out against the blue-white snow?  Not this morning, anyway. 

I wish them all well, wherever they are.  As for me, it's back to work at elev. 600'.


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Shorebird Egg collection

Here is the Shorebird Egg collection of Vase Mats.  They started out as Robert Kaufman Pimatex white cotton fabric and then I applied a flour paste resist to create the crackle texture with textile paint.  The paste was rinsed out; then they were dyed with Procion MX dyes and finally block printed with hand-carved circles.  Each is machine quilted and hand beaded.  The final quilt sandwich includes a layer of water-resistant fabric to protect a table surface. 


 
 

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Homer views




It's been years since we've been to Homer, Alaska.  Somehow that 12-hour drive is hard to schedule.  But this trip was Oh so worth it.  Our visit coincided with the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival and there were lots of birds to see, and so many other things.  Here are some views--

all photos by Amy Mackinaw

   
 

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Silk dyeing

Today I tried applying Procion dyes with a squirt bottle on silk.  It was a handy way to get a mottled effect.   My stand-by method comes from Ann Johnston's book, Color by Accident .  I can't wait to see the results.  These are the color groups I was trying to achieve and the dyes I used:

Lupine Field (iris/bright blue)
Bay Breezes (blue/turquoise)
Autumn Tundra (golden yellow/red)
Birch Bark (black)
Spruce Needle (blue/green)
Fireweed Meadow (fuchsia/iris)
Spring Birch (golden yellow/blue)

Sunday, May 06, 2012

Woodworking day

It took a little brainstorming in the lumber store aisles to devise the plans, but these small stands will act as easels for fiber art cards.  The blue tape will come off and polyurethane will be brushed on.  Stay tuned for photos of the mini-gallery of art cards.

Saturday, May 05, 2012

Block printing

I carved a block one morning this week to add texture to some previously hand-dyed, flour-resist-designed fabric and for a bold statement on plain muslin. 

Before I print, I lay down a sheet of thin craft foam on my work space, then freezer paper on top of that, shiny side up.  The foam offers a little "give" for a good impression with the block.

When printing on a larger piece of fabric I sponge my textile paint onto the block and use the block as a stamp.  If it's a smaller piece of fabric, not much larger than the carved block, I first sponge paint onto the block, then lay the fabric onto the block and rub gently with my fingers to get all the detail of the design.
A bold block makes a graphic statement.

The "crackled" flour-resist, dyed, block-printed fabric above is part of a bird's egg series.