Elusive elastic

Unable to find the elastic I know is lurking somewhere around the house, I’ve been running around to drugstores, quilt and embroidery stores, for two days.  Everyone has Velcro but regular elastic is much harder to find.

However, Gala Fabrics came to the rescue and instead of having to buy a vast quantity in a plastic blister pack, they cut off the yardage I needed and packed it in this precious repurposed sewing pattern!

Young Sprout was in tow, behaving beautifully considering he had just missed a chance to go on the bouncy castle because the volunteers were stopping for lunch, so I didn’t push my luck by browsing their fabric sale although some bright red paisley is calling my name!

Deconstructed Paisley

Although I’ve collected paisley fabs and often used them in quilts, I found I was somehow bored with some that have been in the collection for a long time, and they were among the fabrics I donated before my move, and traded at Fabric Traders in Sidney.

However right before the silk screening class with Susan Purney Mark, I bought a shower curtain with giant paisleys on it. I’m only sorry I had someone else do the hard labour of climbing up and hanging it before it occurred to me to pop it on the scanner.

I was particularly interested in the way several motifs meet, and based on that sketch I made this screen and printed it on pole-wrapped shibori from Susan’s Colour Seduction workshop back in October. Of course this is the NEGATIVE space between the paisleys.

THOUGHT: Has anyone ever made a fabric really exploiting this? Wish I had signed up for Lily Kerns’ QuiltU class on using PhotoShop on fabric. Oh well, (1) we don’t have PhotoShop and (2) I am starting Filament Fantasy on Friday and that will keep me out of the bingo halls (as if!) and probably make more of a difference to my work.

And speaking of work, my hours are as follows:
through Jan 25: 33 hours
Feb 1: 34 hours
Feb 8: 28 hours
Feb 15: 37 hours
Feb 22: 40 hours

Screenprinting Workshop

Yesterday I took Susan Purney Mark’s silk screening workshop at Satin Moon.

This was fascinating and a good start.

Things that surprised me:

How much paint it takes!

And that it takes longer than I expected it to.

In fairness I suspect that with practice and planning things would go faster. We had a lot of fun playing around and experimenting.

The photo above shows a piece of pole wrapped shibori (made in Susan’s Colour Seduction workshop in the fall) screen printed with a repeated motif inspired by the negative spaces in large paisley patterns.

Trading Fabric

Yesterday we went to Sidney and I took the opportunity to unload more of my ancient stash at Fabric Traders — the website is www.fabrictraders.ca

You get store credit in exchange for what you bring in, good for up to a year. Of course that is like those packets of chocolate cookies that say “Best before July 27, 2012 at 7:54 p.m.” Does anyone ever put it to the test?

I used my whole credit yesterday and these are two of the fabrics I picked. The one on the right has a thin line of gold in the black, which doesn’t show up too well on the scan. BUT if you click for an enlarged image it does show up. I also found a heavy cotton with rattan print, one with a tiny pattern like a parquet floor in soft yellow, blue, and red, and a fat quarter with teddy bears on it.

The bears will be going into a flapbook I’m working on for my grandson. Everything else has a geometric/woven/baskety look to it. This was a huge look in the late 70′s and I think it’s coming back.

And it’s satisfying to think that some of the old, old stuff is gone. Some was conversation prints of the “What was I thinking?” sort, others were calico prints and paisleys. I like paisley but I think I’ve looked at those particular fabrics for too long, and it’s not really in line with what I’m doing now.