Bank Holiday Blues - Playing With Indigo

 Ignore the jungle  behind ( the plants are meeting together in the middle )  and admire the outcome of my first indigo vat at home! Rather than tackling the garden , I made the most of the good weather forecast for Sunday  (it's currently pouring with rain) Ever since doing CQ Winter school with Janice Gunner and a day last year at Art Van Go  I've been plotting  doing some  dyeing with indigo in our garden . Earlier in the year  I acquired a surplus  chemical drum from work; bought some large trugs for rinsing ( already have a convenient outside tap next to a drain); the relevant chemicals from Kemtex;  a  balcony airer. All set to go just waiting for when time and weather co-incided!

  I had a good system  going  with fabrics at different stages : soaking in warm water; in the vat; oxidising on a tray ; unpacked/unpicked and oxidising on the balcony airer. Ian was fascinated by the process having only seen the results before so  happy to take lots of photos of the alchemy when fabric turns from yellow to green to blue in front of your eyes.

 I was keen to experiment with  dyeing large  sections of the antique cutter quilts I've accumulated - they've produced some lovely 'boro' effects.

The most interesting marks were produced on a piece of  off white quilt wrapped around a piece of vacuum hose (thanks Sue!)  and tied with string . Quite an unwieldy  snake to wrap because of the weight of fabric but that's where quilt husbands come in handy!

All rinsed and washed  just waiting for everything to dry now. Then I'll be sharing some of my favourites! Learnt a lot in the process - it's a very different experience from doing it  in a class. While the  chemical drum worked well,  I would probably just use a bucket another time unless I was sharing with friends. I would definitely dip more than once - the paler blue resulting from just one dip suits the old quilts but was a bit disappointing on some of the other fabrics.  Used colour catchers were amazing , definitely more of that and perhaps some experiments on paper. More preparation in advance (including stitching ) - although I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do (organzas, old quilts and 'mudflat' fabrics,) I was a bit rushed on Saturday afternoon and too involved in the dyeing process on Sunday  to make changes. Doing it earlier in the season and keeping the vat going are definitely on the agenda for next year!  

Korea: East and West - SDA Journal

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from Surface Design Association (SDA)  about renewing my subscription ( I've been a member since 2006).  With regret, I've  come to the decision that  at $75  + $20 postage I no longer afford  it .I'm not making best use of my membership,  and although I've dabbled with other textiles (like the infamous 'Taplow Vase'), art quilts are my primary  interest and membership of SAQA  ( along with CQ) best serves this need.

My main reason for joining was hoping that some day I could attend a conference and learn Pojagi techniques with Chunghie Lee . So it seems fitting that the last issue of their excellent journal I receive has Korean textiles as it's theme and it's an absolute cracker with many innovative works, particularly  the  3D structures such as 'cloudscape' below and the work of  Do Ho Suh 

 Cloudscape -Sojie Feliciano Solomon  

As I've said before, I've long appreciated Pojagi techniques, making this door curtain with machine stitched seams many years ago ( unfortunately it was 'site specific' ,there's no place suitable for it in our current house ) . I really enjoyed the Masterclass  with Chunghie Lee I  participated in at FoQ in 2009 but  although I'm still intrigued by layers of organza (such as recent 'Dislocation' piece) I haven't taken  Pojagi  techniques  further   (unlike Molly Bullick who also attended that class and has used them to fantastic effect).
I'm coming to the conclusion that  this may be because they belong to another culture  and I'm more concerned with exploring techniques and marks personal to me ( not just because  my stitching is getting larger and larger, which wouldn't meet  with approval!) I do however have plans for some of the semi translucent Japanese fabrics I bought with Pojagi in mind following interesting discussions with Ruth Axson at Rydal Hall retreat.

Sewing for Conservation

A few weeks ago I made several sizes of pollination bags for the nursery at work. At a meeting to discuss production of seeds from  rare plants in the collections for storage in the Millennium Seed Bank, staff were complaining about the difficulties with the pollination bags they currently use (to exclude pollen from other plants).In the tropical glasshouses, cockroaches eat through the paper!! Thinking of the polyester organza I'd used in the paper lamination class at Art Van Go, I offered to make some prototypes to try out.
I contacted Sarah Welsby to find where she got her polyester from and ordered a couple of metres from Bramble Patch. This alternative use obviously amused her as when Gunilla was on her course at FoQ, she mentioned it. I made them with French seams and a channel around the top with some robust string.

They were greeted with enthusiasm when I handed them over ( despite their similarity to wedding favour bags- now there's a thought!).  I had an email this week to say that Michele was currently trying a few out on the bromeliads so I  went to take some photos today. In one location she's done a direct comparison with their current paper bags ( above, polyester on right) They're looking good so far. If these prototypes work (they're also being tested out in the arboretum and at Wakehurst) then I'll have to source a lot more fabric (and calculate the cost of my time too ). Claire (at Committed To Cloth ) has also been helpful with wholesale sources although I'm not sure we'll need a whole roll.

After an example of  my hobby helping work, here's an example of the opposite!
There's been various discussions floating around about the use of  'Pinmoors' when basting quilts. They seemed a great idea but rather expensive. I was considering ordering some foam earplugs to try but then I saw  how the vicious spikes on this Agave had been dealt with.  I'm sure down in the cellar I've saved some foam chips ....

Paper Lamination Day 1

At the end of day 1 of lamination course at Art Van Go with Sarah Welsby ( which was a joint birthday present from Ian and his parents).
Recipe for an excellent Day:
First arrange Guardian Travel Section newspaper photos and pin layer of organza over top
Apply acrylic matt medium with Thermofax screen
Hang up to dry and admire while enjoy lunch in new garden (turf only laid yesterday)
Iron to fix, soak in water and scrape off newspaper from back
Sour note(there's always one , like wasps at a picnic) - discover 'bargain ' organza wasn't - rips appear and image comes away from fabric.
Leave for distressing/playing with tomorrow and and make fresh sample with door pictures and organza purchased from tutor.
Marinade overnight and return home to dinner in garden followed by Metaxa

Honesty Resolved

Thank you so much for all your comments, it really helped me to work out where I was going with this piece. I took on board the thoughts on simplicity but as I consider it a sampler of techniques, decided to attach the organza layer to see what would happen. To get round the problems of integration, I sewed round the shapes with the metallic thread and then cut back the excess organza with a pair of fine applique scissors I'd forgotten I had. The tension of my machine stitching needs some attention but I actually quite like the bubbly effect of the bobbin thread showing through ( not sure the quilt police would be convinced! )
I rather like the overall effect, I think it conveys the luminosity and transparency of honesty seeds. I've got another couple of samples on the go , testing out ideas and paint techniques . And yes Hilary, I do intend to do a far larger piece.What inspired me in the first place were the Vigil and Temple Paintings of Ian McKeever . These paintings have been my favourites from last couple of RA Summer Exhibitions.

Meadow Grasses and Mixing Greens

On our excursion to Box Hill last weekend I made several sketches and colour studies of the grasses in this species-rich chalk grassland meadow- I particularly liked the golden seadheads against the dark green of distant trees.
I've had this vibrant lime green African damask for a while (bought from ebay rather than Magie Relph ) and had plans to use it as the 'canvas' for a piece based on landscapes inspired by Malham but the colours and the shapes within the tie-dye seemed to shout 'grasses'. I used narrow double-needle machine quilting and stitched by hand with cotton perle and long tacks with variagated machine thread
I painted over with acrylics - mixing the different greens was quite a challenge, a different colour palette after my more recent sea and coastal pieces. I scored into it with a palette knife to indicate the grasses (detail above) as the 2mm double needle does not give so defined a ridge as my more usual 4mm.
Despite this scoring and some extra stitching, it still lacked focus and defination so I printed out a manipulated photo of grasses onto silk organza and applied this to parts of the surface with large tacking stitches. October 12 x 12 inch Journal Quilt completed !If I ever do a large piece on this theme it would have to be called ' Urge for Going' as in the Joni Mitchell song " ...... when the meadow grass is turning brown...."
The combination of painting and layering with organza is something that warrants further investigation I think.
I tend to finish the edges of my acrylic pieces with 'no-binding binding'. 1 1/2 inch strips are sown to the front of the quilt, right side together , seam allowance pressed towards the binding strip and staystiched 1/8 inch along the binding strip. The strips are turned under the quilt so they are not visible from the front hand stitched in place ( usually turn under a pressed 1/4 inch allowance ). This facing method gives a neat finish and is useful for controlling the slightly wavy edges that can result from dense quilting.

Take it Further April

Initially when I read the brief for April's Take it Further Challenge, I thought I would go with the concept which was of 'change'. However I've decided to go with the colour palette ( which is almost the same as my Medieval Tile Quilt), concentrating on the central gold colour. In 2 weeks time we'll in Greece in Paralio Astros ( 5th time , alas without Al as rep this time- I never thought I'd be one of those people who keep going back to the same place ) We thought we'd like to take part in the 'World Beach Project' co-ordinated by Sue Lawty so I was looking through photos from Paralio Astros to get a head start. I love the colour in the stones and the strips of seaweed (there had been a stormy few days)

I printed off part of the image on bubblejet set treated poplin and then returned to the idea of transparency layers using silk organzas. I'd tried putting strip inserts in but wasn't very happy with the results , particularly the frayed uneven edges (normally I use French seams for organza). However after a long lunch on Saturday with Sue who liked the raw edges and suggested I make a feature of them, I inserted a few more and also some pieces of shibori from class at Festival of Quilts last year. I've just got a new toy (early Birthday present) of a Read 16 needle smocking pleater and I've been feeding it with bits of organza- I love the rippled effect.

It's still pinned as I'm not sure I'll get it finished before I go to Greece ( perhaps I should take it with me to stitch there for extra authenticity - I'm thinking of stones collected there as embellishments )
When I was sorting through the travel wallet, I came across my diagram drawn last year to explain to the owner of Irini Filoxenia that we had ants in our apartment. In the end I didn't have to use it or resort to chemical warfare as the boiling water was sufficient to deter them. I thought it would save the pantomine we had the first time we stayed there when Ian's brown socks fell into the garden from the washing line not once but twice! At least she remembers us with a grin!