printing :: with duct tape?

Yep, you can actually print with rolls of duct tape. I know this, because I did, and I kinda liked it!

It was just a whim, a quick experiment ~ think of them as big, circular stamps. Actually, when you really have a good look around, there are lots of "stamps" just waiting to be inked! What "stamps" can you see where you are right now?!

Have a great Saturday afternoon!

sewing :: one hour bunting

From cutting out, to flapping in the wind, this string of bunting made from my new dual coloured bunting panels was made in an hour ...

These bunting flags were backed with plain fabric (though you could use whatever you like) before being turning inside out and pressed (I use a chopstick to push out the point for the flag) ...

Then I attached the flags to some pre-made, japanese bias binding that I bought from the sale at Patchwork on Central Park a few weeks ago. Don't forget to leave enough at each end for ties (I use about 2m of bias binding for a string of 10 flags). I used a contrasting bias binding with a print this time for something different, and top stitched it with orange thread to match the bunting ...

That's it ~ easy peasy! To be honest, you could also just cut out the flags from the panel with pinking shears and sew them straight on to some bias binding or ribbon. Simple, pretty and fast ~ my favourite kind of craft project when I lack time and/or motivation! This string is up on our pergola over the back deck ready for the weekend.

Orange & Grey, Nay Blue & Green and Fire Engine Red "make your own bunting panels" available in the Yardage Design online shop now.

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend. Best wishes to everyone for whom school holidays start this afternoon!

printing :: for the swap

After more experimentation, yesterday, I finished printing my pieces of fabric for the handprinted fabric swap. I ended up moving away from the original blocks I was using, and going for something far more geometric ~ an old letter "z" ...

I printed all of the designs onto natural linen/cotton fabric so I could compare ...

I really like the Indian block I used, and managed to get the repeat reasonably accurate, but my ability to control the ink distribution well enough (in my view) just wasn't there, and I didn't feel happy for this to be my swap pattern.

 Similarly with the heart block ~ I like it, but don't love it ...

The "z" or "NZ" (as a few Kiwi's have pointed out on facebook!) really works for me. It was (enjoyably) very time consuming to print with, but I love the shape and geometry. I'm really happy with how it turned out. 

As many of you know, I love to wrap things!! These are my fabric pieces, all wrapped up using the fabric I printed with the initial blocks, some brown paper and jute twine. I hope my swap partners like them!

I'm already looking forward to the next swap. It's a nice to have a good reason to experiment with different techniques and designs.

A quick shop update ~ NEW dual coloured "Make your own bunting" craft panels now in stock here.

More creative spaces here.

dreaming of verano {summer}

It's good to be reminded that it's warm elsewhere while it is quite cold and wintry here! This morning I woke to find an email saying that my raspberry Verano "Leaves" fabric had been included in a beautiful Etsy treasury with there theme of Verano (the Spanish word for summer) ...

So many pretty, summery things! For a taste of summer, you can view the treasury and links to each item here. Thanks to Ia's Vintage for choosing my fabric and curating such a lovely treasury.

This post has started me dreaming about summer ~ cannot wait! How about you?

Have a great day!

printing :: with blocks

I managed an hour of bliss on the weekend to print with a couple of lovely old handcarved wooden blocks that I've collected over the last year or so. This was just test run to see how they printed, as I plan to use at least one of them in the handprinted fabric swap.

This old indian block is lovely, and works in repeat, but some of the edges are slightly damaged (from age and wear) so there are some little gaps and light areas between each stamp. Overall, though, I really like this one.

The second block is a little heart. I think I need to play more with the pattern for this block for it to work better, but I do like the fine detail and shape of it.

More testing and then the real thing in the next day or two, ready to post to my swap partners.

Have a creative week!

market finds this week ...

Major score at Camberwell Market this morning ... a couple of great old wooden screens ...

They are a little unloved, but will scrub up well. I quite like the measurements already exposed onto this screen ~ they might be nice on a tea towel or something?

My second find comes from the online marketplace (ebay) ~ three matching pin dishes for the one I found last week. I love the colours. And, they stack!

I hope you've found some treasures this week too. Loads more market finds at Sophie's lovely blog.

after ...

At last, my workspace is reorganised, clean and tidy ...

Incase you missed the "before" pic, you'll find it here. The main thing that this space needed was storage. I already had a brown Expedit bookcase from Ikea, so it made sense to get another one to make a bigger overall unit (I really wished I had started with a white one, but nevermind!). The original bookcase is now lying on its side on top of the larger version I bought (fortunately, we have very high ceilings).

The other thing I really needed was some sort of rack to store my screens. Once I had moved everything out of the way to fit the brown shelving in, I noticed that if I joined the two metal shelving units I had (also from Ikea) together and remove a shelf from each, I would end up with a rack tall and deep enough to house my screens, inks and squeegees.

This rack is probably one of my favourite things in the room now, because it makes printing so much easier to have a place for everything right next to my printing table.

Honestly, what would we do without Ikea?!

Have a great weekend!

printing :: tandem coloured bunting panels

Today was a fun and productive printing day ~ especially enjoyable when I get to experiment with colour combinations. I printed bunting panels in two combinations.

Orange and Grey ~ love this combo and can't wait to sew these up!

Navy blue and Green ~ a classic combo that I also love

What do you think? Any other colour combinations that you'd like to see? 

I'll be popping a few of these in the Yardage Design online shop in the next week, if you're interested ~ just in time for school holidays (these make a great activity for older kids). 

 

things I found at markets this week ...

Another gorgeous green Fowler Ware bowl to go with the one I scored earlier in the year (this one is a little smaller so I have the makings of a nest of these lovelies!) ...

An interesting little porcelain mould/pin dish. I looked these up on ebay and found three others (in different colours) ~ they stack ~ I bought them ~ they're on their way from the UK!

While these aren't vintage, I found these seedlings for the garden at our local farmers market yesterday for my vegie patch ...

I hope your weekend has been a good one! Loads more market finds at Sophie's lovely blog here.

before ...

This is my very messy workspace (which is actually the "spare" room) ...

The last year of little action has taken it's toll, and things have got a little, let's say, shuffled. A trip to Ikea was in order to create order. Right now, things are still shuffled, but they are erring more towards being organised to within an inch of their lives. I plan to get it finished this week so I can design, print and sew like a woman possessed in a space that doesn't threaten to swallow me in stuff!

I'll be back in a couple of days (I hope) with the AFTER shots!

SALE now on!

Just a quick reminder that the annual Yardage Design SALE is now on for two days. There are many designs and colourways being discontinued and discounted ~ there is nothing over $25. Don't miss out on $5 Misprints and Samples either!

Visit the shop here

Thanks for your support!

bargain city!

The Yardage Design annual sale starts tomorrow (Sunday) at 5pm AEST. Big discounts on discontinued fabric designs and colourways, reduced tea towels and market bags, and the famous $5 misprints and samples. It's going to be big!

Sometimes it's good to clear the decks. Some of these designs have been around for a while. Vintage tram roll menu was one of my first ever designs, more than two and half years ago. It's time to breathe and release. It's your chance to bag a bargain and snap up some handprinted history.

Have a great weekend!