"BOTANICAL MAGIC"

 Several years ago I became determined to learn eco-printing.....and was relentless in bugging my fiber buddies to take up this technique.  Kate, Judy, and I did our first marathon 3 years ago at Kate's place on Folly Beach.  We realized it took lots of experimenting and more knowledge than we had.  However, we came away with some successful pieces.....and haven't stopped experimenting ever since.

Eco-printing (dyeing) involves the transfer of plant pigments to cloth or fiber with or without the use of mordants and other substances.  Here I've soaked a piece of wool in a soy milk bath, sprinkled with cumin and arranged pine needles over on top.  It was then rolled around a wood dowel, secured with string or rubber bands. At this point the bundle can be placed in a steamer (or a large turkey roaster pan) containing a vinegar/water solution and steamed for 1-2 hours.

In this case, we used a large pot filled with a rich iron/vinegar water solution on a stove top and simmered the fabric bundles for about an hour.

Tongs are used to transfer them to an old cookie sheet to cool before unwrapping.

After removing the plant material, without rinsing the fabric, it was hung to dry overnight. The following day the fabric was washed with Orvis soap to remove any remaining debris & iron/vinegar/etc.

As I gathered fabrics for a new project I was kinda surprised at how little I have left in my once fairly large 'magic' stack.  I love working with the eco-prints and have created a lot of wall art featuring the fabric. I guess it's time to get the pots out again!!!

Here two prints are teamed up with rust/brown colorways of  batiks.  They were printed on a lighter weight, good quality burlap type fabric...not really sure what it was but it had a soft, drappy hand which printed beautifully and provided extra texture that a traditional cotton weave wouldn't have.  Happy with the results....I kept going and the finished piece is shown below.

 "BOTANICAL MAGIC" - 22.5" x 26.5"

AVAILABLE HERE

Natural cotton burlap eco-printed with leaves & pine needles. Steamed in vinegar/iron solution to transfer their natural tannins to the cloth. Imported cotton Batik surround the magical prints. Machine quilted with metallic thread.

DETAIL

Linking to:  Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday & Sarah's Whoop, Whoop Friday.

FALLEN LEAVES - new work

There's a certain sense of satisfaction one achieves when a lowly, single linen vintage napkin is transformed into a piece of wall art.  It was a pleasant journey!

FALLEN LEAVES - 15.5" x 15.5"

AVAILABLE HERE

Artist ice-dyed vintage linen napkin, leaf printing on silk, 

machine stitched, hand embroidered.  Fitted with hanging device.

Thank you for visiting this blog....check out what other artists have been working on this week:  Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday, Sarah's Whoop Whoop Friday, Crazy Mom Quilts.

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PINE BOUGH

Yes, I'm still here.....thank you to the many followers who emailed me.  Things have been a bit crazy in our household but all will be well.  Our hearts go out to all those suffering the aftermath of the hurricanes. Realizing what those folks are facing, certainly puts one's little bumps in the road in perspective.

Okay....let's talk fabric!  The purple discharge motifs I blogged about recently are still on my design wall and I'm NO closer to a design solution.  So, in the meantime, another one of my rust-dyed vintage linens got my attention. 

The embroidery design was kept quite simple to avoid over-powering the lovely lacey motifs.  It was mounted on mottled hand-dyed silk noil.

PINE BOUGH  18" X 15.5"

AVAILABLE HERE

Vintage linen, hand embroidered/dyed with iron water, hand-dyed silk noil.

RED BERRIES

After taking about 100 photos....this is the best view I could get....it's puzzling why documenting the color of this piece was so difficult.....but alas it was.....

However, it's finished and I'm pleased with the new life this little hankie now has!  I hope you've enjoyed following its transformation. 

 RED BERRIES  15" x 18.5" MARY STORI © 2017

AVAILABLE HERE

Vintage hankie, eco-dyed, hand embroidered, mounted on linen.

VINTAGE HANKIE - PART 2

......The embroidery work is now complete. 

 Red berry motifs are being auditioned.

 Fortunately, my stash includes two bins of ultra-suede scraps which translate well for small motifs where texture is beneficial. I like to trace the design onto  freezer paper, press it to ultra-suede and cut out using a very sharp small scissors. If necessary, a dab of glue can be used to hold the item in place as it's hand appliquéd in position.  

Once the accent motifs were in place, as much of the stabilizer as possible was trimmed away.  Next, as you can see by the needle and thread, I began the tedious task of carefully stitching the edges of the hankie to its background.

Stay tuned......

SUN DAPPLED

At the most recent girlfriend ice-dyeing gathering, I overdyed some cotton prints that no longer interested me.  Naturally a 'before' photo of the pale blue print with white stars didn't occur to me at the time.

 These two after photo show the bizarre results....each side of the fabric was completely different than the other and we are still puzzled how/why that happened.  The color and pattern on this - the wrong side of the print - was successful.

I considered this one - the right side - to be a mess.  Some sections along the edges (not shown) were only spot dyed.

 However, those barely dyed sections were brought to another Fiber Junkies meeting where we printed with thickened dyes/textile paints/and generally just played with our failed fabrics.  The two leaf prints above were made that day....  At home I pinned them to my design wall where they were forgotten for a long time.

 As I was gathering handwork projects to do while hospital sitting, they yelled out loud....pick me, pick me.  Scooping them off the wall, carrying to the closet where I store my altered cloth.....suddenly that ugly yellow ice over-dyed fabric,  caught my eye.  The rest as they say is history.

 There actually wasn't a whole lot of handwork on the piece, though I had originally planned to hand embroider the background.  The busy ice-dyed fabric needed more texture and definition so it was machine quilted instead.

SUN DAPPLED  20" x 14.5"

AVAILABLE HERE

Ice-dyed & eco-printed cotton, hand embroidered, machine quilted.

Get inspired by viewing what other artists have been up to this week:  Sarah's Whoop Whoop Friday, Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday, Crazy Mom Quilts.

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ECO PRINTING MATERIAL

My internet pal, Robbie Payne shared a BIG box of wood chips that she's been using in her eco-dyeing experiments.  Learn about her results on her blog...but continue reading to enjoy the talent she displays, no matter what the construction style she chooses! 

 When Robbie generously offered to share some of her stash with me, little did I dream the gift would be so vast.

The containers hold wood chips from many sources, such as Bolivian Rosewood, Sumac, Sassafras, Sourwood.  I can not WAIT to get some fabric (rolled with leaves and flowers) steeping.  I'll report back when I get this going.  A huge thank you Robbie!! 

FERNS AT SUNSET - new work

Ever since I've been creating my own fabrics, they seem to be burning a hole in my pocket!  I'm especially smitten with dyeing and working with silk noil.  The texture and depth of color of these fabrics always adds welcome complexity to my work.  Frankly, they are far less challenging to work with than a piece of eco-printed cotton or painted fabric.  But, it's the later that really gets the brain firing......and, isn't that the point?  Who wants to clone one's own work??  Not me!!  

There is so much talk lately about 'having your own style'.  I get that, and I think I've always had a recognizable style, even if it's changed somewhat over the years.  However, repeating a design, over and over using different fabrics....nah....I'd prefer to keep stretching myself.

So....here we are.....one-of-a-kind fabrics and no clue what to do with them!  Such as these eco-printed ferns with an iron mordant on mercerized cotton.

An older cotton print repurposed with acrylic paint.

I desperately wanted to use some of the painted fabric......but beyond that, I had no other 'plan'.  I began with a bright piece of hand-dyed silk noil and a scrap of black noil. 

Those recently created eco-print fabrics were calling as well........

After spending far more time than I care to admit......the following developed.  And yes, my initial inspiration; the painted fabric, was never used....and so it goes.

FERNS AT SUNSET - 12" X 16" © 2015

AVAILABLE HERE

 Artist eco-printed images, dyed silk noil,hand embroidered and bead embellished.  Mounted on a canvas covered frame, fabric backed with hanging device.

Detail

I'm linking to the following blogs....be sure to check out what other creative folks have been up to this week:  Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday, Crazy Mom Quilts, Whoop, Whoop Fridays. Richard and Tanya Quilts