I'm afraid that my quilt is not finished yet. I have been inspired by a library in Manchester where I worked in in the 1980's. I am pleased with the print that I have done but the way in which I was going to use it simply hasn't worked. The sheer fabric that I was originally going to use turned out to not be sheer enough and it looked as though my library was in the fog (well, it is Manchester after all!). I found other sheers that worked well, except that the transfer print that I did on them was too faint. So it is back to the drawing board. I decided not to do anything this weekend as I was blocked, hoping that leaving my brain to mull it over on its own, whilst I did something else, would work. It didn't, and I feel somewhat paralyzed. Perhaps tomorrow will be better - I hope!
Hi Jinnie, with the times as they are it's hard not to feel a little stymied. Please take your time and more importantly - enjoy the process, even if it takes a while.
ReplyDeleteI sympathise, Jinnie, as I discovered how opaque some sheers are with my Mies van der Rohe piece. I was then surprised to see how much ink finished up on the holding paper behind the sheer. Are you adjusting the print quality on your printer to 'high' and possibly intensifying the saturation in Photoshop or suchlike? I learnt from Michael James many years ago that he was upping the colour saturation in his printer programme by as much as 20% at times. Take a deep breath. Hilary
ReplyDeleteI'm doing it the old fashioned way, using transfer crayons that I've had for thirty years! They still work well on the 'foggy' sheer, but not on the others.
DeleteI cut out, literally, the sheer from my piece because it felt completely opaque! Enjoy the process and carry on at your own speed.
ReplyDeleteWe have probably all had that "blocked" feeling at times Jinnie , so you have all of our sympathy. This must be the reason why I tend to try and finish my piece long before the deadline of posting ie near the beginning of our 12 weeks so as not to get into a panic. I have even ,on occasion, be known to have completed 2 pieces when I have been dissatisfied with my first attempt!!
ReplyDeleteI need all that time before the deadline to mull it over, try out things until I'm sure. Unfortunately it didn't work this time!
DeleteAs this is meant to be fun I'm glad you have put it down. Something will pop up out of the fog I'm sure. Could you perhaps add something to the faded print, such as pencil/ pen/ paint to get the intensity you were originally looking for?
ReplyDeleteI tried using a fabric pen, but it just left the perfect marks on the paper behind the sheer, and not enough mark on the sheer for me to be able to see it and sew without ruining my eyes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Claire, give yourself a break and enjoy the journey. You sometimes get in a loop and get more frustrated.
ReplyDelete'If it don't fit, don't force it. Just relax and let it go!' The song came into my head when I read your post. Look forward to seeing what develops when the time is right.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a 'one step forward, two steps back' (several times!) sort of quilt, but at last I'm getting somewhere. I just need to make up the quilt sandwich and quilt it. I'm not sure that it will be quilted for Christmas, but I will try my best.
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