I’m honored to be closing out Melanie Testa and Carol Soderlund’s author blog hop for their brand new book, Playful Fabric Printing that is now available!

As the publisher, it was a pleasure to work with these two talented artists so this book could at long last see the light of day.

The book is chock-full of techniques, color recipes, and step-by-step instructions for printing your own fabrics using thickened dyes and low-tech, easily accessible tools.

I get asked all the time, why thickened dyes vs. fabric paint? I actually like to print with both. Paint sits on top of the fabric, and when dry, it can have a bit of a stiff hand to it (depending upon the brand and type)–sometimes this is wanted as it adds wonderful texture. I use fabric paints most especially in my art quilts and fabric collages. However, when you use thickened dyes (dyes with print paste added), the dyes act like paint–you can stamp, screenprint, monoprint, etc., but when you wash the dyes out, you are left with a fabric that has a very soft hand, and plays really well with commercial fabrics for quilts and projects.

My Latest Print Session and a Hack for Batching

The other day I plucked some lemons from my Meyer lemon tree for stamping. I like to layer color on my prints; I often first monoprint a background color with thickened dyes, let that layer dry, and then apply a Thermofax screen, stamp, or stencil, letting each layer of thickened dye dry before applying another layer of print work.

Once I think a piece of fabric is finished with layers of printing, and the fabric is completely dry, it’s time to “batch” the fabrics so that the dyes permanently soak into the fibers. (If you skip this step, most of the dyes will completely wash out when rinsing.) Batching takes time and a moist environment, and traditionally you batch fabrics overnight by rolling the printed fabrics in plastic and placing in a dark bathroom or closet.

This means waiting to use the fabrics…and I do not like to wait.

However, Carol and Melly  taught me the best hack ever: creating your own steam system where the fabric dyes set in just 20 minutes.

Meet what I like to call Cousin Itt:

See the resemblance?

The directions for assembling this steam system are in the book, and for me, one of my biggest take-aways. This easy-to-assemble steam system means I can walk into my studio in the morning, and just a few hours later, come away with stacks and stacks of printed fabrics that I can then quilt with immediately. All you need is a a rice cooker with a steam basket, metal duct, wire mesh,  cheesecloth, newsprint, foil, and a towel, among a few other tools for assembly. Below I am showing some local quilting friends how this steam system works.

To the left in this photo, you can see that the metal duct is sitting in the rice cooker with a steam basket (with some water on the bottom). I am holding the inner tube (rolled wire mesh with cheesecloth stitched around it) where you wrap your fabrics with layers of newsprint. Once you’ve rolled your layered fabrics and newsprint around the inner tube and secured with masking tape,  set this inner tube inside the metal duct. Place a towel on top, then wrap both the top and the bottom with foil to keep the steam from leaking out. Set your timer for 20 minutes, and when done steaming, the fabrics are ready to be rinsed and stitched.

I have so many plans for quilt making with my prints, and I am really looking forward to experimenting with the numerous techniques and dye recipes in this book.

So to close out this blog, I want to ask the following question. Leave your answer in the comments area, and I will randomly select a winner to get a free copy of the book.

Question: If you could create your own fabrics, what motifs would you feature? And if you have printed your own fabrics and they are viewable online, please share the link so we can see!

To see the other blogs in this blog hop (many with techniques and demos) click the following:

Melly Testa
http://melanietesta.com/blog/

Carol Soderlund
http://www.carolsoderlund.com/blog/

Lisa Chin
http://somethingcleveraboutnothing.blogspot.com

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
http://www.balzerdesigns.typepad.com/

Judy Coates Perez
http://www.judycoatesperez.com

Carrie Bloomston
http://www.carriebloomston.com/blog/

Lynn Krawcyzk
http://smudgeddesignstudio.com

Leslie Tucker Jenison
http://leslietuckerjenison.blogspot.com

I have finally recovered! Our second edition of CRAFT NAPA went so well, and it was a welcomed bit of respite from the outside world for a few days.  Some fun facts: We had nearly 200 students (up from 113 last year), 12 teachers for 33 workshops, an Artists’ Market, Wine Blending Competition, and a three-hour tour on the Wine Train to close the four-day event.

A few of us after a day of workshops:

So grateful to BERNINA of America and Meissner’s Sewing for providing BERNINAs for 3 full classrooms and sewing stations in others. Below is Jennifer Gigas, tireless as always, on the opening night of the event, offering up a free BERNINA sewing machine.

There was a lot of opining at the Artists’ View Luncheon where our teachers fielded honest and candid questions from students about manufacturers, supplies, inspiration, best practices, and copyright issues. I took so many things away from this luncheon, but here is a fun fact, explained by Victoria Findlay Wolfe: If you have Accuquilt dies, they will work on your Sizzix machines. Sizzix dyes will not work on your Accuquilt machines, so if you have both, the take-away is Sizzix can handle both!

What some old UFO’s morphed into after Lynn Krawczyk’s UFO workshop…

THANK YOU BERNINA of America and Meissner’s…these machines for free-motion quilting and piecing worked like a dream.

During CRAFT NAPA, we discussed a lot about design and color, including how to repurpose vintage blocks:

Leslie Jenison explaining how to use vintage blocks to turn into a modern quilt.

We studied art history and challenged ourselves to make mini-collages with minimal tools like strips of paper from brown paper bags:

We blended wine led by a vintner who gave each team some measuring cups, beakers, bottles of Merlot, Malbec, Cab Franc, and Cab Sauvignon to create a winning blend (chosen by blind judging).

We took this wine blending pretty seriously; the winning team got to have their wine bottled and given to all participants. (It turns out my team, “The Crafting Winos” won…but I swear it was not rigged!)

We studied shapes and movement in art (and admired Carrie Bloomston’s arm muscles).

We sold LOTS of fabric and supplies at the Artists’ Market. A peek at Jennifer Sampou’s booth…

40 of us closed the event with a wine train excursion, a three-hour tour up Napa Valley and back on a vintage Pullman train.

This was an incredibly fun time together.

But for me, one of the shining moments was hosting Open Studios with Melanie Testa and Carol Soderlund, the two authors for PLAYFUL FABRIC PRINTING. On Saturday these two artists turned the central area at the Embassy Suites into a dye studio and signed books for the masses.

Totally normal to sign books while donning dust masks and mixing dyes, right?

I surprised them with a cake that included the cover of their book…

They loved it, and I made them cry (there is a video of that on Facebook). It was my goal to make them cry. 😉

What made me cry was the ENTIRE cake was eaten, and it hurt me immensely to cut up the cover. But the cake was dee-lish (yellow cake with vanilla icing and a lemon filling).

All in all, it was a such a fun time together. Craft Napa was about making art and embracing our community. Next year’s dates are January 10-14, 2018, and I have plans to change things up. Please save the dates. Until then, thank you, and CHEERS!

Wow, 2016, I have to give you credit. You sure were interesting! This was certainly a year of extremes, and I am choosing to focus on the positives, because– with much gratitude–I can say I had a lot of them.

A few examples…

My dream of building and completing the dream studio space and to share it with friends has become a reality. My studio space/ art barn is done.

The inaugural Craft Napa took place at the Embassy Suites/Napa this past January! We had about 120 students for the first go, and thanks to Meissner’s Sewing and BERNINA of America, we had such a successful first retreat!

We screen-printed, made improvisational quilts, free-motion quilted, collaged, laughed, cried, ate great food, and made wine together.

And students made some incredible art:

Soy wax batik examples from Melly Testa’s workshop.

And for those of us who have spent time together in this industry over the years, we reminisced during the reception in my art barn.

When it was over, some of us took a silly picture to commemorate the success. Yes, I am sitting in a piñata I commissioned to thank BERNINA for sponsoring. I had filled this piñata with Aurifil thread that every student had a chance to whack and grab during the retreat.

A few months later…we had a photo shoot for our first book: Playful Fabric Printing by Melanie Testa and Carol Soderlund. Picture below shows all of the step-out piles, in order (by chapter) to be shot.

It took nearly a full week to shoot and we were inspired during the shoot to take some other artful shots, too, like reflections of tiny mason jars filled with dye placed on cement.

Indigo Perez, location photographer and artist, doing her thing:

A detail of this styled shot ended up on the cover.

And as all good photo shoots should wrap, we had a pizza party with wine, swimming, and a dog on a fruit floatie.

This year, too, I was able to create a few quilts. Here are three that were extra special to me. One for a dear friend and special former colleague of mine, Carmen Beck for her newborn daughter…

Quilt in the piecing stage; I got the pattern from the magazine Quilt Moderne, by Michelle of Sew Demented.

This kid is going to be BOSS of quilting someday…look at the confident expression as she stares at the Best in Show quilt at Quilt Festival!

I made this too, for my new Godson, Hunter (pattern by Elizabeth Hartman, baby by Lindsey and Fergal McLelland).

I was very worried I would drop him during the baptism…

Thankfully, I did not.

And there was this art quilt, my quilt to honor Yvonne Porcella, for an exhibit I put together to celebrate her life. I dubbed this quilt, “Go Forth and Fruit.” Yvonne has been one of my greatest mentors and someone who challenged me and guided me in my career over the years.

One of Yvonne’s sons, Greg and his wife to see the exhibit debut at Quilting in the Garden at Alden Lane this past September.

And finally, just yesterday, I got one advance copy of Playful Fabric Printing. I am pretty happy with it.

Lastly, I feel so blessed I live here in Napa. I took this picture in early February of this year of the budding mustard flowers. I can’t wait to have everyone for the next edition of Craft Napa in less than two weeks.

I wish everyone a blessed new year!
Pokey Bolton

Printed books eclipse ebooks for me, every time. As someone with a publishing background, I am so happy to at long last share that Crafting a Life, LLC, is publishing. Yes, publishing, as in print.

First up, a co-authored gem of a book by surface design, colorists, and quilters extraordinaire, Carol Soderlund and Melanie Testa. The content is a must-have for anyone interested in making or designing their own fabrics—or an entire collection–from scratch. It’s about combining your own pictures, sketches, drawings, ideas, or favorite color schemes with low-tech, inexpensive and readily available tools to create one-of-a-kind fabrics for quilts (art, modern, traditional) or sewing projects.

Carol and Melly also illustrate (in great detail with step-by-step photos) how to creatively use a variety of surface design techniques to achieve just the fabric you are seeking.

It’ll be full of recipes for color, techniques, and exercises, and yes it will be an e-book, too.

This book will also be manufactured in the United States, which means we wont be waiting months for a ship from overseas to deliver the content. Furthermore, I am teaming up with talented people with whom I used to work at Quilting Arts/Interweave––Larissa Davis and Larry Stein––as well as Indigo Perez, among others.

Will there be other books or printed offerings down the line? Yes. But I am going to be a bit choosy, and I am not dependent on churning out a number of books or special interest publications in a given time.

Release date will be announced shortly. For now, I just want to celebrate that I can finally share this news, to toast these two talented artists, and the team of people who are helping bring this endeavor to life!

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