 This plate seems to be remarkably strong and resiliant - much more than plates I have made in the past using just gelatine and water. It was easy to wash off after I had finished using it by simply putting it into the sink and running cool water over it. It did not crack or tear and the edges are still very firm. I love it! However, I decided to take the chance to see how easy it would be to melt it down and reform it into a 'new' block should it begin to break down, rip or split.  So - I took my lovely new block and ripped it up into pieces. I was surprised at how firm and strong it was. I put it into a glass bowl and popped it into the microwave. I heated it for 4 minutes on medium power until it was liquid again.  I then poured it into a new container - a slightly smaller and more square shaped plastic box with a removable lid. It once held those little chocolates the ambassador is so fond of! I think it will be easier to store the plate in a box with a lid to keep off dust. Hopefully it will be easy to take the plate in and out of the box for use. I will soon see! Tomorrow I will begin to stitch some of the squares using the fabrics I made today.
Making the monoprints
Yesterday I used a hand carved lino block to print onto some hand dyed fabrics for my logo design. Today I am going to try out a new recipe for a gelatine plate to print from. The great thing about this plate is that it is supposed to last forever. Well, maybe not forever, but this one apparently does not go mouldy and does not need to be kept in the fridge. On top of that, when it starts to get a bit beaten up it is claimed that you can put it into the microwave, melt it and re form it. Surely it has to be worth a try!
Today I am taking some of my hand dyed fabrics and adding some extra visual texture. I love to add texture in different ways - over-dying, batik, printing, embroidery, removing colour....... so many ways. But today I am going to focus on printing and am going to start with Lino block prints.
 I used this fabric for the letter E. For this letter I have chosen to cut out the fabric inside the letter and I plan to fill it with machine needle lace. Tomorrow I hope to try out a new recipe for making a Gelatin plate for mono printing that will not need to be refrigerated. Come back and see how it goes!
designing a logo Welcome to the first day of my blog.... So what am I doing today? I have decided I want to create a banner style logo for my new website, 'EXPERIMENTAL THREADS' After much thought and playing about I have finally settled on creating a series of 3 1/2 inch squares, each with a single letter from my website name and using a different technique...... Over the next few days I will post my progress and the different techniques I am using. The letters:Today I started by printing out the letters I am going to use. I wanted an easy to read font that would stand out from a distance, and give me enough room inside the letters for the fabric to show through any embellishment I add. So I chose the font named Georgia, size 200 in bold. I printed out the letters onto regular copier paper and cut them up. I a now in the process of pinning them onto the fabric squares.  3 1/2 " square of hand dyed fabric layered with batting and backing fabric to make a traditional quilt sandwich |
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