CQA Surface Design Party

Today turned out fantastic at our CQA meeting!  We had the following stations for making surface-designed fabrics to contribute to Stashfest:

Christina Fairley Erickson (me!): Shiva Oil Paintstick Rubbings, Stencils, Fabric Markers and Tsuneko Inks
Cameron Mason: Mono-printing with thickened dye
Colleen Wise: Thermofax silkscreening and foiling
Peg Swartzman: Oil Paintsticks with resists and stencil brushes
Kathy Cooper: Printing with Print blocks

Peg Swartzman teaching how to use Oil Paintsticks with
Freezer paper resists and stenciling brushes for an
elegant gradient effect

Cameron Mason (far right) teaching mono-printing with
thickened dyes to Roslyn Duffy (left) and Roberta Andreson (center right)

Roslyn Duffy's mono-print with thickened dye

Flora Dalglish making Shiva oil paintstick
rubbings at Christina's station

Debbie Babin designing with fabric markers after adding oilstick rubbings
at Christina's station

Barbara O'Steen (left), Barbara Kanaya (center) and Debbie Babin (right)
working at Christina's stenciling, fabric pens, and oil stick rubbing station

CQA President Marylee Drake (foreground) doing
Thermofax screen printing with Colleen Wise (background)

Some of our finished packets of fabrics to sell at Stashfest

We labeled each packet with the artist's name who made the fabric(s), size(s),
and the processes used on each piece.

Stashfest Creator and CQA Member, Patricia Belyea
measured the fabrics and helped bundle them for sale

Want the chance to buy some of these wonderful fabrics?  Come to Stashfest April 6 and 7 up in LaConner!

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Making Fabric

Snow-dyed and then stenciled using oil paint-sticks

 A couple of friends and fellow CQA members met at my home today to do some surface design on fabrics to be donated to Stashfest, a fundraising event to benefit the La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum.

Patricia Belyea, on the organizing committee for Stashfest, spoke at our CQA meeting yesterday and really generated some enthusiasm for the event, as well as coming over to play with making fabric today.  Patricia's business, Okan Arts, imports yukata cottons from Japan, as well as promotes using these incredible Japanese fabrics.  She also teaches and makes artisan quilts.

Snow-dyed with Procion MX and
over-dyed with Dye-na-Flow

My other guest today, Carolyn Higgens, is one of two Washington state representatives for SAQA or Studio Art Quilt Associates, another group which I belong to.  Carolyn and I met some time ago in an ongoing Design series of classes by Lorraine Torrance.

Snow-dyed with Procion MX and
over-dyed with Dye-na-Flow

The most wonderful part of the three of us getting together was to find out the ties that we share... our commitment to promoting fiber art in our state.  Carolyn's blog "Fiber Arts in the Northwest" showcases some fascinating artists from the area.  She hopes to expand to covering classes and events that are taking place in the Northwest.

Snow-dyed with Procion MX and
over-dyed with Dye-na-Flow

The photos here are some of the pieces of fabric which I've made to contribute to Stashfest on behalf of CQA.  I love doing surface design!  These four pieces were initially snow-dyed with Procion MX dyes, then I overdyed them with Dye-na-Flow.  The top one was additionally stenciled with Shiva oil paintsticks and Seta-color transparent paint.  I'm also going to be offering a tour of my studio, as one of the special "Stashfest Insider Visits" for sale as another aspect of the fundraiser.  Anyone who purchases my studio tour will be given a choice of two different one yard pieces of hand-dyed/ surface designed fabric.

Freehand machine embroidery piece I'm working
on for my 5 x7 challenge

I also started my first piece for my 5 x 7 personal challenge.  I know, I'm not really supposed to be starting this until 2013, but I wanted to get in the practice now!  So, here's a look at the start of my machine stitched zebra which I'm creating.  I suppose I'm still a little anxious about committing myself to making something each week.  Does it count if I make something larger than 5 x 7?  For instance, if I finish a big project one week, but don't do my 5 x 7?  What do you think?