Gourds and Swords

I had a fun day crocheting with my new friend Shelly, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and watching my friend Murph and his girlfriend hash it out with swords and shields. Then I got started on some gourds. I never did find my gesso, so I did the undercoat with a light brown similar to the skin of the gourds. I perused Pinterest and Bing for gourdy inspiration and I have lots of ideas bumping around in my noggin. My camera is still locked in the car so photos soon I promise.

Then tomorrow we are driving down the hill to visit relatives, so I'll take my crochet on the road again. These small freeform units are easy to pack up and take along. I'm still exploring paisley shapes. It's so much fun. Each one comes out different. I never get bored with this kind of thing. Usually the only thing that makes me stop is my hand or wrists starts hurting. Then I have to ice it and lay off for a day or two.

I also got to watch Jane and her friends paint some giant silk banners. That sure looks like fun. I must try that sometime.

Gourds with the undercoat. See next post for more.

Girlfriend and boyfriend trading blows.

Banners drying in the sun.

Jane painting her silk banner.

Saturday and New Ideas

Doing some research into fabric embellishment including marbling, batik, melting, and dyeing. Gearing up for my new wardrobe website with all DIY fashion, Malls suck, DIY or die! I may have to go goth for the Halloween season. I want a candy corn hat too.

First Silkscreen Printed T-shirts

The prep took a long time but it was worth it because the printing was so much fun.
I got the kit to do silkscreening back in Feb. but it called for Freezer paper. I couldn't find any so the project just got put on a back burner. Then I was watching a Threadbanger episode yesterday about using contact paper applied to the screen and I knew immediately it was the solution to my problem. And then I remembered I had a roll of it in my closet. It wasn't clear like they suggested. It was black with marbling. But I didn't see why that would make any difference.
So yay, I am finally off top dead center.

Floral Hair Barrettes

I'm blaming this project on my daughter. She said the girls at work were wearing hair ornaments with flowers. So last night I made these until my fingers were sore.