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Saturday, April 28, 2018

Outta here!

We'll be on the road heading north today!  We are both ready to be in our own home, seeing family and friends....we are so blessed to be able to come to Florida each winter and look forward to 2019!  But it's always good to be home in your own bed, our own work rooms, etc.  I'm always afraid I'll make Jan and Larry yard or house a beautiful shade of blue or red when I dye fabrics!  HA 

We were both busy this week with meeting up with last minute buds, last golf outing and of course dinner(s) out!  But we also made time for cleaning and packing!  HA 






Some items waiting to be packed in the car!  Actually, this was a picture from last winter but it looks the same today in Florida!  Am I a creature of habit or what!
Floor of the backseat!  Girls crates sit up high on top of space saver bags!


We are good packers aren't we!  I keep pictures because we forget from year to year where everything goes!

I do want to show the wonderful watercolor card I received from my bud, Peggy!  I've posted on her work before and had to show this off!  Isn't it beautiful!

I will miss all my lady friends here in Ocala!  Too many to mention but you each know who you are!  God willing, we'll be back next year! 

Thursday, April 26, 2018

More Solar Fast!

Here are some of Nancy and Beth's pieces from our play date last Saturday!  This was Nancy tryig to encourage her prints!


Nancy got some interesting results using stencils!


The dark blue piece was a  Cyano piece Nancy was playing with.  





I love the stencils Nancy used in both these pieces!

Pretty cool isn't it!









Nancy got a really subtle imprint using the Solar Fast on this piece.


Another nice stenciled piece by Nancy



Beth got busy right away!





Beth used some x-rays given to her.  The results weren't great for an imprint but it still would work for a background piece! 
What was left after using the x-rays and Inkodye.  I really like it!







Beth used real leaves and different colors of Inkodye and I think she also used some Solar Fast as well.




If you look close,  you can see stencils of faces Beth did.  I suggested she paint Inkodye on top of the fabric (heavier coat) then lay the stencils back down and let the sun do it's magic!
Beth also used the writing thermofax and screen printed the tree and words.

Ginko leaves screen printed on Beth's dyed fabric.  very pretty!





Again, screen printed leaves on Beth's hand dyed or ice dyed fabric(s).


All in all I think the results were pretty good!  It was overcast from time to time but we still got some nice results!  I look forward to 2019 and sharing techniques again!

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Playing with Solar Fast

Saturday I  met up with Nancy and Beth for a day playing with both Solar Fast and Inkodye (which is a product discontinued but JoAnn's or Michael's still have some in stock!).  I've used Solar Fast before and enjoy the results and today we even played with screen printing using thickened Solar Fast using a thickener I purchased.  You can order Solar Fast at Dharma Trading and other online stores.

I'm starting off with my results first!  Next post will show Nancy and Beth's work!





Our work 'cooking' on the driveway!








Nancy has a drying rack that works perfect for holding our pieces after they were rinsed out.




This was one of my pieces.  I painted on yellow first, then blue, then laid some stencils, which were held down with a piece of glass.

This was Sepia paint with some blueprint film on top
I mixed some thickener with Solar Fast paint and screen printed these leaves







Yellow on top of some Sepia and again stencil laid on top.











I was given this screen with written words on it by my friend, Mary, back in Michigan.  Thanks, Mary!!!

This was black thickened Solar Fast I screen printed onto white fabric.  I love this for a background  piece!

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Red and blue Solar Fast with different stencils laid on top.  Again, held down with glass.















This was a piece I had screen printed but didn't get much color with....so I painted on more yellow, purple and violet Solar Fast, laid different stencils, held with glass.




The next posts will show results from Nancy and Beth as well as some show and tell from our meeting! 

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Sister Time

Last week I paid a visit to my sister who lives in Apollo Beach, which is under two hours from us!  It was a great visit....lots of laughs and I'm so glad we are able to at least see each other during the winter since they live full time in Florida now.

In the afternoon, after she made grilled cheese and homemade tomato basil soup!, we sat for quite sometime looking up different yarns for her to make another scarf.  She used the same pattern as I did for for my 'scarf from H_LL'...ha...hers turned out great and she sent it off to her DIL!  Anyway, we had fun just sitting and chatting and laughing, of course!!  MaryAnn is a great knitting and crochets lots as well.  That's a technique I've never got the hang of.
On my last visit, I did show MaryAnn how to do Portuguese Knitting on my last visit, and she is now hooked!


Our dinner was at the Italian restaurant we ate at my last visit!  Fantastic!  We had the BEST crab cake appetizer dish!  So busy cutting into one of the crab cakes I forgot to take a picture!  HA

This restaurant is so unique.  You bring your own bottle of wine and glasses...if you don't bring your own glasses, there is a set up fee.  So funny to see everyone coming in with their glasses and bottle or two of wine!

But it's the food that's wonderful!!!   I had a lemon chicken dish that I had last time!  The servings are huge so I brought home my leftovers and put in the freezer for Bob and I this weekend.  The picture doesn't do the dish justice...it has artichokes and broccoli in a lemon sauce...yum!



And they put out a huge plate of veggies that are wonderful along with a platter of pasta!

After we got home, MaryAnn and I just sat in the living room talking about the 'old days'.  Bob said that's all we ever do and I guess he's right.  Butt it is always good to talk about some of the old days....some are sad but there are some great, funny times as well.

I wanted to take a picture of the two of us but I fell along side of my sister right into her shoulder that was just operated on!  Good sport she is, she kept laughing!





I also have to share two more pictures...of a bird none the less.  My sisters former neighbors are a wonderful couple.  They used to live next door to my sisters former home in Apollo Beach...actually, they are jut across the pond from where my sister lives now.  Anyway, we stopped by to say hi to Norma and Steve.  They are delightful folks and they have an African Gray bird!  So you know I'd be at their house to say hi to all three of them!  Oh, they also have an adorable dog too!  No pic of her!  But here's the bird...she is so cool...really make me miss Gracie! 






























If you have a sister, do cherish her and if you don't, I hope you can share in our laughter!


Thursday, April 19, 2018

Bleeding Tissue Paper

I thought I had published more pics from our day of playing with bleeding tissue paper but I  must have put it on our own blog vs mine.  So here is what we did last month in our little art group.  We're meeting Friday so I'll post the results next week!  Enjoy!

We  met at Beth's with her demonstrating using bleeding tissue paper on fabric and watercolor paper!  I think we got some good results.

These are from class Nancy took a few years ago...good info!



Beth layering tissue paper

Soda ash water applied via spray/dropper/brush

Robbie's tissue on fabric

Nancy cutting tissue on fabric

Kathy's landscape

Kathy's landscape after she applied water!

Robbie's fabric covered

Same fabric but addition of commercial fabric laid on top

Beth's printed piece she didn't like...bet it's one of her favorites now!

Kathy's vase...I mean tree...I mean cat!!  We can't decide!

Beth layering tissue on watercolor paper

water applied...cool piece