Paper, pencil, ink and fabric...

Finally, a bit of creative action around here! I'm sooo glad I signed up for the handprinted fabric swap over at Maze and Vale or I might still be just gazing at my unused screen and fabric inks purchased over 2 years ago.

I did a weekend screenprinting workshop back in the summer of 2011 with the lovely ladies from Harvest Textiles in Melbourne. I LOVED it! (I highly recommend enrolling in one of their workshops if you can.) Full of inspiration, I rushed out and bought all the bits and bobs I'd need to do my own printing at home.

But back at home it all felt a bit daunting. The whole process has quite a lot of steps... I got bogged down trying to come up with the perfect design, then there's the process of creating a repeat pattern, cutting out stencils from the yupo paper, setting up a suitable printing area on the kitchen bench, mixing inks, remembering how to set up to print a repeat design on fabric meterage and of course the actual printing.

Let's face it. I'm a procrastinator. I put a LOT of thought into things but often find it hard to just get stuck into it. I seem to work best when there's a deadline looming. So committing to a fabric swap that involved a deadline and 4 people expecting a package in the mail from me, seemed like a rather good idea.

As usual, I thought about my design for weeks and did lots of browsing on Pinterest for inspiration. I came up with an idea for a simple design that wouldn't be too tricky to print.

Then with two days to go it was time for action! Little miss four and a half helped with the cutting (to create the repeat design) and colouring. Stencils were cut for each of the 3 colours and I mixed my inks.

My friend Cate came to give me hand with the printing... and the magic began!
Screenprinting is wonderful in the way that a scrappy, smudged drawing transfers to perfect little crisp (well not always) patches of colour on the fabric. So thrilling! (Yes, seriously!)

I'm so happy with how my print turned out. It's called 'Rain'. No it isn't perfect but overall I love it. I do hope my swap partners will too!

PS. I've already received 3 exciting packages in the mail from my swap partners. I'll share them as soon as the last one arrives. I love swaps - so much fun!

Hope you're up to something crafty too!