Screen Printing with Contact Paper

I did a lot of screen printing with my class when I was teaching up in the Kimberleys. We just used paper templates and it always seemed to work quite well.A few months ago I thought I'd try printing on some fabric and had no luck using paper templates. They always crinkle, let paint through in the wrong spot and the result was smudgy. A few weeks ago I did a google search for alternatives and found a few people using contact paper. It works fantastically!!

I just trace my design onto the paper side of the contact, cut out the design, peel off the backing and stick it onto the screen. It also allows you to cut out tiny pieces, like the centre of a flower, and stick them onto the screen. 

I had a stack of tea towel blanks I'd had for years so printed a few teacher presents.

There are a lot of second hand t-shirts around here that are a bit stained, but still have a lot of wear in them, so I printed a few for Olive and they are good for another summer!

Next I bought a few plain t-shirts from Target. 

 I'm been using Procreate on my iPad pro to sketch simple designs to screen print then I can print them out in various sizes to see what is best on the shirts.

I do have a few ideas that are a little too complex for contact paper so I've ordered some drawing fluid and filler to see how that works.

Sunflower Blocks

The sunflower blocks are finishes! Now to plan the layout. 

Sunflower Blocks

Working on something new and enjoying every minute of it (ok maybe not the unpicking last night when I made a ridiculous mistake while sewing tired). 

Get 20% off Electric Quilt!

Use code EQ8KATE until October 14th 2018 and save 20% off the entire website!!

It's no secret I'm a big fan of Electric Quilt. I started using EQ6 several years ago and as soon as updates have come out I've upgraded straight away. I play around in EQ8 most days and use it to design all my quilts, including all my quilts in Scrappy and Happy Quilts!

It is so easy to design blocks and then play around with layouts. 

EQ8 has so many amazing tools and I'm always discovering something new. One of my favourite things at the moment is designing foundation pieced blocks. I've also been working on some applique blocks which I hope to show you soon!

 If you've have EQ8 on your wish list I thoroughly recommend it.
Use the code EQ8KATE until this Sunday to get 20% off.
 You can find my PDF patterns here.

Electric Quilt Block of the Month - September

The block of the month for September on the Electric Quilt blog is Metalwork which is found in the Royal Crown section. It's always interesting to see the different designs people come up with using the same block as the base and I got to play around with a block that I had not come across before!

I coloured the block in two different ways and set it on point. 

I love how easy it is to play around with colours and fabrics in Electric Quilt.

Mushrooms and Toadstools

Mushrooms and Toadstools!
This pattern includes foundation paper piecing templates in four sizes - 6"x6", 8"x8", 4"x6", 6"x8".
You can find the pattern in my shop or on Craftsy. 

French Navy Morningside Dress Pattern

 I recently tested the Morningside Dress Pattern for Sarah of French Navy Patterns. I do love a shirt dress and this had a few features that aren't on my other patterns. The first is the hidden placket, the pattern has great instructions for it if you have never made one before. I really like the dropped shoulders and fold up sleeves. It also has great pockets which are sewn to the front so they don't flop around everywhere.

I've worn this several times in the last few weeks to school. I used a Cotton and Steel rayon and it has great drape for this dress. It's been perfect in this cold weather with leggings, boots and a shirt underneath and I know it's also going to be perfect as a summer dress. I love it so much that I bought some linen the other day for a shirt version.

I made a straight version of the size that was closest to my measurements and I'm really happy with the fit. I usually do a full bicep adjustment to sleeves, but it was not needed with this type off sleeve. I also usually do a  FBA. I'm happy with the fit of this dress, but in the future I might try and make a size down with an FBA, just to see the difference.

There is a great round up here of all the other tester shirts and dresses so you can see all the different versions of this pattern.

Triangle Tree Stamp

A little more stamp carving. A triangle tree stamp inspired by my Triangle Trees quilt in Scrappy and Happy Quilts. 

Electric Quilt August Block of the Month

 Electric Quilt has started a a series on their blog looking at a different block each month. It's such a great idea. There are so many blocks in Electric Quilt and it's always good to discover one you hadn't noticed before, and also see what others have done with it. This month they are highlighting the pyramid kite.

I had a play around with the symmetry tool and came up with this. 

I love how so many manufacturer basics are now included in the fabric libraries. I used four of the Cotton and Steel basic fabrics for my quilt.
Pop on over to the Electric Quilt blog and see what others have done with the block.

Umbrella Quilt Block

I've needed an umbrella quite a bit over the last few weeks. It's been a wonderfully wet winter over here in the south west of Australia and I think another storm is due tonight. So I've spent some time inside on EQ8 playing around with ideas.
The foundation pieced umbrella block is now available. The pattern includes templates in two sizes - 8"x8" and 10"x10" finished.
You can find it in my shop here or one Craftsy.

Show Up Quilt

I completely fell in love with the Show Up quilt when I saw it at Quilt Market in Portland. It is a collaboration between Sam Hunter and Lisa Congdon. It is mostly paper pieced and the words are machine appliquéd. I made the smaller wall hanging sized quilt so the foundation piecing sections were easy to print on my home printer. I made a scrappy version of the quilt. I kind of followed the colours in the pattern. Most are the same, but I know I swapped the greys and blacks and there are some browns in there. It was a fun project to use up some of my favourite tiny scraps. I really enjoyed the process of making this quilt. I took my time and did a bit every now and then. 

I had plans to hang it in the living room, but my husband grabbed it as soon as it was finished to hang in the office entrance at school, which I think is a perfect place for it. Such a wonderful message to start your day with. 

Fabric Printing

I finally found time to do some fabric printing so I spend a morning experimenting with different inks, different rollers and some different quilting fabrics I had. 

It was great to see some of the stamps I've carved this year as fabric.

I've already cut some up to make a simple star quilt. 

Little Trees Quilt Pattern

My Little Trees quilt Pattern is finished! The pattern also includes the instructions for the cushion which is made from scraps left over from the quilts so there is no waste!

This is the perfect pattern for a beginner and at 40" x 60" would make a great baby present.

I used Folkland by Birch Fabric for mine, but any bundle of 10 fat quarters is perfect for this pattern.

You can find the PDF pattern in my shop!

More Stamp Carving

I'm really enjoying stamp carving at the moment. Even if you only have 15 minutes you can carve a small stamp.

Here's a few I've carved recently and yesterday I found time to print on some fabric - I'll post about the results of that soon!