Lavender and rust art quilt – finishing and framing

When last we met, I had printed and quilted an art quilt from a blended collage of my photographs of a lavender flower and a piece of rusted machinery.  Here’s a photo of the quilt, and this is the post about the process :

Lavender and rust art quilt

Finishing and framing a piece is always a challenge for me. Since I used new techniques and products for the quilt (more about that later!), I wanted that novelty to be reflected in the way I framed it.  Rooting around in my supply closet, I found wooden framing stretcher strips about the right size.  When assembled, the frame was a bit larger than the quilt.  To finish the plain wood in a manner that would reflect and honor the quilt, I printed some of the elements of the lavender and rust collage onto Transfer Artist Paper (see my earlier posts about TAP), and ironed them onto the front of the frame.

TAP on frame

My next challenge was how to attach the quilt to the frame.  I decided to use some kind of ribbon that I would sew to the quilt and thread through screw eyes attached to the inside edge of the frame.  It’s not easy finding good screw eyes! My local fabric store didn’t have anything I liked, and I had to visit three hardware stores to find the size and color that I wanted. I put screw eyes in each of the four sides of the frame.  This is the top right edge, showing the screw eye:

Ribbon and screw eye attachment

I decided that instead of using premade cord or ribbon, I would make it myself.  I started with the image that I used for the quilt and designed ribbons, but rescaled to be much smaller because the ribbon would have to fit  through the screw eyes. I printed it on the fabric that I had used for the quilt and doubled the fabric over so both sides would have a pattern.  I cut thin strips and stitched down the center of each to hold the sides together.  I threaded them through the eyes and tied knots, working with each to get the quilt centered in the frame. This is a closeup of the ribbon at the center right side of the frame:

Ribbon tied through screw eye

And this is the quilt tied to the frame at the six eyes:

Quilt in frame

The last challenge: how to hang the framed quilt? I didn’t want to string a wire across the back because that would show through the gaps. I couldn’t use a sawtooth because the gallery that I show my work in (a plug here for the Pinole Artisan galleries) doesn’t allow those. I decided to echo the screw eyes used on the inside, and put two at the top of the frame.  I made another long ribbon, threaded it through the eyes, doubled it over and stitched it together. The framed quilt now hangs flush against the wall from a hook or nail. This is it:

Hanging framed art quilt

If you’re wondering about the back of the frame, it’s nothing fancy. I finished it by painting the plain wood with a few coats of white gesso.  I solved the eternal question of how to sign an art quilt (many people print labels on fabric and sew them to the back), by signing the gessoed surface with a pigment ink pen. This is how the back looks:

Back of the quilt

If you’re wondering where the piece is now, it’s hanging in the new show at the second Pinole Artisans gallery, Pinole Art Center Too, 2814 Pinole Valley Road, Pinole California.  Email me at heidirand@gmail.com if you would like to know when the Center is open, or when I’ll be working there.

Next: the exciting story behind the fabric that I used for this quilt!

Lavender and rust art quilt

Inkjet Fabric Printing – step by step instructional ebook

I just finished my very first ebook, on my most favorite subject: inkjet printing on fabric.  After writing an extensive booklet for the workshops I’ve been teaching, I decided to put it into ebook form so people who can’t come to my workshops could get the same information.

I take you through the entire process to quickly and successfully begin printing fabric on your inkjet printer. You will learn about types of inks, differences between treating fabric yourself or printing on pre-treated fabric, how to prepare fabric for printing, printing the fabric, post-printing treatments, and more.

The information and tips I’ve learned over years of printing on fabric will save you hours of time and much wasted ink and fabric. I have included many illustrations, questions and answers, and trouble-shooting tips.

Illustration: peeling off backing

There’s even a gallery of my original fabric creations to spark your imagination and creativity.

Gallery: butterfly art hanging

There are many books on the market about printing on fabric, but because the technology is moving so quickly, a lot of them are outdated. My guide is up to date, and I will revise it as often as needed to reflect changes in the field of inkjet fabric printing. Also, most of the books give general information that might not apply to your personal printer/ink setup. I tell you how to figure out what kind of inks your printer uses, and I can also answer by email personalized questions about your setup, or other problems you run in to when you print fabric. I also discuss the pretreated fabrics that are available commercially, and share the results of my extensive experimentation with printing using the different inks.  In the second edition of the ebook, now available, I added information about using two great products with fabric, inkAID and Golden Paints Digital Grounds (both coatings that make any surface inkjet printable.)  I’ve written a lot in this blog about Digital Grounds, and I wanted to expand the book to include these coatings – most appropriate for art fabric uses.  I also deemphasized the use of Bubble Jet Set 2000, a liquid solution that is the most common product used by people who want to treat fabric themselves for inkjet printing.  BJS contains formaldehyde, and I know a lot of people are concerned about any potential danger.  If you’re interested in the subject, the manufacturer addresses the issue in an article (read it by clicking here).

My ebook is in the format of a PDF file, which you can open and print using Adobe Reader.  I’m offering it through my etsy shop or lulu.com for $10.  Click here for the link to my ebooks section on etsy. If they are sold out and you would like one, please let me know and I will post more copies.  Or click here to see a preview and get it through my lulu shop.

Introduction to Inkjet Fabric Printing

Inkjet Printing on Fabric
Taught by Heidi Rand at the Canyon Trail Park Art Center, El Cerrito
Sunday August 23, noon to 3:30 p.m.

Inkjet printing on fabric: One-day workshop

Learn to print your artwork, images and designs on silk or cotton using an inkjet printer.
This exciting technique opens the door to many possibilities for creating original fabric to use in gifts, quilts, art pieces, and much more….

You will go home with two sheets of pre-treated fabric that we have printed with your images, and with the knowledge to begin printing on your home inkjet printer.
You will learn about types of inks, differences between treating fabric yourself or printing on pre-treated fabric, how to prepare fabric for printing, printing the fabric, and post-printing treatments.

Pre-treated fabric and other basic supplies will be provided. I will have a computer and printer to demonstrate and print your fabric. I will also bring a sewing machine and iron to demonstrate and for you to use with your printed fabric.

Bring images or artwork that you want to print on a CD or flash drive, sized to a maximum of 8.5 x 11 in.  If you don’t have digital images, bring originals to scan (max size 8.5 x 11 in). If you email me your jpegs two days before class, I can size and prepare them. I can also print some before class. You can also bring fabric paints, beads, ribbon, fabric scraps, or anything else you can think of to adorn your project.

I am a nature photographer using my original photos to create designs that I incorporate into my artwork & mixed media pieces. I have been designing and printing my own fabric for several years. I use the fabric for my art hangings, vases and bowls, pillows, scarves, and more…
I write about my work and emerging techniques on my blog, http://GardenDelightsArts.WordPress.com
I exhibit online at http://Garden-Delights-Arts.Smugmug.com & http://GardenDelightsArts.Etsy.com
I have exhibited locally at the Pinole Art Center, Glenn Custom Framing and Gallery, MC Art Gallery and Eclectix Gallery.

Cost: $35 + $8 supplies
To register or for more info, please call me: 510.919-4652 or email: HeidiRand@gmail.com

Transfer artist paper on lutradur

Some people on the inkjet transfer yahoo group (inkjet_transfers@yahoogroups.com) were wondering about using Transfer Artist Paper (TAP) on lutradur.  Lesley Riley’s new book on lutradur says that TAP works on lutradur (and she invented TAP, so she should know!)  Since I’m having such a great time experimenting with lutradur,  I had to try these two interesting products together. I picked one of my current favorite photo collages as my first attempt.   I took a photograph of koi swimming in a pond at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, and blended it with my photograph of a bonsai wisteria tree. This is the digital image:

Koi and wisteria collage

I printed the image on TAP using the recommended settings (media set for plain paper, resolution at fine quality).  The TAP print looked great, pretty much what like the image looks like on treated inkjet paper. I cut an untreated piece of lutradur inches larger than the image, because if it turned out well I figured I might do something fun with the edges, like use a heat gun to curl them.

I heated my iron to the highest setting.  I put the lutradur on my ironing surface, which is relatively hard and not as padded as a normal ironing board.  I cut the excess TAP from the edges of the image, as recommended. I positioned the TAP printout face down onto the lutradur, and placed a piece of parchment paper on top of the TAP. Pressing down firmly, I held the iron in place for about 10 seconds, then moved the iron to another spot until I had covered the entire surface. I peeled up an edge and saw that it had transferred completely. I checked the other edges and had to place the TAP down and re-iron a few spots.

After making sure the entire transfer had adhered, I peeled the TAP paper off.  I think the transfer is beautiful! The color and resolution are nearly as perfect as an inkjet paper print. I love the way the translucency of the lutradur allows light to shine through the image, and how the filaments and texture complement the image. I also think the abstract nature of the image, with its rich tones, worked really well on the lutradur.

This is the result:

Koi and wisteria on lutradur

This is a closeup of the bottom left edge, to show the filaments and texture of the lutradur, and how well the rich color transferred:

Closeup

And another closeup of part of the transferred image:

Closeup

I think if you pick the image carefully, a TAP transfer to lutradur is a great option. I’m not sure how well fine details will transfer, but I think that this abstract image with its rich colors worked great.  Considering that in order to print this image directly onto the lutradur I would have to coat it with Golden’s Digital Grounds (see my other blog posts on that subject), using the TAP was certainly quicker and easier.  When I decide how to finish the piece I’ll post an update.

More fabric printed by spoonflower

For my second order from spoonflower.com I decided to have them print a few large images on a yard rather than a tiled, repeating pattern.  My cousin had ordered a pillow from me months ago, and I was dragging my heels on it because I couldn’t  print it myself as large as she wanted.  This is the image she wanted:

Photograph of an angel's trumpet flower

I took this photograph of an angel’s trumpet (brugmansia) flower in our back garden.  I amped up the colors a bit and took out some detail, then smudged the lines to give the image a dreamy effect.  I used it for the front of one of my Open Studio postcards, and my cousin loved it.

I resized the image to 12 by 16 inches and had a friend convert it into LAB space for me, because I didn’t have Photoshop at the time.  As I mentioned previously, my cherished Photoshop Elements doesn’t have the capability of converting to LAB space.  It turns out that of course I couldn’t do anything with the converted file other than send it as is to spoonflower, because Elements wouldn’t open the file in LAB.  So my plan to address the colors that were out of gamut in LAB space didn’t work out.  As you can see from the picture above, the colors are quite vivid, and a lot of them were out of gamut.  I  decided to send the file as it was to spoonflower, to see what happened.   To fill out the entire yard I included some other designs that I planned to make into pillows or sachets.

This is how the fabric with the angel’s trumpet image on it turned out:

Angel's trumpet flower fabric

I’m satisfied with it, especially for the price.  The colors aren’t quite as they are in the file, but they are nicely saturated, which was the effect I wanted for the pillow.

This is how the pillow turned out.  The second pillow is also for my cousin, it’s my ‘Iris & Bromelia’ mandala design.

Pillows from spoonflower fabric

I know I keep mentioning the price in relation to spoonflower. If I wanted fabric printed that looked as good as it can on high quality inkjet paper, I would have to pay far more to do it myself with some of the very high quality treated fabrics, like EQ Printables or Colortextiles.  But then this pillow would end up costing far more than I want to charge.  As it is, I don’t sell many of the smaller pillows I make from pretreated 8.5 by 11 inch fabric, I suspect partly because of the price I set for them ($30).

I made another pillow from one of the other images that I included on this same yard order.  Here’s the image:

Butterscotch rose kaleidoscope

This is one of my favorite kaleidoscope designs, which to me evokes the Arts and Crafts style.  I started with my photo of a butterscotch rose in our garden and cropped it so that kaleidoscoping it put the edges of the rose together, and created a simple geometric design from the foliage and stem. The color of the rose is true – the rose is a rich, saturated caramel color that gets a tinge of blush as it ages.

I had spoonflower print it to about 8 by 14 inches.  Here’s the pillow I made from the fabric:

Butterscotch rose kaleidoscope pillow

Again, I’m satisfied with the fabric.  The colors are a little bit out of gamut, which is my fault because I didn’t address that before I sent the file to spoonflower.  The resolution isn’t as sharp as the fabric I print myself, which matters more to me than the colors.

I haven’t spoken to the hand of the spoonflower fabric.  At this time, spoonflower only offers printing on Moda cotton.  Their blog states that they’re going to be adding more fabrics,  but that hasn’t happened yet.  I like the fabric for pillows.  It’s a nice tight weave, which is very good for detail.  It’s soft but has substance.  And it was a dream to sew.  I have found that some of the pretreated fabrics I use are hard on my sewing machine needles.  When I need to sew several layers, or have used stabilizer or timtex for a fabric vase, I can have trouble getting the needle through.  I have even broken some needles when sewing purses.  None of those problems with the spoonflower fabric.

I had some more images on that yard, stay tuned….!

Printing fabric through Spoonflower – Part 1

I love to print fabric from my designs myself, but am constrained by the size of my R2400 printer, which can only print 13 inches wide.  I could theoretically print as long as I like with this printer, but unless I do a work-around that I haven’t had the energy to set up, I can only print to 44 inches long.  So to make larger scarves, I had http://pixeladies.com print several of my designs to 12 by 60 inch charmeuse and habotai silk scarves.  They are so beautiful – especially the charmeuse, which feels indescribably luxurious.  I highly recommend pixeladies, they’re very helpful and friendly.  Their prices aren’t low, but are fair for the quality of the product.

Another fabric printing service recently opened for business.  Spoonflower.com was in beta for awhile but has now begun taking orders to print your self-designed fabric in various sizes.  At this point they’re only printing on Moda cotton.  You can order a swatch (8×8 inches), a fat quarter, or a yard.  Shipping on my order was really reasonable, although through a quirk in their shopping cart, if I had ordered the two separate yards together in one order the shipping would have been $7.  When I ordered them separately I was only charged $3 for each.  Silly to care about a dollar, but there you go.  The prices for their fabric are very reasonable.  They charge $18 for a yard.

The instructions for preparing your file to order fabric are contained in their blog, here: http://blog.spoonflower.com/2008/05/how-do-i-prepar.html

Frankly, I first thought of ordering fabric months ago but was a little put off by the instructions, which aren’t very comprehensive.  But I had an order to make a pillow that was larger than I could print, and I was determined to try spoonflower.  So this time I knuckled down and looked carefully at the directions.  Now, I have used Photoshop Elements and other similar programs for years, and have a good familiarity with them.  But for some reason I was befuddled by spoonflower’s requirements.  I think this is partly my fault, and partly the fact that the instructions are a bit too general, and definitely not broken down enough for someone who isn’t familiar with the vagaries of image resizing, dpi, etc.

Since I almost always print my own images, I never really needed to know how to find out what the size of my images is (not the size of the print, as in height and width, but the size in MBs).  Therefore, when I saw that my file could not be larger than 25 MB, I was befuddled.  After not getting enough help from spoonflower itself, it took several panicked emails to a photoshop expert friend (thanks, Kayla!), a post to the very helpful folks on the Photoshop Elements yahoo group and some plaintive queries to my friends on facebook, before I learned how to resize and check the size (in MBs) of my image on Elements.  Phew!

The other somewhat complicated part was that spoonflower recommends putting your files into LAB color space.  They have a good explanation of that on their blog, so I’m not going to repeat it here.  However, Photoshop Elements does not provide for conversion to LAB color space.  Spoonflower explains that you can provide images in other color spaces, but that there might be more of a color shift if you’re not using LAB.  I decided to take my chances, and sent a file in RGB color space.  I think the colors turned out fine in my finished product, but I’m not a color perfectionist like some of my friends, so you’ll really need to decide that aspect for yourself.

I ended up loading an old version of full Photoshop onto my computer today and sent another order in.  I included the same image on the order, one in LAB and one in RGB.  I’ll let you know what happens!

So when you make your order, you can have them tile your basic image in several different ways (or not at all, if you have just a single image or if you have your own method for a repeating pattern).  When you click the different choices, you can see how the fabric would ultimately look, which is really useful.

These are the two images I ordered printed: http://tinyurl.com/3rz8sb

I finally got a chance to photograph the fabric!  Here are pictures of the 2 yards they printed for me.

Spoonflower fabric: my Blue girl rose and bouquet collage design

Spoonflower fabric: my Blue girl rose and bouquet collage design

Oh, I should describe the design of the fabric I guess.  I took my photographs of a blue girl rose in our garden (my favorite rose, it has an exquisite, unusual blue/lavender color and a strong powdery scent) and a bouquet of flowers that I gave to my mother.  I blended the photographs and adjusted the colors.   I kaleidoscoped portions of the design and that produced the end-design that I used for this fabric.

This is the second yard of fabric.

Spoonflower fabric from my White daisies collage design

Spoonflower fabric from my White daisies collage design

This design originated with a photograph I took of a daisy with long white petals.  I duplicated the photograph, blended the layers and played some with the colors.  I kaleidoscoped the design and ended up with this end-design, which Spoonflower tiled to produce the yard of fabric.

Hopefully you can tell from the photographs that the fabric is very true to the original images that I uploaded.  The colors are extremely saturated and the resolution is great.  Next time: waiting for my second Spoonflower order!