I enjoy repeat patterns – a challenge to design and a fun to discover variations on a theme. Perhaps I like them for the same reasons I enjoy traditional Irish music, Mozart,and the Delta Blues. Visual rhythms, process rhythms, keeping time, leaving space for imagination, practice for my hands.
I’ve washed the rice paste from the cotton/linen blend, decorated with Meadow Rue and Tulip designs. Below are photos of results. Each piece is approx. 24×62.”
Meadow rue, natural pigments on linen/cotton blend
Meadow rue detail
Tulips, natural pigments on linen/cotton blend
Tulips detail
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Lovely shapes in both pieces and the promise of spring in the colours. I hope the Bird x Bird exhibition is a great success this weekend.
thank you Judith!
I don’t remember how I came across your blog, but I’m glad I did- your work is so beautiful- I’d never heard of katazome. I love what you are doing with it! I’m curious, do you ever print & sell straight yardage?
Thanks for visiting, Deb. In terms of yardage, the process is so labor intensive that this would be difficult, and probably prohibitive in cost for most people. I’m considering doing some semi-custom work, however. As I grow my skills, I am brainstorming how to best market my work. Marketing and selling is always a challenge for me. I’m not good at it!
Kit, I love the tulips and meadow rue completed, great color choice, beautiful shading. Also happy to see your success with a linen/cotton blend since I’ve read that linen doesn’t take the dyes as well (although I haven’t tried, and it seems linen SHOULD work). What weight fabric is it, compared to, say, a medium muslin?I believe you used to do pillows — what would you make with those pieces?
Thank you, Eliza! The plan for these is to create runners. Although I love the large pieces and am reluctant to cut them up. They would look nice on a wall. I also think pillows are possible with these patterns. I have used linen/cotton blend in the past with good results. I had not heard that linen doesn’t take the dyes — seems to work fine – I still do 3 coats of dye. The weight of fabric with meadow rue/tulips is heavier than muslin — I’d say a medium weight. I am currently curing some 100% linen pillows, fabric I bought from my sister, which is a bit heavier than the blend. I found that the soy sizing step was more challenging simply because it stretches so much when it gets damp, so my shinshi were falling out .. a frustrating experience…we’ll see how they turn out.
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