A Quilt, some Tea Towels & my Bags

I have one quilt that really got me to love quilting. In the early 90's I was taking a printmaking class and decided to start printing on fabric, it was cheap and I had access to a lot of cheap fabric at the thrift store. Paper was getting too expensive so I figured that fabric was better because I could use the printed pieces in a quilt. This red & pink quilt was what I made in that class. I screen printed some images that I found in various clip art books as well as printing actual clothing such as the bra and the  teddy. I have had this quilt on display in my house some place since I made the thing, I used it often to stay warm while watching movies. It reminds me that all you have to do is sew scraps of fabric together in ways that appeal to you and you have a quilt. I did not follow a pattern, I did not match up corners, I squared some of the blocks after I made them only to make them all fit together. I love this quilt. Three years ago my husband took this quilt with him when he went to San Francisco to help built a living space in a warehouse for a friend, it kept him warm. I always think of this quilt as my crazy quilt because I mixed so many pieces of fabric together, wool, velvet and cotton,  I stitched some cute ribbon and did some little embroidery on this quilt.  
My tea towels from Spoonflower arrived. When they arrived they were a little stiff and I was afraid that they would not be absorbent. I hemmed the edges with a simple double fold hem and washed the fabric, the fabric softens up nicely. The test of how absorbent they are will come tomorrow on Thanksgiving when we cook, eat and clean up.  I think over time the linen cotton canvas will soften up quite a but and make this wonderful kitchen towels. I'm thinking that a nice fat quarter of a kitchen themed fabric would make a nice tea towel as a Christmas gift. 
I also saw my bags for sale in a bookstore in downtown portland. I was down there buying a used copy of Fabric Surface Design. I can't praise this book enough, it's full of all types of printing, dying, stenciling and stamping techniques on fabric. It's a great reference book for any one that works with textiles. I'm looking forward to trying several of the processes in the book. I had the book checked it out from the library and after 2 months they wanted the book back...I had to buy my own copy. 

Halloween Bag

I made a zipper pouch for Halloween. I was trying a product called Screen Ink Discharge. It's mixed with screen printing ink and bleaches out the dark fabric and replaces it with the color of the ink. I wanted a nice white so I used white ink and I think the skull & cross bones came out nice. I have used soft scrub in the past but I have had some problems with the image not completely bleaching out. The other thing about his Ink Discharge is I can add a color like yellow or pink and it should stand out. I will do some more tests and let you know how that turns out. As for this product as I used it, it worked. I would use it in an area that has ventilation as the label suggests, the stuff stinks. You have to iron the product to make it react, which is fine but it stinks. So be prepared. I would also suggest that you wash the item because it stinks. I did not wash this item and I wish I did. It doesn't smell  any more now but it did for about a week. I also added a leather handle on the side as I receives some nice leather scraps from a friend and I thought this was a nice place to use some of that gift. I want to make some more of these as I have some more of the skull & crossbones, as well as the skeleton heads. The red fabric on the inside is a lining that I bought at Scrap in Portland. I bought a used bolt of abut 15 yards for $25 a couple years ago. I have used a lot and still have a lot left.