Fabric Printing Retreat - Wrap Up Part Two

Busy week this week here at Leyden Glen Farm. It's a few days late in coming but I wanted to show you all what the students did at the Fabric Printing Retreat here at our farm last weekend. Here is a group shot of everyone with their bags and printed fabric. Don't they look like a happy crew? And that Winston snuck himself into the photo!

I love teaching students how to design. In the beginning, most of them have doubts that they can design by themselves. As the hours progress, they are digging in deep - talking about why something works or doesn't work. It is so much fun to see their confidence progress as the day goes on. 

Robin made this bright and happy bag.

Kim made this floral bag in aqua and green tones. I love how it matched her checked shirt.

Michelle went with a heart motif in many colors and combined it with some happy circles. She started with one distinct idea, made a few stamps to print from and then it morphed into this one. I love that!

Minh designed a graphic design. She will be coming to the Crewel Embroidery Retreat in August and wanted to print a fabric to embroider upon. She made 2 different versions but somehow I missed the photos. You can see one of her prints in the photo above. When designing for adding embroidery, it meant that she had to think about space for the stitches to be added. She had to make a design that would suit the embroidery - similar to my Paisley Pillow from a month ago or so. 

Here is Nancy's bag. She began with a motif idea that she photographed in Peru. 

This photo shows the stamps Nancy used. 

On Day Two, Nancy added some black lines to define the shapes even more. 

Rosie designed and made many, many stamps. Here is a close-up of the fabric she printed. Stunning. So colorful. 

This year, I am offering both one and two day options for the retreats. It seems like the right thing to do since some people do not want to stay overnight and don't have enough time to be away from their families. I must say though -- the students who stay for the second day really do absorb more and learn more - as would be expected. I had 4 students on the second day. We got so into printing and designing that I totally forgot to take any photos. Day Two gives each student the option to specialize in a second type of printing OR to just keep going with what they were having fun with the first day. 

Cynthia finished printing this long piece of fabric. 

Then Cynthia printed this bag. 

Nancy made some new print versions using her stamps from the first day. I think she will be using these as napkins or pillow tops. 

Robin and Rosie did block-printing and designed and carved some beautiful blocks. I forgot to take photos! Here are some block-prints I carved so you get the idea. 

I will be offering the Fabric Printing Class again this summer July 18/19. I don't have the website ready yet but I will let you all know when it is ready for registration.  Mark your calendars now if you would like to come to the farm and join in the fun. The announcement will be first made on my "Once in A While" Newsletter which you can sign up for at the upper right side of my blog.