Before you get excited and think that this is a definitive tutorial on how to monoprint - it isn't!  More of a peek into my tentative journey in the technique.  

We've acquired* several large thick Perspex sheets and think that they'd be great for Monoprinting, but the only way to be sure would be to actually have a go.  We've dabbled with Monoprinting on and off over the years, mainly using old laminated sheets or small pieces of thin Perspex, and used a safe wash block printing ink form Seawhite,  this is a  great product and is easy to use - but isn't fast once dry, so you can't add further wet processes.

When we moved studio earlier this year one of the (many...) things we found were several tubes of  Caligo safe wash inks from Cranfield. Bought and forgotten (and how many of you have done this too?) However, having recently read an article on the Caligo inks it appears that these inks will become permanent on fabric and paper after a curing process; it was high time I tried them out.

How much ink to put onto the plate is difficult to gauge and only by actually having a go can you really get the feel.  Inking up is also really tricky on such huge plates, it needs to be spread much thinner than you'd imagine, as I found out with my first (paper) tries.  In fact I actually only inked the plate once the whole day (yes - that's how much ink I'd put on!)  and between prints just rerolled with the brayer to smooth the surface again.

My first attempts were very disappointing (but at least they didn't stick to the plate). To begin with I was using a very light pure greaseproof paper ('deli' paper) and it was only once I was happy that the plate was behaving did I moved on to fabric.

I used a cotton sateen fabric, which I 'floated' over the surface, letting it drop very gently onto the inked plate.  I nearly stopped breathing at this point, but as the fabric settled I could see that I had finally achieved the correct level of ink on the plate - the fabric settled but did not absorb ink.   As you can see,  this meant I achieved really clear marks and lines: I'm very pleased, and relieved!

In today's world instant gratification seems to be taken for granted - from ready made and fast food, the pinging of texts or emails on your phone to the  ever increasing ways to access online data.  We don't even need to stand in line anymore because more and more we buy on-line. 

But in the creative world it's good to travel a slower road, taking the time to play and experiment, to explore the 'what if's', celebrate our successes - and mistakes, because after all a mistake is just a creative opportunity! Often students roll their eyes at us when we say ' I don't know, have you tried making a sample?'  Terry and I are both firm believers in 'doing', having a go, trying things out.  It's only through the act of doing  will you ever find out what will work, and what won't, which techniques are suitable and which aren't.  Time spend in practical exploration is never time wasted - besides which, look at all the fun and joy you will have on the way.   

Meanwhile I have to wait patiently for the fabric pieces to cure and then I can start to add colour before layering up and stitching.  I'm so excited, and not a little impatient, to get started....

Hazel & Terry

P.S. You didn't think I'd be throwing away the over inked first attempts did you??  They've been put to one side to dry with the rest of my trials and will be added to the stash of creative papers ready for including into sketchbooks some day!

* as with many things we have in the InStitches Studio these had had a previous life and were heading off to the scrap yard!

I've waited and waited for this exhibition to come to the UK after seeing it featured on a friend's Instagram feed last year (she'd seen it in Paris) and this Monday was an ideal opportunity for a mother-and-daughter day out!  Unfortunately, I'd forgotten it was half term but even  a 50 minute wait in the members queue did nothing to dampen our enthusiasm and eventual enjoyment.

The V&A exhibition spans from 1947 to the present day, and traces the history and impact of one of the 20th century's most influential couturiers, exploring the enduring influence of the fashion house, and Dior’s relationship with Britain.

And because it was a V&A exhibition you were allowed to photograph and encouraged to share....so here's some of my favourites: enjoy!

Some of the designs from Dior who came after the untimely death of Christian had a more challenging focus.  I wonder what he would have thought?  Colourful yes, but wearable and flattering? Not always!

One of my favourite rooms (and there are many in this exhibition) was the one based on the atelier.  The simplicity and clean line of the calico toile was stunning.

Dior designed the whole look and an important aspect was millinery . 

Could this be the perfect hat for me I wonder?

The penultimate room is one for you to linger in.  Walk round, admire the dresses and then sit and enjoy the light show.  A magical end to a truly stunning, and unmissable, exhibition.

We both love words and like to use them in our creative work, both as text to be read and as text for texture.  When we start planning a stitched textile we take our inspiration from many areas, recording what we find in drawings, in colour and in words.  We play with the words, sometimes isolating particular words and phrases and other times so that, although they look like words, the whole narrative can't always be seen or understood. 

It is easy for the viewer to understand the purpose of text that can be read, but having text that can't be read can baffle some; so why do we do it?

As humans we can recognise the written word, whether we can actually understand it or not, and so it draws us in.  Text piques our interest - we want to try and make sense of it; you could say it's like solving a puzzle.  That's why, when you are travelling, foreign scripts are so fascinating.

It's a very grey, wet day here at the studio, so what better antidote is there than an injection of bright colour? 

Indian yellow, Persian yellow, lemon, golden, saffron, sepia: yellow is one of the strongest colours but I don't think there is another colour which has such a split personality.

The colour of life, with yellow aconites and daffodils pushing through the winter foliage and last week snow to add a much needed injection of colour in early spring, through

to a riot of colour in the summer borders. But don't forget to heed nature's warning combination of yellow and black: the wasp and bee sting isn't as welcome as a bunch of glorious blooms!

Yellow is a colour which keeps on giving all through the year,

adding vibrancy to our plate as well as our vases.

I couldn't resist adding these warning signs taken as I plodded up (not being mad enough to cycle) the switchback road on the Nilgiri Hills on route to Ooty, India.

However our studio sign is far less dramatic!

Yellow isn't a colour either of us use very much (or at all , says Terry) and we have to consciously make an effort to dye fabric and thread to sell.  But, just as it was with the colour orange, I'm discovering that the golden, mustardy shades are becoming more appealing the older I become. 

In Asia yellow is a sacred colour but it is one of the least favourite colours in the West, being associated with cowardice and yellow cards in football!  And never to be forgotten are the yellow stars Jews were force to wear by the Nazis.

But where would we be without the helpful yellow sticky notes, a jar of mustard for our beef and a yellow cab is easy to spot if we need to go somewhere fast?

A colour to represent energy, joy, cheerful, optimism, sunshine, hope, spring, youth, action, imagination and happiness or greed, envy, treachery? 

What's your favourite colour?

Hazel & Terry

Although it's cold here the sky is clear, the sun is out and there's a beautiful heavy frost; a perfect day for a winter walk.  We're very lucky as the InStitches Studio is  in the countryside and we only need to walk out of the front door, turn left and stroll down the lane.

It was such a joy to reach the ford and spy lots and lots of perky snowdrops showing in the winter undergrowth.  As we walked back up the drive we could see the daffodils buds  beginning to swell and underneath the bluebells  beginning to push through.  Each season brings it's own delights, but I'm hoping spring won't be too long coming.

Last year we'd been given a couple of older sewing machines which we thought would be useful for studio use, but with everything that's been happening recently we've not been able to sort them out.  Until yesterday: time to give them a spring clean and see if they worked. 

Hmmmm...looks like the previous owner didn't clean out this machine very often!