Monday, March 15, 2010

Ta-da!


Well, the tea towels are done and I'll be sending them off this week. Thanks for all your great suggestions of how to fix my cut-in-half problem with the design. I ended up doing a couple of different things to them because they were actually all different, being hand printed. Two of them just had a threesome of birds added here and there (above)... and two of them had a grid of lines wrapped around the middle print (below)...


I decided to wash them before sending and discovered that on one of the grid Ts I mustn't have sealed the fabric paint as well as I'd thought, as you can see below... I'm still debating with the perfectionist in myself about whether to try and fix it somehow but the Mr says it adds character (he also said I'm in grave danger of far too much over-working on these pieces which was actually the comment that really hit home!).


So, what happened with the fifth tea towel? Well, of course I went totally overboard... or maybe not. I'm still not sure. I decided to do something radically different and screenprinted my retro star pattern over the top of one lino print. It wasn't quite right and so the over-working happened again... and now it looks a bit like one of those 50s clocks I think. (It's a pity I didn't think about this beforehand and make it three o'clock). Anyway, it was all fun and I did learn a lot about patterning and colour in these experiments :)



I've received 3 of my 5 tea towel swaps already. I'll show them once they all arrive I think. Thank goodness others are as late as I am! ;)

30 comments:

mel @ loved handmade said...

They all look great, love the colour combinations nice work.

Kim Wallace :: Udessi said...

These are absolutely divine! And I like the texture in the fabric paint... Fantastic!

Christina Lowry said...

I love you tea towels, all of them, and agree with the Mister that it adds character! I am always a couple of days late sending my swaps, terrible aren't we?! :)

june at noon said...

I think they're really lovely. I also happen to be a fan of a little fading or slightly unfinished bits, so the missing ink doesn't bother me at all.

Jennie said...

I love what you have done to every one of those. Especially the birds!

flowerpress said...

They're great! And I love your colours.
I always learn more from actually putting pen to paper, or ink to fabric in your case, something about being a visual learner.
I'm sure you've absorbed heaps in the process!!

9crafty11 said...

You know what, I love all of them! And I enjoyed watching the process of the whole production. And the color combination were so lovely!

posie blogs Jennie McClelland said...

Really love this style, well done, happy tea towelling, love Posie

Karen Lewis Textiles said...

They are all stunning, Kylie. You have done such a brilliant and inspirational job. Pieces of art, they are x

belinda marshall said...

they are beautiful Kylie ~ i love what you've done with the birds and the star.
i really like the printing 'imperfection' :)

Kate Kelleher said...

I think they look wonderful and you should think about exhibiting these and other designs at textile fairs for fashion/homeware buyers to buy your designs. Why stop at tea towels?

ELK said...

gems each and every one ! ...why stop at tea towels...

Kickcan & Conkers said...

I love them Kylie - all of them - beautiful colours and patterns, a joy to see!

blue moss said...

love them all...of course...

annamaria potamiti said...

I love them all -its too hard to pick a favorite!
Annamaria xx

Bec @ honi design said...

Oh, they look absolutely wonderful!! You should sell these! You've done such an amazing job on them - I love the retro, yet modern feel to them :) x

nevin said...

Well done!! These are beautiful Kylie.XX

mizu designs said...

Wonderful work! They look so cheery and lovely.

Tania said...

You do excellent tea towel, lady. And I get it - the perfectionist battle thing. Tiresome stuff lots of times...

our little love nest said...

OOoooh I agree with Mr. I love the colours, ideas and beauty of character. These are gorgeous, Kylie!! Wishing I had a sink in our garage so I could work on some screen printing, myself, now that I am all inspired by your work.
You are so talented.
xoxo

Rachel said...

wow they are stunning.... I love the citrus colour!

at swim-two-birds said...

wow kylie, i love that style, that mustard yellow and grey are gorgeous together!

Evie said...

gorgeous kylie! love the new song on your blog too : )

patchworkoncentralpark said...

Nice to see something that is not photo shopped.
Great blog

lisa stubbs said...

Ah Fantastic!! they look great:)

Ingrid Mida said...

Hi Kylie,
I hope all is well. I posted about a very cool book installation I saw recently. I know you would love it. Please visit and check it out!
Cheers!

Kate said...

I can't believe you made that - it's the sort of teatowel you see in a swedish magazine and grump that they make all the best stuff. I love it!!!

Anonymous said...

they all look so fabulous and so unique to each other too can't wait to see the ones you receive

Cindy said...

So nice to be back visiting your beautiful blog. These tea towels are wonderful. Lovely work as always xx.

Galit said...

These are so wonderful!! Love your colors and the pattern is gorgeous!