Design Wall Monday

I'm posting this a bit early so I don't forget.

Another week has come and gone. I've finished the tumblers top. I think I might need to add another row of tumblers. It seems a little long and narrow to me. When I measure it's 50 1/2" by 72". Maybe I'll just border it on three sides so that it's not quite so long.





I've been working on the banner again. I think I figured out today why I was avoiding it. The step I've started to work on today is stenciling with the Shiva Paint Sticks. I've never done this before and I really didn't know what I was doing. I saw a video about how to make stencils with freezer paper, and today I just saw another post about using freezer paper on the back to stabilize the fabric. Once I saw that I decided to just go for it. I haven't sewn the pieced shield to the background yet, so I can still dye another piece if this comes out looking horrible.

To stencil the letters I first printed them in a font and size that would work, then I placed freezer paper over the print and cut out the letters. Once I did that (with a few weeks between) I ironed a piece of freezer paper to the back of the banner, then placed the stencil on the front and ironed it down well. I was a bit afraid that the small piece in the A might come up when I painted the black in, but it is sticking well so far.

When I had the letters down, I got out the black paint stick and took off the skin, then using the stencil brush I got some paint on it by brushing against the paint stick. I pounced on the plate to get the color into the bristles of the stencil brush, then starting from the edges on the paper side, I pounced into the letters. It takes a while to get the letters filled, and to make sure the edges are sharp, I went back and pounced from the inside to the edges, especially at the corners.

You might wonder why I chose a method I've never done before on this banner. Well, I'm not an appliqué-r, so that option was out. I don't really like the look of machine satin stitched edges--and this fabric is silk and a bit loosely woven, so I didn't think that would work. I was  bit stuck, till I saw that video and I finally settled on stenciling. I did a test and it looked pretty good, so I'm going with it!

I have to wait 72 hours now, before I can heat-set the oil stick and continue with the sewing.

To see what other people have on their design walls, check out Judy's blog.