It was a lovely visit. He arrived a little late on Friday because he missed his exit and ended up in Rubidoux. Once he got here we settled into a very goofy, giggly conversation. It felt good to laugh like that.
Saturday we went to Ken's to put in an appearance at the Amy (yuck) party and to grab equipment. Then we went to lunch at BJ's. After that we came home and played music. Actually they messed around trying to get the technology up and running (typical) and THEN we played music. It's funny, it happens every time. They'll dink around for hours trying to get some computer program to work before the actual playing can begin. There's a whole lot of cussing and trying different things and wait, oh no, oh crap. I think it's actually kind of fun to watch them go through their process.
We came up with some crazy stuff. Just about every instrument we have in this room got yanked down off the self and played. It was a real nice way to spend an evening. It's a special treat having Dan here.
Today they messed around with the I-sight camera. Nothing fabulous was produced but they had fun messing with it. Dan and Jim worked on fixing Ken's guitar and Paige's electric scooter. There was a mix up with Dan's flight which was annoying but good because we got to spend a few extra hours with him.
This afternoon I started experimenting with the fabric paints. I have some big, heavy muslin dropcloths that I want to use to make curtains for the living room. I want to see if it will work to paint them. So far my experiments look pretty good but I'm not sure if this will work on a large scale. If I use regular fabric paints from Michael's it will be too expensive. Those little containers don't go very far. There's a fabric medium that can be added to regular acrylic paints. I'll look for some of that.
Jim says I have to go take the trash down to the street. How's that shin splint doing, dear?
11 comments:
Happy that you had such a good time with Dan. Nice to have a fun weekend every once in a while.
How heavy an application of paint are you planning? I used regular acrylic over gesso for my pelmets over the windows. No cracking of gesso or paint, it's still pretty bendy as well.
I realize they aren't curtains but I think you'll be ok without fabric medium. Unless you're planning on washing them a lot.
I use a phlegmatiglassen paint with mine. Its mucus base gives it both an unearthly shimmer and a remarkable elasticity.
What the heck are you people talking about?
Sheesh, non crafters....
We're talking about painting on fabric. Fabric paints stay soft and flexible after they've dried. If you use straight acrylic paint on fabric, it's stiff when it's dry. I want to paint these big, painter's dropcloths and make them into curtains for the living room.
I don't want the paint to be heavy. I'd like to use dyes and resist but that's not easy to do on thick muslin fabric. I experimented with using washable white glue as a resist. It actually looks kind of cool. I'll probably end up using a combination of different kinds of paints and dyes.
Maybe I'll get Jim to help me scan in my samples and post them here.
Phlegmatiglassen is an awesome word. Do you make your own?
* phlegmatiglassen paint with mine. Its mucus base*
Sounds like Brothers recipe might give you the resist (with an unearthy shimmer to boot) you're wanting. Bro, you sound just like an experienced crafter!
How about a wax crayon as resist? No, it won't permeate the fabric so I suppose it will only work if you're dropping fairly dry dye on the right side of the fabric.
Yeah, I'd like to see some samples of what you're trying to do.
The Brother's recipe might work but I'm worried about the smell.
Yeah, I really want a resist that will permeate the fabric. The glue actually works pretty well and causes some interesting effects. I'm also thinking about using a silk screen to do the all over design. I loooove silkscreening. I haven't done it in years and would love to get back into it.
Jim's at the vet this morning. When he gets back I'll get him to scan what I've done so far.
Uke case update.
Jim's been experimenting with different LEDs and so far none of them are bright enough. He's going to try to find some online.
We also experimented with using pop rivets to attach the hinges. I need to be able to use washers with the rivets or they'll pull through the cardboard sides. The ones we had didn't work. We're going to see if there are special washers for pop rivets.
The cover and liner fabrics are on a shelf calling to me. I can't do a thing with them until the hinges and the lights are installed.
In the meantime I'm messing with curtain fabric!
Hey, Virginia, havwe you ever used a Print Gocco machine? I'm thinking of using that to print the designs. Silly me, I forgot that I had one with a fabric stamper AND fabric ink. I've had it for years never used it. I hope the ink is still useable.
Experiment time!
Nope, never even heard of such a thing. I'll have to look online.
I've never done screenprinting! Liam has been wanting to learn but I couldn't help him there.
Hey, I just looked up a Print Gocco and it looks way cool. How big is yours? The one I looked at was fairly small although I suppose you could make a jillion little prints and attach them as applicate? How do you spell that word?
I hope all the animals are alright.
The animals are fine. Our Gracie dog is participating ina fat dog study. Our dog is a guinea pig.
The Gocco is used mainly for printing greeting cards but there's an attachment for printing on fabric. The screens come in a larger size for t-shirts. It works like a mini silk screen. For cards you use the Gocco machine. For fabric you take the screen out of the machine and use the adaptor to press the design wherever you want.
If Liam wants to learn silkscreening I'd be happy to teach him. Be prepared to buy lots of equipment, tho. It's an involved process. I love it!
Vivage, if you were wondering about the animals being alright because I was at the vet, don't worry. Gracie's fine, she's just undergoing scientific experiments. ;->
No, seriously, she's in a double-bllind weight loss study. She's either taking a placebo or (I think it's called) neuropeptide-L, a naturally occurring brain chemical. I suspect it's the placebo, because she's more hungry now than when we started a week ago. Anyway, once a month for 3 months I take her in for a checkup.
Oh, and my shin is getting better; I expect to be able to take the trash out any day now!
ObTest: Demolition Derby!
Whew! Glad to hear all the animals are doing fine. A weight loss experiment, who'd a thunk it?
So did the ice help? If so, I'm glad, pain is terrible when you just want to move around.
Although I can see how it'd help to keep ya away from taking out the trash. bwhahaha.
Post a Comment