Summer of Color 4, week 5: Red, Royal Blue, and Light Blue

For week 5 of SOC4, Kristin, our incredible host at Twinkle, Twinkle has chosen Red, Royal Blue, and a splash of Light blue.


My contribution this week is some hand dyed fabric I call Poppies


I began by creating a handmade stencil.  Of course, with my lack of drawing skills, I picked the easiest thing I could think of, which is a poppy head.  I used both scissors and a craft knife to cut the pieces apart.

That way I could have both a stencil and a mask!

My supplies for this one included 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, Staz-on reinkers, foam brushes, my cut poppy head, two cups (one for each color), and a piece of old bed sheet torn to size.

If you recreate this process, be sure you are using 91% alcohol, which can't be found in Europe without a prescription, I've been told.

I wasn't sure which of the blues I would use to get royal blue, but I started with midnight blue.  Of course, I have always contended that "cherry pink" is more red than "Blazing Red," so that's what I decided to use.

I was surprised when the midnight blue had a touch of pink with it, but I liked it, regardless.  You can see I used the mask to determine where the poppy heads would go.


Using the stencil, I outlined the poppy heads.  I began by using watered down (with alcohol) ink, but realized I needed to apply the red full strength so I didn't lose the entire image.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened.  What started as not-so-bad poppy heads, turned into abstract blobs.

And because I have NO feed dogs on my machine, the abstract heads took on a mind of their own after the batting I added didn't want to turn the fabric.

A couple of detail shots

showing the mess I created with the stitching and painting, has encouraged me to call this abstract "Poppies."  I now intend to use it on a scrappy journal cover.  Now I just need to get busy sewing a few abstract flowers to go in that journal!

Thanks to everyone who visited last week.  I tried to keep up, but with company over the holiday weekend, I ran out of time.  I also discovered that once the challenge was complete, I couldn't access the links.

Don't forget to visit Kristin for others who have joined this weekly challenge.  Now we have only one week to go!