MORE YARDAGE // Bedroom Wall Prints (My Peonies)

The latest on the yardage. Well, after a few runs to LOWES and a pick up on some more muslin...as well as burning a completely new screen...(we all decided to not invert this pattern and run with it in a traditional "brick" repeat)...and I am so thrilled to report that I did not suck and I was able to seamlessly do the "handoff" and we kicked some serious butt and did 12+ yards in no time at all--with 12 or so more to go I am so excited and seriously thinking after all the prep, the actual printing is a breeze. (serious prep work..serious I say....) But Maslen being the math guru...I let him figure out all that stuff and I focused on the new prints I am putting up in our bedroom. They turned out awesome....


But I have to say what has made things easier--minus a screen that actually repeated easily (ha ha) Maslen made us a bunch of dowel rods that are strategically placed so we can hoist up the fabric once completed so we can do multiple rounds of printing and not having any down drying time in the second pass...so that has saved us a ton of time and made things a lot more seamless.


We are still in the mist of the last 6-12 yards but I thought I would post since I had some great new shots of the pattern inverted and the the way the fabric hangs while drying. 


The prints I have been dreaming up has been a fun process. I took a ton of pics from my garden of all my Peonies. I am so in love with these flowers and managed to grow mine to new heights this Summer and the blooms were fantastic. I shot a ton of them, and have created some repeats patterns as well as these one ups of some of the elements I loved. I wanted some simple yellow prints in my bedroom. I am starting to love yellow and orange together--go figure--(two bright cheery colors) off set by some white and gray---I found some super old frames at goodwill that I have had stashed for ever and I know I should of just left them, but I have so much las vegas gold stuff I wanted the prints to go over my bed and not have more gold..so I spray painted them with a super glossy finish in a yellow---too insane, so repainted them in a natural off white to blend with my vintage french provincial set. The only thing I left was a sweet little gold metallic lip around the inside. I felt that might be just a hair of something to not look too manufactured. (if you check out some pics way back on here I have some shots of my bedroom). 


So that is it so far..stitchers on call right now do turn the yardage into sheer curtains on Monday and ready to put up by Wednesday or Thursday. I should have a few final round pillows made up as well that I am seriously so in love with--(finally getting to the point where I love the construction). Thanks Molly!


More drama yet to unfold I am sure..but other then cleaning my house like usual and digging through my studio and making sure it is not too insane to shoot, I am ready for Country Living and Olga Naiman the amazing stylist and Tara Donne the insanely amazing photographer to come through and do it up---what is nice is that I can step back and watch two amazing designers do their thing...looking forward. 


PS. Stay tooned for new much need and anticipated hand tags that we will screen on muslin or bark cloth...and of course PICNIC PORTLAND is coming up--so I hope to a lot of you stop by and say hello! xo e

YARDAGE

Okay this is the deal. Country Living is coming in a few weeks and they asked if I would hand screen some custom curtains to soften my windows in my living room. Mas and I already purchased our large screen and it was here--burned and ready to go. We just had been looking at it. Truthfully we were a little intimidated going from 1/3 the size screen for pillows to this monster screen...


So yesterday we printed for the first time our large screen---roughly 55" x 30". We should of waited until the kiddos were MIA but we had them sit and watch---and asked them not to ask or want anything for a few moments while we work it out---ha ha. That worked for a while but Ary wanted to hold the hamster and B wanted ice cream mid pull of the last few rounds...but..all I have to say about this experience is that it just reinforces my love of silk screening and my obsession for doing this-


Okay so the repeat was not perfect. After we did our first 6 yards we did not love the way it was lining up. But what we discovered is that our screens and table worked great. We printed on muslin, (super cheap and lovely). My tags are printed on this super soft fabric and to just soften a room I thought this natural cloth would be nice? My normal self wanted to print in yellow or orange but wanting to work on producing a natural linen type color I opted to mix up a ton of this natural brown/gray color.


First pull for me was a disaster...(maslen was pretty perfect like usual)...second, third, forth--OKAY by the forth pull I had it down. Because of the size of the table Mas hands off the squeegee to me and I take it the rest of the table width. It's fun, stressful and addictive. (the upper body strength I need is just one of the few new reasons I am going back to the gym!) 


After 6 yards which took us no time at all (minus some drying time inbetween) it was pretty painless...with all the measuring from Mas on where to lay the screen down each time...but we discovered the burned screen was off a tad and the print did not line up the way it did on my computer..(sigh). So this time Mas sat in front of my computer with me for a few hours trying to figure out a better repeat that is more of a drop repeat--and also thinking the solid background with this DECO print dropping to the ground is really not going to work with this design. So we are working that out still. Going to reburn this week. Have to have the curtains up and done in less then two weeks so we better get moving!

But because I can't imagine tossing this fabric--I am going to wash it and make some scarves or something? I washed and dried it and it is so so beautiful and because it is chopped you don't notice the fact that the pattern is not perfectly lined up. But honestly I have to laugh because nothing I do is perfect. So why should my yardage? Mas is a math guy..things line up in his world, things are in order. Okay so this is not the perfect combo in some marriages but in ours--it works. He balances my randomness. I have to say that I did get all emotional after we were done. I looked up at him and said, "this is it mas, this is it, this is our future--" In all honesty I felt a surge of this most amazing happiness--I have never wanted anything more. This need to create is just getting bigger--something that has taken my hand and creating work for me. It is coming from somewhere I can't describe and I am so so in love with it. Mas just smiled and looked over the table and smiled. (man of few words). But his eyes lit up and I knew...this just the start of something freaking amazing. And so happy I get to share with this man. xo e