Tues

I decided I better get on with the journal quilts for this year as I am already behind. I had thought to do something which would help me get more confident about drawing faces.

However, when the new challenge size was set - 10"x10", they also added more strictures like the 1st four have to have a circle, the 2nd four have to have text and the 3rd four have to have at least one button.

So, I had to think a bit. and I came up with a bit of a plan for the faces and the other bits.

For the first 4 I decided to do a face in front of a circle in a sort of nod to icons. I have ideas for the rest of the year - text and buttons - but I have time to refine them a bit before I get to them.

So, tues I played with a photo of a clock I rescued from the bin at college. One of the faces I drew is not the most wonderful drawing of a face - I need to work on noses. But at the same time, it has more of a realistic expression to it. It makes me think of someone exasperated. Which is quite like I have felt recently! You feel like all the people running around in your head have quite got out of order.

So, I when I thought of the face in front of a circle, I thought of a clock and the people are running round the outside.

I scanned in the face and layered it over the clock in PaintShop Pro. I decided I wanted to use the image transfer method where you put transfer medium over the photocopy or laser print and then iron it onto fabric. Having already learned that you have to mirror image text or numbers, I did that to the clock and to the lady, because I liked her looking to the right for some reason.

Whilst on the drop down menu in PSP looking for greyscale to see what it would be like, I saw negative, so I tried it and was quite impressed at how it set the lady out. (I keep calling her clock lady at the moment.)

So I went with that plan.

I painted on ModPodge because I can't find the image transfer medium (I think there was some left from doing it with students, but I think it is in a safe place. Hmmm)

I thought it would look impressive on black, but I had a feeling it might not show well. but I turned it over and pressed it onto the black fabric using baking parchment. You can just let the transfer medium dry, but it takes ages. Ironing it works. (the Modpodge stinks, so I will buy more transfer medium next time I am in HobbyCraft.)

And after wetting the back of the paper and rubbing off the excess, sure enough...you can't see it. well, it will do for a moon at some point.

So, repeat those steps but put it on a linen-like fabric remnant I had.

and it works much better.

I am working out whether to draw or stitch the people running round. or draw and stitch.

I think I might get on with the other images for at least three of the circle journals and then do the stitching on them all at one go. I think I might do some printing out on fabric with my printer which is ink jet ( DH has the laser printer with toner that I used for clocklady.)
More tomorrow.