Frustration but some progress

For my birthday I bought myself (from DH and the kids you understand!) a screen for screenprinting and a couple of books. Improvisational Screenprinting by Jane Dunnewold and Breakdown Printing by Leslie Morgan and Claire Benn. Today I started preparing for it. I tore the fabric into manageable bits and soaked it in soda ash solution. Hung it out on the line and waited for it to rain. I was relying on the weather forecast. Cloudy but dry. An hour passed. Very still… then rain! So I had to get it in and it is now sitting in my studio, some laid out on the floor to dry, the rest waiting its turn. Weather forecasts – bah! Unfortunately the only plastic sheet I could find to lie it on was already covered with paint so I hope it doesn’t pick up too much.

Still, I got the screen taped with duct tape to make it waterproof.

Also, in the hour before it started to rain, I managed to sew some velvet edge binding on this velvet jacket I started making before Christmas from an old sweatshirt. It is starting to get close to being finished anyhow. I still need to do more sewing over some of the velvet, put facing on the neck and do some more couching. Oh, and sew up the seams again of course! I can’t do any more now – I can’t move in there without getting soda ash on me…

I’m feeling under the weather today. I’ve got a cold sore on the outside of one lip and an ulcer on the inside. Yuk.