Well, these past few weeks have been exhausting. I always find myself drained of energy in January, and 2013 has proven NOT to be an exception. I find myself after dinner with little energy to move my body (and I have to move my arms to sew!)….PLUS I took a 48 hour whirlwind trip on a tour bus with 30 3rd, 4th and 5th graders and 20 other adults to Washington, D.C. for Obama’s inauguration….leaving on a Sunday night at 10 PM, sleeping on the bus, walking all around DC the next day and standing on the National Mall for hours waiting for the inauguration…(and yes, I did see Beyonce lip-syncing the National Anthem)…..then there was my birthday, my daughter’s 22nd birthday weekend, a root canal, an infection as a result of the root canal, and a class in using acrylic gel to transfer photos to paper and fabric with my sister…whoa there. No wonder I’ve been exhausted!
But I did try something new, something I have wanted to try for a while. First, I read in an article that there is a product called “Bubble Jet Set 2000” in which you soak fabric, then let dry, then iron the fabric onto freezer paper and print on a computer. Apparently ink-jet printers print water-soluble ink, and this Bubble Jet helps the ink to set on the fabric. So, one day I cut fabric into 8.5 x 11 inch rectangles, washed and dried them and then painted on them, and let them dry overnight
The next day I ironed them and then I soaked them in the Bubble Jet solution for five minutes, then let dry once again overnight. The next day I ironed these painted fabrics onto freezer paper.
I then organized my lists of “Quotes”, and set about to print several different types of text onto the fabric. These are examples of my results:
The second photo is a closer look at one fabric print.
While this was fun, it is time-consuming….i intend to use these quotes in my landscapes and cards. And there was one additional problem….after putting through several freezer-paper-fabric pieces, one last one jammed the printer. I carefully took it out, but kept getting a ‘paper jam’ message on my printer. I opened it, several time, shook it out upside down, went on FixYa web site to see what other solutions were suggested, and used a flashlight on the inner workings of the printer and removed a single thread, reset the printer several times, and finally called Canon Tech Support. The result? My printer may be repairable, but for $75.00 I could buy a new one from Canon…and I did. I will have to see where I can recycle this printer, because it is kaput. Broken. Jammed. Damaged.
Next time I print on fabric, I am using a much simpler printer….and I am also going to be much more careful!
These are gorgeous!
In the dark days before personal printers, textile folks were not unknown to jam corporate and library copiers. Love your results – sorry about the death of your printer.
I love how you’re learning to make your own designs on fabric. I am impressed. So much to learn… I love these colors and your quotes.
Oh, and 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and a 48 hour trip on a bus including sleeping…I am really impressed. Did that once during Bush the first’s presidency for a protest…but with adults only!