Indian block print

My friend Philippa gave me an old Indian wooden print block last Autumn, knowing my love of hand printing.  I went to visit her last weekend, so I used the wooden block to print onto fabric and made it into a clutch purse to give to her.

 

 

 

 

I inked the block with a bright pink fabric ink I had mixed up, rolled the colour onto the block and then stamped it onto the green lined fabric that I had cut out already to make the purse.

 

This is the finished purse.

doorstop and Lotta Jansdotter

 

I made this doorstop following a pattern in Lotta Jansdotter's book "Simple Sewing".  I didn't print the fabric, it's an African fabric I bought in Dalston Market.

I like Lotta Jansdotter's work and have 3 books of craft projects by her.  She makes printed textiles, and you can see a good demo of handmade printing, "Stencils and Yams", by her with Etsy on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pnu0AsoPJb0

I like the simplicity of Lotta Jansdotter's prints and her sewing projects are also easy to follow.  It didn't take long to make this doorstop, which is just what I needed in our new house, and is made up like a saggy box - 4 sides, a bottom and a top with a handle, all stitched together, and I filled it with rice for the weight.

You can see Lotta's work on her website, and she also has a blog which you can go to from the link on her website: http://www.jansdotter.com/

house print

I made a small lino carving of 2 houses and tried printing it today.  I'm not happy with the result, but I might try carving houses again and see if I can improve the design.