One Very Old Applique

Today I wanted to share one of my favorite pieces I brought back from India, the pièce de résistance, you might say (believe it or not, there are still a lot of pieces I haven't shared yet; you can collect a lot of textiles in three months). This is a quilt I got in Kutch that is probably from the Sindh region, and traded back and forth by family members who were divided when new borders were made in the 1940s. It's an applique ralli quilt, with layers and layers of old fabric inside, and is one of the thickest quilts I saw in India. This piece is somewhere around one hundred years old, but could be older, and all those bright colors you see are done with natural dyes.

This was the favorite piece I brought back, and is definitely the most intricate (and the oldest). But what to do with a hundred year old quilt? I'm still trying to find a good way to display it without damaging such an old piece. Either way, I wanted to share it with you:

 

Around the Studio

The last few weeks have been crazy around here: I'm still filling orders from the Stationery Show, and getting ready for a few big projects coming up in July. One project I was working on in India is finally ready, and I'll be sharing it in the next week! It's completely new, so get ready for something good.

Right now my days have been filled with printing, printing and more printing. I couldn't be more excited to get the press up and running so I can focus more on designing new products, and take on more custom work rather than devoting all my time to printing by hand. But for now, it's back to the studio for more printing!

Minted 2012 Holiday Cards

Minted is currently hosting voting for their new 2012 Holiday Cards, and this year I have ten designs in the running. Voting ends in just a few days, so head over there and vote! You can find a selection of my designs here, or click here and go to "designs submitted." The results will be out in a few weeks. Thanks for your votes!

Two New Additions

This weekend Joe and I drove four hours south to pick up a new addition to the studio that I found on Craigslist: a Chandler and Price letterpress. It was quite an adventure; we borrowed a trailer and drove the GPS's "most direct route" which went through winding back roads and unmarked paths (I think it's time for a new GPS). When we got there, the door needed to come off the studio it was in, and it took us two hours to roll it out and onto the trailer. Then we hauled the one-ton press back over the winding roads, to it's new home in the garage.

With all the orders coming in, it has been impossible to keep up while printing everything by hand. So in order to speed up the process, some of the prints will now be done on a letterpress. First it needs to be cleaned and oiled and it needs new rollers, but once we get it going I can start printing blocks on the press!

And the second new addition: our puppy Luka who we adopted a week before the Stationery Show and likes to sleep in random places:

There's a lot going on here, and I can't wait to get the press all cleaned up and ready to go! I can't even imagine how nice it will be to print 500 cards in a run rather than 50. If you want to see how it works, Elizabeth from Sugarcube Press has a great video here.

Introducing Custom Wedding Invitations!

Today I am sharing a block printed wedding invitation I worked on this winter for a summer wedding in New York. It was a custom project designed for the bride, who had an exact idea in her head of what she was looking for. I've been so excited to share this project since I worked on it in December!

This suite was designed for Catherine who wanted a William Morris-inspired invitation to match her teal-and-blue farmhouse wedding. Each invitation is block printed in two colors, and the RSVP card has a single color print.

Catherine provided me with a few pieces to give an idea of her theme, plus a William Morris print she was using as inspiration for the wedding. From there I worked on the design, carved the printing blocks, and printed each invitation by hand. I was so happy with the way they came out, and Catherine loved the finished invitations.

Since this project was such a success, I am now starting to take invitation orders! If you are interested in custom block printed invitations send me an email at hello@katharinewatson.com. I have just a few spaces open for the fall, so get in touch if you are interested in block printed invitations for your wedding! I will be doing both block printed and letterpress invitations, and each suite will be designed from scratch for the customer. All block printed invitations also come with the printing blocks which can be used again, or framed with the invitation. If you are getting married this year and are looking for unique invitations, send me an email!

60% Off 2012 Calendars!

I launched the 2013 letterpress calendar at the National Stationery Show, and before I add those to the shop, I'd like to clear out the rest of the 2012 calendars. It was a limited edition print so there are only eleven pieces left, and I just marked them down to 60% off. Get one now for only $9.00! You can find them in the shop right here.