Around the Studio

The big tasks this week have been printing and organizing. Since I moved the studio, I never really found a place for everything and there were lots of piles and boxes that never found a home. So I finally got around to ordering some filing cabinets, shifting the furniture around and finding a home for all the papers, supplies, and files that had accumulated. It's much easier to work when you don't have to rummage around and jump over piles to find what you're looking for.

Heading to Fall

It's starting to really cool off in Vermont, and fall is definitely moving in. I think I'll be wearing this outfit constantly until I need to switch sweaters for huge parkas:

Scarf - Top - Cardigan - Bracelet - Jeans - Boots

Steamroller Prints

This Saturday, I drove into Stowe to see the Steamroller Print Workshop at the Helen Day Art Center. I've heard of these events before, and they have one at the San Francisco Center for the Book, which I visited when I was in San Francisco last month. Basically, people carve large scale blocks and then roll over them with a steamroller like a huge printing press.

People were busy carving and inking up their blocks, and then one at a time they would roll the steamroller over the top. I didn't bring any of my blocks, but next year I'm going to think ahead and bring some. Or maybe rent a steamroller and try it myself? Maybe on some massive novelty greeting cards?

Fig and Kraft

It's been a very busy few weeks around here, but I took a break from the printing and packaging last week to work on these new block printed wedding invitations.

I designed these with a floral border and lined envelope which were carved from two separate linoleum blocks. I block printed the design in a dark magenta ink, and then digitally printed the text in a light grey. To tie it together I used a kraft envelope for the main invitation, and then a coordinating dark magenta envelope for the reply envelope. I love the way it came out, perfect for a late summer wedding!

Banner Photos

I decided it was finally time to refresh the blog, so I took some photos for a new banner. A few blocks, some monogram cards and a lined envelope, as well as carving and printing tools and a hand-written title:

New Quilts, Scarves, and Pillows

The quilts I posted when we returned from India are almost gone, so today I wanted to re-post the remaining pieces, and add some new ones as well! The top few quilts are remaining from the original sale, and then Piece #22 and onward are brand new scarves, pillow covers and quilts. I've also added in the PayPal "Buy Now" button so you can buy straight from this page, rather than emailing to purchase (the button corresponds to the photos below it, and will take you straight to PayPal). But, if you have any questions feel free to email hello@katharinewatson.com. And now, the new textiles:

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Piece #1 is a ralli quilt from Sindh, Pakistan which neighbors Kutch. It is entirely hand-stitched and around 60 years old. The quilt uses a mix of natural and chemical dyes, dating it to when natural dyes were still affordable for people in villages. This quilt would have been made by a woman to celebrate a wedding, and is a rare piece as quilts of this style are no longer made with natural dyes and cotton. The piece has a quilted center and sawtooth applique on the edges, with small tassels on each corner. Rallis like this one are quilted with layers of fabric, so the quilt has a heavier weight, and is in excellent condition with no noticeable stains or holes, which is rare for a quilt of this age.

Measures 76" x 45". $360.

SOLD
 

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Piece #4 is a Saami ralli from Sindh, Pakistan. It was made by the Saami snake charmer community of Sindh, and this style of embroidery is unique to this group. Saami quilts use a solid background (usually black or grey, but occasionally bright colors like red or purple) with intricate colored embroidery to quilt layers of scrap fabric together. The quilts are made with scraps of fabric to make both the cover and the filling, and are decorated with geometric embroidery.

This particular quilt is a blue-grey with a black stripe along the edge and has bright geometric embroidery in a range of colors, and the back of the quilt is off-white, as seen with Piece #5. This is an old piece at around 60 years old, and measures 84" x 58". $320.

SOLD

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Piece #5 is another Saami ralli quilt from Sindh, Pakistan, also made by the Saami snake charmer community. This piece has a black background with brightly colored embroidery, and is made of scrap fabric quilted together with bright thread.

This piece is also around 60 years old, and measures 80" x 58". $320.

SOLD

 

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Piece #6 is a Bengali kantha that has red printed fabric on one side and blue and orange tie-dye on the other. These quilts are made from recycled saris, and this piece is quilted with white thread. The quilt measures 84" x 60". $120.

SOLD

 

 

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Piece #8 is an appliqued ralli quilt from Sindh, Pakistan and was made by the Sumra community. It has a very unusual, modern style, even though it's around 50 years old. It shows the forward thinking of the woman who made it! This quilt probably uses a mix of natural and chemical dyes (it can be hard to tell sometimes what is a natural dye and what is an expert replica), with natural yellows, oranges, greens and some of the black colors using natural dyes. The electric pink applique in the middle is definitely chemical, as no plant can make a neon fuchsia dye.

The back of this quilt is made of over-dyed recycled lungis, so is completely plaid. 

This is one of my favorite pieces we brought back, I love how unique it is compared to the other traditional quilts we saw, despite the age of the piece. This quilt measures 80" x 50". $320.

 

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Piece #9 is another Bengali kantha made of recycled saris, with a pink and green color palette. It is quilted with white thread and measures 84" x 50". $120.

 

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Piece #10 is another Bengali kantha made with recycled saris, and also has a pink and green color palette with highlights of purple. This piece is quilted with white thread and measures 84" x 52". $120.

SOLD

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Piece #22 is a mustard yellow ajrakh block printed scarf, measuring 34"x78", and is 100% cotton. Dyed and printed with all natural dyes. $38.

 

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Piece #23 is a green ajrakh block printed scarf with red flowers and geometric designs. This large scarf or shawl measures 36"x96", and is 100% cotton. Dyed and printed with all natural dyes. $42.

SOLD

 

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Piece #24 is a red ajrakh block printed scarf with blue flowers and geometric designs. This scarf measures 22" x 78", and is 100% cotton. Dyed and printed with all natural dyes. $38.

SOLD

 

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Piece #25 is a red ajrakh block printed scarf with blue flowers and geometric designs. This scarf measures 36" x 90", and is 100% cotton. Dyed and printed with all natural dyes. $42.

SOLD

 

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Piece #26 is a purple silk scarf with red and gold brocade edges. This piece measures 42" x 94". $32.

SOLD

 

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Piece #27 is a blue ajrakh block printed scarf with the traditional geometric ajrakh design This scarf measures 36" x 90", and is 100% cotton. Dyed and printed with all natural dyes. $42.

SOLD

 

 

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Piece #28 is a blue ajrakh block printed scarf with the traditional geometric ajrakh design This scarf measures 36" x 90", and is 100% cotton. Dyed and printed with all natural dyes. $42.

SOLD

 

 

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Piece #29 is a hand-embroidered silk kantha scarf, with turquoise silk on one side and off-white silk on the other. The stitching is done in red and orange thread. This large scarf measures 36" x 82". $42.

SOLD

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Piece #30 is an embroidered pillow cover with mirror work, in navy blue with yellow, white and magenta thread. It measures 19" x 20". $18.

SOLD

 

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Piece #31 is a set of two block printed pillow covers, hand printed on 100% cotton in a three color print. Each one measures 17" x 17". $38 for two.

 

 

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Piece #32 is a large quilt or wall hanging stitched together with recycled fabric in a diamond pattern. This piece uses old embroidered textiles, pieced together to create a larger quilt. Backed with solid red cotton. Measures 59" x 88". $80.

SOLD

 

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Piece #33 is a wall hanging stitched together using recycled embroidered fabrics. The embroideries feature floral and geometric designs, as well as peacocks and elephants. Backed with solid black cotton. Measures 39" x 58". $68.