Costume creation is well underway.
I keep forgetting the final number of tunics I have to make, which is probably a good thing. I think it's somewhere close to 40. I think I've printed about 20 so far but all the Greek zig zag geometic ones are done - which is handy as the resist is now all worn away. This became very apparent for the last few of the blues as can be seen in the photo!
The kitchen looked like this on wednesday night:
I kept missing my window to get any of it done and was starting to get mini panic attacks that I was never going to get any of it done, but almost by magic one appeared. It was a warm evening. Sally had had a busy day at nursery and the park with grandparents and vanished off upstairs where she was discovered, and then left, with my ipad watching cbeebies and Pip was outside exploring the garden with husband. I grabbed all the bits and got going. Husband ended up having to do bath time, but I was at least back in time to do bedtime.
All the pieces are cut to the right size and then run through the overlocker to give them all a rolled hem in the right colour - I am then handing them over to someone else at school to fix the bottom hem, the neck and some pleats on the shoulder. Doing all of the tunics in their entirety would be utterly insane in the time period - doing as much as I am is only moderately bonkers...
Making up the screen for printing looked like this -
Marking up the screen and inking in the pattern. This was the first attempt where I did it all on the wrong side. I'm not convinced it actually matters that much, but it turns out I didn't put enough of the drawing fluid on as there were some really blotchy bits when I put the resist on and washed the drawing fluid out - so I did it all again on the other side which is much more of a pain as you have to prop the frame up on cookery books or something similar to prevent everything from sticking to the work surface.
It is a pretty zen process doing the initial inking. I really enjoyed it - especially the
first time. The second go seemed like a bit more of a faff. I also managed to get the first one done in a chunk because Pip decided he loved hoovering the kitchen - he bopped around he place happy as can be. It was also the Easter holidays and I had a bit more brain space. Everything has reverted to term time chaotic brain now, by the time I get to the weekend my head just feels fuggy and exhausted - all worn away - like the resist on the zig zag!
At some point soon another stack of fabric will arrive and there'll be more sewing and painting at odd hours. But as I do have a job, dinner to cook and children to look after most of the time, I felt like I did pretty well to get this much done.