blame it on the gutta

my head is freaking pounding!

yesterday I collected myself to have everything I would need to start this silk painting project. I spent some time at kinko's blowing a small design up to about 40 inches wide by 30 inches tall. I got to use their poster scanner and printer - very exciting!

got back to Andy's to find that he was having a vehicle emergency, so I proceeded to cut & iron my silk (45 inch nap fabric by 60 inch length!), tape my design down on the floor, tape my silk on top of it, and trace my design on the silk in pencil.

all of this happened on the floor due to my lack of large table space btw.

by the time I was done with all this my knees were killing me, and I was starving! But, it was such a tedious process that I felt pretty accomplished.

today I tackled putting the frame together, stretching the silk in the frame, and getting all the gutta (resist) painted on. I'm not sure how long to let the gutta rest/set, but I'm thinking it's probably best to let it set for 24 hours.

In the process, however, I gave myself a raging headache. I believe D's exact words were "that gutta smells like cat-fuck!"

and he's absolutely correct, it smells pretty bad.

so, my process from here:

• tomorrow: paint inside of main design golden yellow & outside/edges brick red
• tuesday: (after letting the paint rest for 24 hours) iron & wash entire banner

then, it should be done. I understand that most people who do this particular craft can get it done in a weekend...and I totally see how that could happen. sadly, I am not one of those people, and this particular banner (being 45x60 inches big) is not one of those banners.

I've already promised myself that when I do smaller pieces that I will do a couple of things differently, including in investing in one of those cool embroidery stands to hold my fabric tight while painting. I think that'd save me a lot of hassle.

other projects I have to complete this week:

• new tang dynasty chinese outfit (by friday night) including:
• strapless dress
• fatbelt
• overcoat

• monkey applique's for D's new fighting tunic

honestly though, I think this is the least tedious pre-crown tournamet workload that I've ever had. usually i'm making at least 2 whole new outfits, and a ton of other crap. Plus, I've done a pretty good job of preparing myself. so, go me!

happy crafting friends!