I’ve added two listings to Etsy… the Timberline Hat and Timberline Scarf. Both of these items were knit from a 60/40 blend of wool/alpaca. They are very soft and would make a wonderful gift to the man in your life.

Two new scarves uploaded to Etsy in the past few days. The first one is Easter Basket, a bright pink scarf knit in a basket weave stitch in a cotton rope. The second is Wintergreen and fresh bright headband knit in wool hand-spun.

A delicate reminder of summer is embroidered onto this lovely felted scarf. I first knit the scarf out of 100% wool, then hand felted and shaped it. I then embroidered the Queen Anne’s Lace with 100% cotton thread on both ends of the scarf.

I have uploaded this scarf for sale on Etsy.

The color of this scarf reminds me of a cold winter sky. It was knit with 100% organic cotton in a wave and lace pattern. It is a one of a kind creation. I’ve uploaded it for sale on Etsy.

Well… that was quick… I’ve sold it already. But I definitely will be using this yarn and color again. I loved working with this yarn.

Two more scarves added to Etsy this weekend… Crushed Berries and Raspberry Parade.

Crushed Berries is a one of a kind scarf is perfect for fall or winter when the wicked wind is blowing. The yarn is a hand-spun thick-thin yarn with colors varying from creamy pink to deep merlot. The hand-spun super soft merino was knit it a loose seed stitch. It measures 6-inches wide and 40-inches long.

Start your own parade with Raspberry Parade a one of a kind scarf. It was knit with bulky 100% wool yarn and highlighted on each end with a fun eyelash yarn. The scarf measures 6-inches wide and 46-inches long.

Keep warm this fall with this lovely hand-spun and hand-knitted neckwarmer. The soft shades of pink, cream and brown remind me of neapolitan ice cream. I’ve just listed this scarflette on Etsy.

It might seem that I’ve been awfully quiet lately, but actually I’ve been running (mentally) around like a chicken with my head cut-off. I’ve been asked to join the Outlaw Craft Show here in Vancouver on November 28th. This is a smaller, juried craftshow showcasing the talented artists in Vancouver, WA and some from the Portland Metro area.

So I’ve been scrambling trying to get inventory ready, a booth set-up, business cards, etc. I have a good friend working on my solution for displays. I’ve been buying yarn right and left, and knitting like mad. I’ve recruited my good friend Gayle to crochet scarves for me. I’ve also been haunting the thrift shops for high-quality sweaters to felt and re-purpose.

I need to take photos and upload to Etsy the six items I’ve finished, but haven’t had the time. If my husband weren’t working on a book right now, I think I’d be teaching him how to knit… okay maybe not. But I’d  teach him how to felt the sweaters, I have to felt by hand because we own front-load washers (worthless for felting).

Today I will be covering screen printing. Screen printing is also known as silk screening or serigraphy.

Screen printing is one of the earliest methods of printing. It has been around since approximately the Song Dynasty in China (979 t0 1279 AD). Screen printing involves the passing of ink or any other printing medium through a mesh or ’screen’ that has been stretched on a frame after a stencil or design is added to the screen. The stencil determines what will be imprinted and what will not on the printed surface. A roller or squeegee is drug across the screen stencil, forcing ink past the threads of the woven mesh in the open areas. Like offset and lithography, for every ink color used a screen is needed.

Below is a simple screen print process.

Creating the Stencil

There are several methods for creating the stencil.

• Cutting the design from a non-porous material and attaching it to the screen.
• Painting a negative image directly on the screen.
• Photo-emulsion technique

Screen Printing Inks and Materials

A multitude of products can be used on a screenprint.

• Plastisol the most common ink used in commercial garment decoration
• Water-Based inks
• PVC/ Phalate-free ink
• Discharge inks
• Flocking, Glitter, Metalllic, Puff inks
• Caviar beads
• Four colour process (CMYK)
• Gloss, Nylobond, Mirrored Silver, Suede inks

Versatility

Because screen printing can be done on a variety of substances, it is one of the most versatile printing processes. Screen printing can be done on clothing, textiles, labels, electronics, circuit boards, balloons, medical devices, snowboards, signs and displays.

Gocco

Gocco (go-ko) is a form of screen printing that originated in Japan. Gocco is a self-contained compact color printing system that uses flash bulbs to thermally imprint and image on a screen. Because the printing system is compact, only small images can be created.

Gocco’s are easy to use; simply load the art, a blank screen, and sometimes a special filter into the machine, use the bulbs to burn the image into the screen, ink the screen, and print.

Below is an image of a Goco kit.

Screen Print Examples

• Aquatic Cowboy by Jen Skelly
• Blue by Artwork by Hiroshi Ariyama
• Battle Ready by Cricket Press

• Springtime Coatrack by The Crosbie
• Gossamer by Alison Tauber
• Pinky Bird Journal by Earmark Stationery

Gocco Examples

• Feeding Time by Sepialepus
• Leaf Jumper by Susan Estelle Kwas
• Nigel and Lily Embracing by Amanda Blake

Today I’m covering offset lithography or offset printing.

Offset uses the resistance method of printing. The basic principle of resistance printing is that oil and water don’t mix, so the same surface can be used for ink and un-inked surfaces.

Images and text are transferred to photosensitive plates (made of zinc or aluminum) photographically. The plate is then placed on a cylinder on the press. The plate obtains ink from the ink rollers, while the non-printed areas attract a water-based film (fountain solution), keeping the non-printing areas ink-free. The image is then rolled on to a rubberized offset cylinder, which in turn, inks the paper. The advantage of offset printing is the ability to print thousands of images from one plate.

Below is a side view of the offset process.

Offset Presses

There are two types of paper feeds on offset presses: sheet fed and web fed.

Sheet fed presses feed one sheet at a time through the rollers. It is commonly used for short-run jobs like brochures, letterhead, business cards, etc. Short-runs are considered less then 10,000 to 20,000 impressions.

Sheet fed presses also come in different sizes. In smaller print shops the presses are usually 2-head presses. That is that they can run 2 inks at a time. Larger print shops have 6+ head presses. These presses can run numerous inks and coatings at the same time.

Web fed presses feed off a roll of paper. Web fed presses are commonly used for large jobs like newspapers, catalogs, magazines, etc.  Jobs run on web presses exceed 10,000 to 20,000 impressions. Web presses generally have 4+ heads for ink.

Spot versus CMYK

When press people talk about ink it seems to be in a strange code: of spot, CMYK, PMS, etc. What they are talking about is ink.

Spot color is a solid ink color (versus a dot-pattern of CYMK). Letterheads and business cards are the most common users of spot color.

CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black. CMYK is also called process color. Process color creates images using a mixture of dots from all four inks. CMYK is used in magazines, brochures, etc.

PMS stands for Pantone Matching System. Pantone creates solid and CYMK inks.

Digital Printing

Since the 1990s digital printing has slowly began to replace some offset printing practices. Digital presses do not use a photographic plate. The image can be sent directly from the computer to the press, eliminating the plate and the plate making processes.

The advantages of digital presses are a lower cost in printing. Images can be changed “on the fly”. This is convenient when only one or two aspects of the image are changed. Less wasted chemicals and paper.

Below are examples of spot color offset printing:

• Brett Dennen with Angus and Julia Stone Poster by Strawberryluna
• An Irish Toast to Your Coffin Poster by Madam Talbots
• Rebuilding by Kiriko Moth

Below are examples of process (CYMK) offset printing:

• The Brave Tabby by Bohemian Cats
• Miss Coquelicot Poster by Sybile
• The Bawdy Ladies: Bootsies by Art by Fox

Hope you enjoyed this little snippet about Offset Printing, next up Screenprinting.

The fresh promise of spring is represented in this beautiful soft scarf. This scarf was knit with a 50% Baby Alpaca and 50% Merino Wool. Knit with a lovely leaf pattern. It is a one of a kind creation. The scarf measures 62-inches long and is 6-1/2-inches wide. It is for sale now on Etsy.