Strange fruit

Look what I found growing in the garden. Scrabbling about in a pile of old pots while potting on tomato plants, a real printer's pie of miscellaneous type I picked up over a decade ago. Left in the garden five years ago when we moved here and promptly forgotten. Poor old bits, they were covered in rust (so not lead, but steel?)

I felt as guilty as if I'd left a kitten in the rain, especially as I had bought some bits and bobs of type from eBay when I was feeling a bit flush. I seem to have an almost complete lovely font, the one near the bottom of the picture. Only one of each, so limited printing use. I don't know what font it is, any type geeks out there? (edit - thanks Sue, it was indeed Windsor Antique D Bold - Font Head of the month award to you!) (further edit - No it wasn't! There has been some last minute contention and further investigation is needed...)

Sue W, (who wonderfully has dusted off her wood engraving equipment and started printing again too) found a page about removing rust with tea. Well the least I could do was give them a cuppa after five years weathering it in the garden, so they went into a bowl of Co-op's finest and steeped for three days. It actually almost worked, and every time I changed it more debris floated off - amazing. But they needed some more in depth cleaning, so I've been going at them with wire wool, old toothbrush, white spirit and an awl, to prise out the crud.

A gorgeous decorative font, perfect for borders. S'cuse the grubby nails, I am a bit unpresentable in the hand department with one thing and another.

This little lot took about two hours to scrub up. I can't get the last rust stains off, if anyone knows a UK product which does this effectively, I'd be glad to know.

Finally got my mojo back with the printing after the trials and errors of the other day. This lot worked really well, using a normal card stock - the linen effect of the pink sets was very pretty but not well suited to taking ink. My little lino block is getting quite flattened and cracked in places, I might get away with another batch, before it goes completely wonky. I've decided to turn them into little cards, for Etsy, (resurrected project number three hundred and seventy three). I'm starting to get the hang of bouncing from one thing to another, something I couldn't have done a few years ago. And it's such fun - which is how it should be.

Mostly about chickens

Birds of a feather...the chicken on the left is a V.I.B. (Very Important Bird). She came all the way from the Border Tart, with a gorgeous Easter card of her sisters. Unfortunately she arrived in the middle of the upheaval, (see below) but now she has her own hanging space, next to the folk bird. There are some very special and affordable treasures on this site, and we at the Hovel wish the Tart all good wishes with her new venture.

Meanwhile, in the new improved studio...attempting to print for the first time in oh, about 13 years...most of it came back quite easily, some memories emerged when I hit problems. There were snags right from the start - last year I invested in 'proper' lino inks, water based...nasty. Flat, dull, thick. I had 25 sheets of nice pink linen effect card, upon which I wanted to print a poultry design. It doesn't matter how often you do test pieces on bits of scrap, sooner or later you have to bite the bullet and print on your precious stock...

The ink pushed out to the edges of the design and soaked into tiny crevices. The lino didn't want to accept the ink. The card was too shiny. I finally remembered that oil based inks are best. I went online and found a great medium, Daler Rowney Georgian block printing medium. It's recommended that you use it with their own oils, but essentially it's a sticky glop which thickens up normal oil paint and gives it the 'tack' you want for ink rolling. It saves re-investing in 'proper' relief inks, which are the best part of a tenner per tube, way beyond my pocket. It's quite frustrating at these times, when you need something 'now' and live miles from any decent shop, without a car. Internet shopping is brilliant, but delivery times are variable. I found it cheapest at Ziggy Arts and I was really pleased when it arrived the next day. That is service! And their postal rates are very reasonable too, so they get top marks from me. Bizarrely they don't seem to have it in stock anymore - did I buy their last tube?

This is how the water based inks performed...not so good.

Unfortunately, my first attempts with the new medium didn't give significantly better results at first. The (large amount) of lino I bought last year isn't 'how it used to be in the good old days'. I did check; I've got some old plates filed away, and the surface is sumptuously dense and ink saturated. The new stuff is greasy and the shiny surface pushed the ink about. I consulted Andy. He was a whizzo printer in our college days - he still is when he puts his mind to it, but that is another story. Firstly he told me my ink was too thick and then that the medium didn't work. I was determined to make it work as I can't afford to spend any more money. And as I was tidying up the edges of the design, a vague memory of 'sandpaper' crept into my troubled mind. Whizzo printer didn't think it would work - but it did! Gently sanding the surface gave the lino 'teeth' and the ink a purchase, enabling it to soak into the plate. With that, and spritzing the card, then blotting it in an old magazine, I was away. The studio started smelling nostalgically like a print room, even with the window open (remember kids, always print in a well ventilated area). There's still a lot of work and experimentation to be done, but I think I'm getting there. Better had be, I need to earn some pennies!

There is nothing like seeing repeated images Andy Warhol style. That's one of the things I love about printing.

Francie from the Scented Cottage has asked me to name favourite five blogs. Well, most of my favourites are over there in my links. Some of them are superstar popular, and for good reason. Some are not so well known, but I visit them every week, because they are brilliant.

1) The newest kid on the block is Children Chocolate and Wine. There's a long story behind this, involving the ill fated Country Living 'find a new columnist' contest - but on this barely fledged central hub-blog you'll find a plethora of new bloggers, all writing wonderfully, mostly about Real Country Life - in which very little Cath Kidston features. Many of them have never had a 'proper' blog before, but you wouldn't know it. So please extend the big bloggy hand of friendship to them and make them feel welcome.

2) Ramblings of a Cotswold Gent. Very funny and often mustard sharp. One of those rare blogs which can perform on writing alone. Also the only other blog I'm aware of in our area and it's nice to know someone local.

3) Remember I'm the Bloody Architect. Supreme, witty writing, always makes me smile - does the wondrous thing of making architecture entertaining...it's the way she tells it.

4) Hannah's Country Kitchen OK, listing this means I have to divulge our new status of TV owners (yes, yes, I'll confess all another time). We got hooked on Masterchef. I was thrilled to find that the lovely Hannah, one of the finalists, has her own blog, where she shows her mind-blowingly beautiful cakes and shares her recipes. This is one of the blogs you go to for time out and niceness.

5) Oh dear, only one left...hmm...ok, quilt and patchwork heaven...Feeling Simply Quilty. Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous.

Ah yes. I hooked my web cam up. It's on when I'm in the studio, (UK time) and I put my open/shut sign up as necessary. Not that seeing my grizzled head bent over artwork is at all interesting, but it gets me to work in the morning.

EDIT - Blogger turned the comments box off! Thanks to Penny for alerting me...