a block print sampler: block prints for lampshades designed by atelier ilona for Pak Turk Enterprises, Islamabad.

Some of the prints feature single blocks, others are combinations of two to six or even more blocks. Some feature a base print in a light colour which is then overprinted in dark brown, while others are dyed by pleating and folding the cloth and dyeing it in tea or coffee.

...and a set of new embroideries in running stitch on cotton, with tea dyeing. more designs will follow. i like the effect of the stitching when the light is switched on. you can see the outlines even when the bulb's off. but when you turn the light on, the embroidery springs to life. the designs featured below are my signature style of lines and curves, largely leaf motifs. but i've added a traditional floral, and the new ones feature birds: the nightingale and the rose, and the bird of paradise. similarly, i've added herons and peacocks to my repertoire of block prints.