THE SECRET REVEALED

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Helen!!! This is just what I have been waiting for! I am off to find this magazine. -Cori

Parabéns Helen, espero conseguir esta revista aqui no Brasil... beijos liége

Hi Helen, I am not sure whether you got my email last weekend - I am learning to 'drive' the new beasty - laptop - so I could have sent something off to cyerspace... I think you were beaut on the DVD - and as I said in my email it was as though I was sitting just the other side of the table from you as you demonstrated... I have since had a go but I think because my Derwents are so old that they just don't seem to have the coverage - there are even a couple of colours I had to guess as I think there must have been some name changes or colour changes since I bought mine which was about 20 years ago... Perhaps different pigments... Another question - lol - should I always wash the fabric before I apply the colour so that it 'grabs' the fibres more readily - I don't think that was the problem in this case as I had aready washed nit before I used it... I warned the lady at my local needlecraft shop that she be be inudated with inquiries about the threads as her shop seemed to be only one of a few which stocked them... I wish you ever success with your venture -I look forward to having more of a play in the near future.And of course any excuse to go and purchase more pencils is always a good one... Take care..

Hi Sharon, sorry I didn't get your previous email. I still have my original set of derwents which would be about 30 years old and I am pretty sure the numbers are the same if they are the same 'type' of pencil - that is artist to artist etc.. Of course they may well have changed their pigment 'recipe' over that time. Some of the lighter colours are a little more difficult to get onto the fabric and you do have to work harder, especially the 1800 rose pink. Are you using the sandpaper as that really helps. I will also admit I don't prewash any of my fabrics! Unless there is a red in there. I still haven't watched it, too busy with Houston lists and the football (can you tell I am stalling) so I am so glad you enjoyed it. Hugs Helen

Thanks Helen - everyone thinks what I have done looks fine... The colours just don't look as 'painted' as yours and the fabric shows through.. The Artist Derwents I have didn't have a Claret or Light Moss - however I just used the closet pencil shade... I also have some prism colour pencils and they are a much softer pencil so I used a combination of both... Another question - Do you use a flow medium to help spread the colour around...LOL I willl leave you in peace now except to say this has opened up a completely different horizon for me...

Hi Sharon, those two colours you would only get in the tin of 120 colours I think - or buy them individually. There is a link to the right where you can buy individual pencils online at Oxford online art supplies. Yes Prisma pencils are much softer and good to use as are the Colorsoft range from Derwent. With the coloursoft pencils you can move the colour around a little with the medium but the normal (artist/studio) colours don't tend to move much although you can work the brush in to blend them a bit. Have fun, thanks for trying it and reporting back. Hugs Helen