Julie Makes Studio Notes: June 2025 - Prints, Me Made May, and WIPs!
ICYMI: I CAUGHT THE PRINTMAKING BUG & OPENED AN ETSY SHOP
In case you missed it, I caught the printmaking bug and opened my own Etsy shop: Julie Makes Studio Shop!
Here’s the backstory on this seemingly random left-turn to printmaking: way back in college in the mid/late ‘00s, I double-majored in Studio Art and Art History. While I dabbled in a bunch of different art-making techniques as part of my art major, I fell hard for drawing and printmaking, and particularly relief printmaking techniques like linocut and woodcut. I loved the direct and tactile process of executing and printing relief prints. Once you map out your print (either by making a drawing that you transfer to the block or drawing directly on the block), the rest is just meticulous carving in order to create your image. The process is repetitive, requires some focused attention and muscle memory, and lends itself well to creating either simple, graphic designs or meticulous, detailed images. What’s more, unlike intaglio and planographic print processes (i.e. etching, engraving, lithography, etc.), you don’t need access to a big, expensive press to make your prints: it’s totally possible to print by hand, making it relatively easy to make prints at home. During college and in the 1-2 years after I graduated, I was both an avid printmaker and knitter, and even then I saw an affinity between these two detail-oriented creative processes which explained why I enjoyed both so much.
When I started working full-time and went to graduate school, I had stopped making prints because I didn’t have the time, energy, or inspiration to do so. And when my creative energy returned after grad school, it was channeled into knitting, garment sewing, and quilting. But earlier this year while I was doing some cleaning and organizing, I came across some old prints I made and I was suddenly inspired to try my hand at making prints again. It took me a couple of months to gather materials, sketch out some ideas, and reacquaint myself with the techniques, but by mid-April I opened an Etsy shop to offer some of my prints for sale!
So, why open a shop?
1) One of the things I love about printmaking, which has always been inherent to this art form, is that prints are less expensive to make in terms of both materials and labor than many unique, one-of-one artworks (think paintings, some forms of sculpture, quilts, etc.). So prints can be sold for relatively affordable prices, making them a more accessible art form for those who want to buy art for display in their homes.
2) I am focusing primarily on prints geared towards knitters, sewists, quilters, etc. That decision is in part because I have a lot of design ideas that fit those themes, but also because I want to offer makers the opportunity to treat themselves to affordable works of art to decorate their home studio spaces. Maker-themed prints also make easy gifts for your other crafty friends, or maybe you have non-makers in your life (partners, family members, friends) who want to get you a thoughtful gift without running the risk of getting you materials you don’t need because your yarn and fabric stashes are already overflowing.
3) It may seem obvious, but it needs to be said: in order to improve at printmaking, you need to make a lot of prints. And I don’t need a zillion prints piling up in my studio, so why not share them with others who want them? Plus selling prints helps me cover my materials costs so I can keep making more prints.
If you’ve already bought prints or stickers from my shop, THANK YOU for your support! And if you have’t yet but have been thinking about it, here’s a reminder that my shop is open and currently stocked with knitting prints, quilty ghosts, slow fashion snails dressed in handknit balaclavas and neck scarves, spinning prints (designed back in 2011 and reprinted in 2025), as well as a couple of knitting and holographic quilty ghosts STICKERS perfect for decorating your water bottles, laptops, notebooks, etc.! And as a token of my appreciation, if you sign up for my email newsletter at the bottom of this page, you automatically get a 15% off code good for anything in my shop!
Keep an eye on this space, my Instagram, and the shop itself for more updates. I’ve got a few new print ideas in process—spot the new print design I’m working on in my photos above—as well as some little wall quilts coming soon!
ME MADE MAY 2025
Me Made May 2025: it happened! I never make too many commitments at the beginning of the month other than to see how things go, and this year was no different. I wore clothes I made on almost every day of the month, and I posted them as photo or video form on most of the days. No major revelations were made, but that wasn’t the point. It was a shockingly cold and wet May in Maine this year so nearly all of my outfits featured pants, long-sleeved shirts, sweaters, and layers, which isn’t the worst thing because that’s the majority of my me-made wardrobe anyway. The only new FO I had the chance to debut that month was my Twinkle sweater, which was exciting! Above is a selection of outfits from the month. Many of these garments are included in my in-progress Wardrobe Archive so if you want to dig deeper on some of these, check that out. It’s organized chronologically by when I made each garment, but it’s also searchable by garment type, pattern name, pattern company, fabric type, etc.
WIPS CORNER
Lately I’ve been bouncing between a few different knitting and sewing WIPs, but right now I’m most focused on two projects.
First is my Paul Klee sweater, which I’m knitting thanks to a recent Allyson Dykhuizen class that just wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. I just finished the yoke and have split for sleeves since I took the photos above. I’m proud to say I nailed the yoke fit and the shaping thanks to Allyson’s expert guidance and handy dandy sizing spreadsheets (as usual!). Now I can just knit away on the body and sleeves for as long as it takes to finish this sweater. Since I’m planning to take a few more virtual knitting classes with Allyson and Laura McDougal in the coming months (Book Club Pullover! Dagmar Zipper Sweater! Design Your Own Doodle Sweater!), I suspect I won’t actually finish this sweater until some in 2026, but it will be glorious when I do!
When it comes to sewing projects, I have recently returned to my substantial supply of garment sewing scraps that I have set aside for improv quilts. Last weekend I started sewing an improv scrappy quilt with linen and cotton scraps I had pre-cut into rectangles of various sizes back in summer 2022, before our cross-country move from Chicago to Portland, Maine. Improv quilting is one of my favorite ways to slow down and make sense of my thoughts and feelings in difficult times, so given all the terrible things happening in the US and around the world right now, it makes sense that I have finally picked up this quilt project again. I’m not sure what final form this quilt will take yet (throw quilt or wall quilt) or whether I will keep, give away, or sell it. But for now, puzzling the pieces together in a process-over-product fashion—with the help of my Artistic Director Chloe the cat, of course!—is bringing me some much-needed comfort and focus. Stay tuned to see what comes of this quilt!
